What gift cards topped your shopping list in June? Surprisingly, almost the exact same ones, in the same order as last month – but with a little twist.

Home improvement giants continued to top the list, with Home Depot and Lowe’s ranked at #1 and #2. The secret is out – builders, subcontractors and professional handymen can increase their margins by buying discounted gift cards from Plastic Jungle. Both Home Depot and Lowe’s cards are currently offered at 7% off, immediately shaving costs and adding profit to the bottom line.

And it’s not just skilled experts that enjoyed savings. With June graduations and the Father’s Day holiday, Home Depot and Lowe’s gift cards made terrific gifts for the home improvement hobbyist.

Walmart and Target again ranked #3 and #4 respectively. As one-stop shopping centers, Junglers saved on nearly everything under the sun, including house wares, toys, clothing, electronics, and even groceries. With 3% discounted gift cards stacked on top of Walmart and Target’s already uber-competitive low prices, these cards get swiped up fast, so sign up for a notification alert to get first access.

Best Buy again ranked #5. A great source for computers, video games, televisions, digital cameras, mp3 players, mobile phones & appliances, Best Buy gift cards likely made for some great Father’s Day and Graduation gifts as well.

The next three spots were filled by clothing department stores: Macys (#6), Kohl’s (#7) and JC Penney (#8). Perhaps our Junglers were freshening up their summer wardrobe with new shorts, tanks, sundresses, swimsuits and sandals. All three merchants have darling summer clothing collections on sale now, as they make room for their fall and back-to-school collections.

The Apple Store held spot #9. Our family celebrated the end of school and good report cards with a new iPhone for my daughter, a new iTouch for my son and a new Nano for mama (I deserved a little treat for helping with all the homework and packing lunches all year long, right?!) Apple Store gift cards are quite popular, so be sure to plan ahead and sign up for an email alert when they become available.

Rounding out the Top 10 was Barnes & Noble. (Cabela’s filled this spot in May.) A popular go-to, slam-dunk teacher’s gift is always a Barnes & Noble gift card. Was your child’s teacher the lucky recipient of one of these end-of-the-school-year gifts?

Special Honorary Mention goes out to iTunes, who ranked #6 in quantity (vs. revenue), with a whopping 6,125 cards sold in June. That’s a lot of TV, video, movie, app and music downloads!

These Top 10 gift cards are just the tip of the iceberg (or should we say tip of the palm tree?) Plastic Jungle has  nearly 400 brands, with discounted gift cards offered up to 35% off. Click here to see what hot cards we’ve got up for sale now!

What gift cards topped your shopping list last month?

After being cooped up for a long winter, shoppers were ready to get some fresh air and visit their favorite big-box retail stores. Nearly all of the gift cards in the Top 10 were to superstore chains. And with Cinco de May, Mother’s Day and Memorial Day, there were plenty of holidays to celebrate.

Home Depot and Lowe’s topped the list (#1 and #2 respectively). Perhaps many of you were tackling home improvement projects or shopping ahead for Father’s Day.  Nearly 10,000 Home Depot gift cards were purchased – that’s Jungle-riffic!  Did you paint a nursery?  Re-tile a bathroom?  Build new shelving?  Not only are our Plastic Jungle friends savvy shoppers you are also quite handy!  We’d love to hear your home improvement stories and see pictures of your new-and-improved abodes.

Here’s your Top 10 Most-Wanted list for May:

#1 Home Depot – buy today for 7% off!

#2 Lowe’s – buy today for 7% off!

#3 Walmart – no gift cards currently available but check back soon or get set up on a notification alert. New gift cards are added all the time!

#4 Target – buy today for 3% off!

#5 Best Buy – buy today for 5% off!

#6 Macy’s – no gift cards currently available but check back soon or get set up on a notification alert. New gift cards are added all the time!

#7 Kohl’s – buy today for 15% off!

#8 JC Penney – buy today for 14% off!

#9 Apple Store - no gift cards currently available but check back soon or get set up on a notification alert. New gift cards are added all the time!

#10 Cabela’s – buy today for 10% off!

And check this out – the top six also made an appearance in the May 2010 Top 10 list. Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Macy’s have been solid merchants year-to-year.

What are YOUR favorite gift cards this month? Can you predict who will top the charts in June?

Celebrate your patriotic spirit with Flag Day today! Whether you proudly display the American flag outside your home, sport red, white and blue duds, or become a spectator in your local Flag Day parade, June 14^th is a salute to our Star-Spangled Banner.

At Plastic Jungle, the perfect way to honor our beloved flag is to purchase a discounted gift card from American Eagle Outfitters. Currently offered at a 12% discount, you can stretch your dollar and expand your wardrobe.

Or indulge your inner-foodie with a good ‘ole American meal using a cut-rate gift card to Black Angus (12% off), Boston Market (12% off), Chili’s (11% off), Fleming’s (12% off) or the Yard House (10% off).

