Gift cards are a great way to save money on purchases this is especially true if you buy merchandiser from the same stores all the time. These stores, on the other hand, while giving you savings on your purchases due to the gift card are nonetheless happy because they know that you will be spending your money with them instead of with other people. This makes gift cards sort of a win-win proposition for most people.
Then again, some people think that the disadvantage of gift cards is that they limit you to purchasing with one store. But if you really are predisposed to spending most of your money on one store, then that would not be a problem at all.
If you are looking to buy a gift card either for yourself or for others, then you need to follow a few pointers to avoid potential pitfalls to the use of gift cards. These tips will help you protect your interests and the interests of those you plan to give the gift cards to in the first place. Read more…
December 24th, 2009
Moses
Never mind that many of us buy our Christmas gifts at the last minute. What about those of us who procrastinate in actually wrapping the present for the relative you haven’t seen in a year? Well, we waited until the very last minute this year so we threw all the gift wrapping supplies into the car and hit the road. Don’t, I mean, do, try this at home as opposed to the car 
Read more…
The SuperCertificate Gift is a universal gift certificate that can be exchanged online for individual gift cards to be redeemed from hundreds of stores and restaurants. The SuperCertificate Gift can also be customized with a personal message! Additionally the SuperCertificate comes in emailable form, the eSuperCertificate. This makes for the perfect present for all last minute shoppers!
Read more…
Here’s a little tid bit about American Express gift cards that I ran accross the other day, which basically gives you a glimpse of some of the qualities we look for in gift cards.
Read more…
Some Ted’s Montana Grill pics I snapped while in the booth and outside the restaurant. The Ted’s Montana Grill Gift Certificate seems to have worked! This particular location is Johnson Ferry Road/Parkaire Shopping center in Marietta, GA.
Read more…
Shop It To Me (http://www.shopittome.com) finds sales on your favorite brands in your sizes, then emails choices to you with the frequency you choose. If you refer 10 friends, you receive a $10 free gift card for your efforts. The gift card can be from a variety of big brand stores including these that I saw: Read more…
My friend at work sent me this offer for a Ted’s Montana Grill $10 Free Gift Certificate.
Read more…
5 Tips To Know About Your Gift Card Limits
By Lois Center-Shabazz
I gave a retail gift card to my nephew last year. My well kept 19- year old nephew usually feels he is being financially starved no matter how much money he is given. So the worry of the gift card expiring or incurring large fees was not my concern, he rushed to the store to use it the next day. What is my concern is that many people who buy and receive gift cards, be it, retail cards or bank cards, do not understand the limitations posed by these cards. This is evident from the ever-increasing complaints to consumer bureaus.
Most people don’t understand that when you purchase a gift card they are not necessarily equal to the cash paid for them over time. This is especially true of bank or mall gift cards. Mall gift cards are bank gift cards sold by a shopping mall complex. Read more…
Are you looking for the perfect gift to give your boss for his birthday? Perhaps you are about to attend a bridal shower or baby shower and are unsure of what to bring the guest of honor. Is your daughter at that awkward age where you just don’t know what she’ll want for her birthday? Fear not, the perfect gift for these and all other occasions is easy to purchase, wrap and give. Consider giving gift cards for all of the important gifts on your list.
Very simply, gift cards are like gift certificates and they can be purchased at most stores in a variety of amounts. They are the perfect gift to give for people of any age and with any taste. Think about the person you need to purchase a gift for. Of course you know the basic details like their age and gender, but it might help to know if this person has any special hobbies or skills. If they love to snowboard perhaps you can get them a gift card from a local snowboard shop. If you know a woman who loves to read there are countless bookstores that sell gift cards. So do a little bit of detective work to determine what kind of store your intended would enjoy gift cards from.
If you aren’t sure of any specific things that the person you are buying for enjoys, take heart, there are plenty of stores that sell gift cards to meet your shopping needs. Consider buying gift cards to department stores or other general stores that sell a variety of items. You can never go wrong purchasing gift cards at stores that offer many options.
