I loooove buying baby and kids clothes, so this post focuses on my most recent GAP purchase for my toddler and my baby. But these tips and tricks apply to adult clothing too! (You can also use these tips to save at Old Navy, Banana Republic, and similar stores.) The following information might seem like an advertisement for these stores, but I’m just a bargain shopper showing you how to save big money like I do! <I don’t have any blog sponsors ;-)>

First, I will outline the general steps it takes to save big. Then I will show you exactly how I saved up to 81% off on my last GAP order. And I will show you pics of the cute stuff I got with my mega savings, so keep scrolling down!

Step 1: Sign up for GAP emails. You will get emails informing you of store sales and special promotions. Some examples: “40% off your purchase, today only!” “UP TO 50% OFF: Kids & Baby Sale Starts Today” “Start the Month in Style: 30% Off Your Purchase” “With everything up to 60% off, the best styles are going fast!” Some promos will be online-only, but most will apply to in-store purchases as well. You will also get a 25% off code when you sign up for emails.

<There is a new text message option called gapASAP – to learn of new arrivals, deals, etc. via text. I haven’t tried it yet. But if you want to try it, text BEST to 36888.>

Step 2: Get a GAP (or Old Navy or Banana Republic) VISA credit card. You only need one of the store credit cards, and it can be used at GAP, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and ATHLETA.  When you use your credit card at any of these stores, you earn rewards points that equal money off your next purchase. You can also earn rewards by using this VISA card for any purchase at any place that accepts VISA. The points you earn will equal $$ off your future purchases at GAP, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and ATHLETA. You will also get a 15% off code when you sign up for the credit card. You will also get emails with access to cardholder-only sales and promotions. And “VIP” early access to sales, like the Old Navy $1 flip flop sale.

Step 3: Earn GAP cash. Throughout the year, GAP will award you GAP cash when you make a purchase. The GAP cash can be spent on a future purchase. This page explains how it works in more detail.

Step 4: Shop sale and clearance merchandise. This step is optional. You can use the above tips to save on full-price merchandise. But your savings won’t be 80%! You will see from my examples below, that you can get in-style, in-season sale merchandise for great deals! Clearance merchandise is usually end-of-season, but I still love buying clearance merchandise with the future in mind. See my examples below! <Tip: when shopping the GAP website, you can filter by “sale” and “clearance” so you only see those reduced-price items.>

Step 5: For online purchases, get free shipping. Online, orders $50 and over get free shipping. I have noticed that if I fill my cart up to at least $50 before entering promo codes and rewards $$, then select the free shipping option, and then enter promo codes, etc. – I still get free shipping even though my after-promos-and-rewards total is less than $50. Try it out!

How I Saved up to 81% Off On My Most Recent Order

I placed two separate orders to maximize my savings. For order #1, I had a $25 GAP cash voucher. You have to spend at least $50 to get $25 off your purchase. This means you save 50% if you spend exactly $50. If you spend $60 and cash in your $25 off, you are getting 42% off of your purchase. If you spend $70 and cash in your $25, you are getting 36% off your purchase. Got it? So my goal was to spend close to $50 to get close to 50% savings. I ended up filling my cart with $53.94 in sale merchandise, and then I got $25 off that amount. <You cannot combine GAP cash with a promo code such as 30% or 40% off….>

I purchased only items that were on sale or clearance. So if an item was already on sale for 25% off retail or 40% off retail, I got an extra ~50% off by using my GAP cash! Here are the items I got in order number one.

I placed order #2 separately, because I had gotten an email with a 40% off your entire purchase code (which cannot be combined with GAP cash). The great news was that this code could also be used on merchandise that was already on sale or clearance. So it was 40% off the already reduced prices. Here are the items I purchased in order #2.

I hope you found my tips and tricks to be understandable and practical! If you have any questions, please leave a comment below! And, most importantly, if you have any additional tips and tricks to share, please share in the comments so we can all benefit!

Happy shopping 🙂