Plastic Jungle Blog

Gift Cards: The New Coupon?

March 17, 2011 | Written by: Michelle

Plastic Jungle in the News

Thanks to consumer news reporter Gregory Karp for his useful outline for how to optimize your savings from discount gift cards.

Karp’s “Spending Smart” column reaches more than 6 million readers of Tribune Co. newspapers, including The Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun, in addition to a multitude of web outlets. Karp won the first-ever best-column award in 2006 from the Society of Business Editors and Writers.

In his recent Chicago Tribune article ”Use a Gift Card to Swipe Some Savings”, Karp says gift cards, bought at a discount right here at Plastic Jungle and other sites, are the new way to find discounts at favorite merchants.

Used to be, you’d get the Sunday paper, stacked with ads, and you might be inclined to pour through all the pages, flipping or keeping the coupons relevant to your life. Maybe they’d be a stretch — you don’t really like that brand but for $1 off, you’d switch.

Well, no one is asking you to compromise anymore.

Now, the smart shopper’s strategy is to take that coupon-finding time online into finding and purchasing relevant discount gift cards. (And, at the same time, she can check merchants’ sales nationally and locally.) Here at Plastic Jungle, you can purchase with confidence because every transaction is guaranteed.

The website Gift Card Granny, a discount gift-card aggregator, is challenging one of its fans to live entirely off of gift cards for one month.

“With discounted gift cards, I can continue to live the way we already enjoy and get an average of 10 percent off everything,” said Ashley Grimaldo, 31, a mother of two in Bryan, Texas. Grimaldo pledged to live off only discounted gift cards for a month. She figures she’ll save $150 to $200, compared with spending cash. “It’s a pretty good return for not much work,” she said.

Karp also quotes Luke Knowles, founder of GiftCardGranny.com, who estimates that a consumer regularly using discounted gift cards could save $2,000 a year.

Karp goes on to outline the best ways to optimize discount gift cards – so if you’re looking for gift card ideas, check out the article, then come back to Plastic Jungle and see how you can make the most of it. You could save up to 35% off the retail value of a merchant’s gift card: save on movies, flowers, donuts, clothing, housewares, restaurants and more.

Hot Discounted Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle Right Now (hurry! supplies limited):

Kohl's Get Kohl’s Gift Cards at up to 11% off >>>