Another great thing about purchasing gift cards for any occasion is that most people love receiving gift cards. Who doesn’t love being able to go into a store and spend their money on the thing they like most? Most everyone would prefer receiving gift cards over having people guess on items they will like, especially for important events like weddings. So, even if you feel like giving gift cards seems impersonal, think about how much your friend or loved one will appreciate your desire to have them pick out the gift they love the most. Read more…
It’s a little early to start thinking about gift giving but I thought Debbie’s article was interesting and hey, why not?
The new year is just around the corner, and I’m thinking that it is already time to get ahead of the gift game. That sounds like a great idea, especially with all of the after-Christmas sales that stores will be running. But how do you make the good thought a reality? It all starts with a detailed list.
Start with a piece of lined notebook paper. Divide the page into two columns. On one side write Holidays, on the other Birthdays. Then get out a calendar and, starting in January, write down the Holidays that you will be buying gifts for. I start with Valentine’s Day. I know I will be buying each of my children a little gift. I write February 14, my children’s names, and beside each name I write the amount of money I want to spend. I do this for each Holiday thru Christmas. By that time, the list is pretty long, but look at how much information I have!
Then I start over with the Birthday list. Again, starting in January, I start listing the people whose Birthdays I will be buying for. My first Birthday is my mother-in-law. So I write January 31, Mom G., $10. Go thru the entire calendar making these notes.
Once you have your lists finished, start making notes on your calendar, preferably marking occasions about two weeks ahead to give yourself plenty of time. If you need to mail the gift, I suggest marking it down three weeks ahead so that you can mail it a week ahead of time. If the calendar you are using is a purse-sized calendar, just carry it with you and you can shop for any number of people at a time. This will help you take advantage of sales and save time by not making a special trip at the last minute to buy a gift. If you have some idea of what you want to buy or where you want to buy it, make those notes on your calendar as well. By doing this, you are already more than half done with your gift giving for the year! Read more…
I am fascinated to know what happened when you attempted to get a free gift card. Did it work? Did you get one?
Read more…
The free $250 gift card is typically very demanding on user requirements and quite rewarding on the value side. It’s rare that a company ventures to pay out such a large amount of funds to one web site visitor. However, these gift cards are available. Applicants should be warned that they will likely be required to complete multiple sponsored offers and remain committed to them for months. Applicants may be asked to submit a redemption request form at a later date in order to obtain to take ownership of the free $250 gift card. The higher the amount of the free gift card offer, the closer attention the user will want to pay to the free gift card offer terms.
How difficult is it to successfully complete the process of applying for a free $100 gift card? Difficult. If a company doles out a free $100 gift card to a web site visitor, one can bet that it will be for a good reason. A recent review of one web site offering free $100 grocery cards from well-known grocery store chains revealed the rigorous requirements of completing a short survey, reviewing bonus offers, then choosing a total of 4 sponsored offers from a set of 3 categories. Imagine that if just one of the 4 offers doesn’t contain a product that suits the user, the criteria for receiving the free $100 gift card can’t be met. If this is the case, the visitor has effectively wasted his time. Those attempting such offers should be aware of the potentially frustrating risks. One possible alternative to jumping through the many hoops of a free $100 gift card offer could be to simply find two $50 free gift card offers that require only one sponsor offer per card. A few previous $100 free gift card offers I have seen include these stores: Read more…
Where does the free $50 gift card fall in terms of difficulty to get versus value? The free $50 gift card is one of the most common gift card denominations available online. The free $50 gift card is apparently just the right dollar amount to get the attention of serious sales leads prospects while not overextending the marketing budget of advertisers. Competition among marketers and popularity among consumers may explain why $50 gift card offers are among some of the easiest to complete. The free $50 gift card combines serious appeal with solid value. A free $50 gift card is the equivalent of a half day’s wages for someone making 26,000 per year. Get the right free $50 gift card and consider taking the afternoon off!
