Gift Cards – How to Spend Your Holiday Gift Cards Best
Gift cards are fun to give and even more fun to spend. But are you spending it best? Are you getting the most out of the card you got for the holiday? There are a few tips you can follow to make sure you are getting the most bang for the buck.
Tip # 1 – Do not hang on to your card. Gift cards are meant to be spent – so spend them. Sometimes people hang on to their holiday gift cards or leave them in the greeting card they came in, and never use them. You are doing yourself a serious disservice if you do this. Did you know that some cards decrease in value the longer you hang on to them? If you lose it and find it a year or two later, it may be worth significantly less. Instead of leaving your card in a box or envelope and running the risk of losing it, put it in your wallet so you can spend it right away. This is an especially great tip around the holiday season. As soon as Christmas is over, prices are slashed up to 85{170c5dc430f64c583d5107d62ba05598e67e73b9b6a5f140f81c7d71fdb25fb3}. For the same amount of money, you could get more items during the week after Christmas than you could during the week before. So go ahead and go shopping. Have yourself an "after Christmas shopping spree" and spend it before the new year arrives.
Tip # 2 – Think of your holiday gift card as a "coupon" to the store. Open your thoughts to bigger ticket items as you shop around. Do not limit your shopping experience to items that are priced under the card limit. Allow yourself to be a little more flexible. You can cash in on great deals this way. In other words, if your card is for $ 25, do not limit yourself to only looking at items that are $ 25 or less. By doing this you may be blinding yourself to items that you really like that would only cost a few dollars more. For example, say you have a holiday gift card with a $ 25 limit and you go out shopping after Christmas. You see a great sweater that was originally $ 100 that is now marked down to $ 34.99. If you can afford to put an extra $ 9.99 to it, get the sweater and use your card as a "coupon for $ 25 off". Now you will have a $ 100 sweater that you love, and you only paid $ 9.99 for it. That is a really great deal and you have your gift giver to thank for it.
Tip # 3 – Gift cards are not just for "brick-and-mortar" stores. Sometimes people do not realize that gift cards can be redeemed online as well as in stores. Most big retailers including clothing, toys, electronics, home furnishings, food, and even pet shops have online stores. Many times when things are sold out in the retail stores, they can still be found online. Exclusive after holiday deals can be found online too. So do not think that just because you have a holiday gift card, you have to use it in the store. You do not. You can shop from the comfort of your home, office, mobile phone, or anywhere that has an internet connection. .log And on the Just Suche for a store's website . Chances are, if they have a website, you can use your card online.
Keeping these three short tips in mind will help you get the most out of your holiday gift cards. Remember, they are meant to be spent during the holidays, they can be combined with a little extra cash to get bigger ticket items, and if the retailer has a shopping website, you can use them online too. Have fun and happy shopping.
Ken S., Founder
LowRateSearch
© 2009
