March 25, 2011
The ER Doesn't Take Gift Cards?!?Before starting this challenge I did my darndest to label every penny, nickel and dime that we would spend this month, get every last ducky in line for smooth sailing. While 95% of our expenditures have followed said illustrious plan, there is always a curve ball. It comes out of nowhere with no warning and whacks the fleshy part of your hiney. We had ours …
Read MoreMarch 15, 2011
Selling Back Un-used Gift CardsI knew nothing about American Apparel before buying a discounted gift card from Cardpool.com, only that 20% off is a pretty stellar deal for clothing discounts. After a one-minute search on their site I saw they offered maternity clothing--perfect! I'll take one please! But after my $50 gift card arrived and I started browsing the offerings, it turns out that a leotard is the only …
Read MoreMarch 3, 2011
How to Stock Up on the Discount Gift Cards You NeedI need to hit the stop button and fill you in on the important stuff; How to actually score discounted cards. The nuts and bolts are simple, but the process seems daunting at first. I feel an outline coming on! 1. Determine your needs. We are adding some landscaping to our front yard and budgeted for $250. The lawn is absolutely revolting, complete with …
Read MoreDecember 29, 2010
The Gift Card Year In ReviewDear Gift cards: How we adored thee in 2010. Whether you came to us in the ol' plastic covering we know and love or the sexy new digitized form we always dreamed of, we couldn't keep our hands off you. Seriously, we couldn't, and there are numbers to prove it: As of early September, demand for you outpaced 2009 …
Read MoreNovember 3, 2010
5 Stores That Use Gift Cards for RebatesRecently Kroger announced that, as of November 8, customers will be able to earn money back by using their 1-2-3 REWARDS MasterCard...in the form of a gift card for groceries! No weird prize list for designer toaster ovens or trips to Switzerland, just a gift card for things you need at the place you go to most often. This is awesome! But Kroger isn't the …
Read MoreOctober 25, 2010
City Exchanges Gift Cards for HandgunsOrganizers of a weekend handgun buy-back program in New Bedford, Mass., found $100 supermarket gift cards were just the ticket to lure about 140 weapons off city streets. The Rev. David Lima, executive minister of the Inter-Church Council, which joined local law enforcement agencies to sponsor the exchange, said the community response was overwhelming. Although the total number of firearms collected …
Read MoreSeptember 27, 2010
For Merchant Gift Cards, the Future is MobileWhen the classic film "The Graduate" debuted in 1967, a white-collar man at Dustin Hoffman's party famously told him, "There's a great future in plastics." Now, 43 years later, the future of merchant gift cards is in bits and bytes. A virtual gift card company, Giftango, recently formed a stellar partnership with 35 major brands across the nation. Amazon, Cabela's, Lowe's, Papa …
Read MoreSeptember 24, 2010
Avoid Getting Snared in Gift Card Bankruptcy WebPhoto by lucias clay On the heels of Blockbuster Video's Chapter 11 filing on Thursday, gift card holders once again are wondering whether they'll be left out in the cold. Consumers fear a sad repetition of the scenario seen when Linens 'N Things, Sharper Image and Mervyn's reneged on gift card deals at the beginning of the Recession. So what can …
Read MoreJune 22, 2010
World Cup Savings with World Class Gift CardsAn astonishing estimated 1 in 10 people worldwide will tune in for the final World Cup game. With just one week remaining until bracket play begins, everyone from soccer fanatics to last-minute bandwagonners are eager to get outfitted and show some team pride. Find the best gift card deals on sporting goods gift cards. Many of these gift …
Read MoreJune 15, 2010
Check Merchants Financial Pulse Before Buying Gift CardsThousands of consumers were left out in the cold in 2008 when a storm of merchant bankruptcies turned roughly $100 million worth of gift cards into little more than tiny windshield scrapers. (See Granny's holiday post on 16 creative uses for useless gift cards.) Mervyn's, Sharper Image and Linens 'N Things, among many others, reneged on gift card deals, leaving consumers with …
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