Read more…
When reflecting on the prospect of applying for a free $25 gift card offer, an obvious question comes to mind. Why would someone waste time applying for a $25 free gift card when larger denominations like $50, $100, or $250 free gift cards are available? $25 free gift cards are actually not the smallest gift card denomination. $10 and $15 free gift cards are marketed by some companies, but these gift cards are less common on the Internet. The free $25 gift card offer appears to be the most common and easiest to obtain of all.
Read more…
Part 1 of my Free Gift Card Guide
Many retail stores offer customers a store credit represented by a plastic gift card that can be used as cash to purchase any product available in the store. For years, store credits for gifts or returns were issued in the form of an official paper certificate or wallet sized paper card signed by the store manager. In more recent years, the swipeable plastic gift card has become the more popular medium for which store credits are distributed. The plastic gift card allows companies to keep track of usage via the card’s magnetic tape in the same way that credit cards do. Once a gift card’s credit amount is spent, the card can be either disposed of or recharged.
Read more…
Part 2 of my Free Gift Card Guide
Free gift cards differ from regular gift cards in one simple and very obvious way: they don’t cost anything. Some stores give free gift cards to customers as part a special offer or promotion they are advertising. For example, Bed, Bath and Beyond has offered a free gift card in the amount of $50 with certain product purchases over $250. One major car company reportedly gave vouchers for free $75 gift cards when web site visitors requested a brochure for one of their cars and took a test drive. OfficeMax has given gift cards to customers for items replaced under their extended warranties.
Read more…
Part 3 of my Free Gift Card Guide
Most free gift card offers are facilitated by affiliate advertising networks. Members of these networks are either publishers or merchants. The merchant (affiliate advertiser) designs a banner ad, text copy or other “creative” advertisements for publishers to deploy on their web sites.
Read more…
Part 4 of my Free Gift Card Guide
Some free sites commonly offer free gift cards and free gift certificates to visitors via ads as described above. Free sites or free stuff sites are good at finding and organizing free gift card offers as well as a host of other free offers. One such site is aplusfreestuff.com, a free stuff site described as offering the “highest quality free stuff, samples, contests and coupons.” One pleasantly unique aspect of the A+ Free Stuff site is that there are no pop-ups or banners to coerce visitors, only text links.
Read more…
Part 5 of my Free Gift Card Guide
Doing a little research before beginning an online free gift card sign up process can save the free gift card seeker a great deal of time and frustration. If possible, try to determine the criteria for obtaining the free gift card beforehand. Some free gift card offers, especially the higher dollar amount ones can sound appealing on the surface. It’s quite easy to get excited about the possibility of getting a free gift card from your favorite store. Advertisers know this. But, it can be very disappointing to invest time in completing an online free gift card sign up only to discover that the offers are not desireable or the demands are too high. Read the free gift card offer terms. If the free gift card web site doesn’t answer your questions, consider contacting them to get answers via their email address or contact/help form. Apply for free gift cards from stores that you are familiar with. Finally, follow through and hold the free gift card offerer–not the merchant–accountable for delivering what they promised.
I decided to found an informative free gift card site not long after I stumbled upon an Internet free gift card offer for my favorite coffee shop, Starbucks. The free gift card was valued at $50.00. Being a regular Starbucks fan and former 3 latte per day consumer who was forced to cut spending during difficult financial times, I savored the prospect of receiving a card of this value for free. A free gift card like this would be like cash in my hands. Applying for this free gift card involved choosing to sign up for one of the associated sponsor offers, one of which I was sincerely interested in and did not cost me a penny: Discover Card. Months later, I was excited when I received my free gift card in the mail! Learn more about this free gift card site or check out the free gift card guide that explains how free gift cards work, where to get them, and tips on how to choose the best free gift card offers. Or, jump right in and learn about the workings of specific $25, $50, $100 and even $250 free gift card offers.
Comments