Work around for "Buy 2, Get 1 Free"

I'm trying to figure out a work-around for not being able to offer a premium (free gift) with purchase -- specifically, buy 2 and get one free. I'm thinking of creating a product that is a grouping of three products, setting the price at 3X the individual product price and then using a flat $ discount (with use of a discount code) for the price of one product. The only issue I can see arising from this is a discrepancy with my inventory tracking.

Has anyone tried this? Am I missing any other negative consequences? Or do you have any other suggested work-arounds? 

Hey, did you have any luck with this??

I wonder if it could work to offer a gift card with the purchase of 2 products. Just tell customers that as soon as they order 2, they'll get a gift card for the same or average value. Not at all automated, but some buyers might actually like this if they could give the card away too.