And nothing screams Americana like camping! Pitch a tent, cast a fly rod, and roast fluffy marshmallows ‘round the fire. Get everything you need for your outdoor adventure for less with discounted gift cards to Bass Pro Shops (15% off), Big 5 Sporting Goods (10% off) and Coleman (10% off).

A special shout-out goes to our Plastic Jungle friends in Pennsylvania. While Flag Day is not an official federal holiday, in 1937 Pennsylvania became the first (and only) U.S. state to celebrate Flag Day as a state holiday. Enjoy your celebration, Keystone State!

Friday Gift Card Giveaways 2/18/2011

We Junglers are a savvy shopping bunch. We’re also big-time travelers. And eaters… we love to dine out! And just like everyone else, we love a good deal. So what happens when an entire office is constantly trolling the web for the best deals? You get a ton of juicy scoop on the best deals and discounts from a huge spectrum of retailers, airlines, hotel chains, and restaurants.

In fact, if you have a question about any retailer, airline, hotel chain, restaurant chain, it’s a good bet we could come up with an answer for you. Just ask your question in the comments section of the blog, and we’ll get the info to you, or at least start a discussion on the topic. One of the biggest questions we get is “How do I check the balance on my gift card?” The answer is that every retailer is different, but if you check our “Gift Card Balance” blog posts, you’ll find answers for the most traded gift cards on Plastic Jungle, including Walmart, Home Depot, Target, and Gap Brands.

Plus with all that web-hopping, we’re bound to come across a few eye-popping big-ticket sweepstakes and giveaways too good to keep to ourselves.

Here’s our weekly installment of Friday Gift Card Giveaways.

PopSugar’s FreshGuide City Ultimate Sweepstakes: Fashionistas know Rachel Zoe and The Zoe Report for cutting edge style, and you’re in for a taste of that with this sweepstakes win. Win airfare for two, plus three nights in Miami at the very cool Gansevoort Hotel, right in the heart of Miami Beach. The sweepstakes ends March 18, 2011. Be 18 to enter, and see contest rules for details.

If you’re following Rachel Zoe style and need a few new things for spring, check out Plastic Jungle’s discounted Bon-Ton Department Store Gift Cards, discounted Boscov’s Department Store Gift Cards, discounted Claire’s Gift Cards, discounted Macy’s Gift Cards, discounted JCrew Gift Cards and much, much more in the way of style on sale.

And now for something completely different (told you we are a diverse bunch!):

Cabela’s 50 Years, 50 Trucks Sweepstakes:  Celebrating 50 years as The World’s Foremost Outfitter, outdoors retailer Cabela’s is happy to be giving away quite a few of the items that makes them famous. You could win prizes including one of 50 Chevy Trucks, one of 50 $500 Visa Gift Cards, win a walleye fishing trip for two, one of 50 elite rod and reel sets, and much more. You can make Cabela’s purchases to win, but you don’t have to: just submit your name and contact information for a free sweepstakes entry. Giveaway ends December 31, 2011, and you must be 21 years old to enter. See Cabela’s sweepstakes rules for details.

Win one of 50 Chevy Trucks in Cabela's fantastic sweepstakes.

If you can’t wait to get your hands on a new rod and reel, get a discounted Cabela’s Gift Card or eGift Card (eCODE) here on Plastic Jungle. At time of writing, get up to 12% off a Cabela’s Gift Card (eCODE) for use today!

The Classic DVF Wrap Dress for this Spring

Bloomingdale’s Diane von Furstenberg $5000 Giveaway:  Now’s your time to enter to win a $5,000 DVF (Diane von Furstenberg) home and fashion gift pack on Bloomingdales.com. In celebration of launching DVF’s exquisite Home collection at Bloomingdale’s, the two have paired up to give shoppers a chance at winning fashionable DVF merchandise, including a DVF wrap dress, DVF sunglasses, a DVF bedding ensemble, plus DVF shoes, DVF sunglasses and more. This fashion sweepstakes ends March 9, 2011; see Bloomingdale’s DVF Giveaway Rules on the entry form for details.

Discounted Bloomingdale’s Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle  >>

Fashion Mash-up: Check out Rachel Zoe’s interview with Diane von Furstenberg on The Zoe Report.

Wheat Thins Crunch Den College Basketball Tournament Giveaway: About 200,000 people like Wheat Thins on Facebook, and they already know about this fantastic March Madness giveaway! Don’t wait for your chance to win a trip for four to Las Vegas for the April 1-5, 2011 round of NCAA tournament games (during the NCAA Final Four tournament). The prize includes airfare and hotel, and a viewing party of the games from The Palms Hardwood Suite (which should be seen to be believed). Just “like” Wheat Thins on Facebook (log in or sign up to Facebook) to enter. The giveaway ends March 7, 2011 and you must be 21 to enter; see Wheat Thins contest rules for details.

Get a discount on Wheat Thins with discounted Target Gift Cards and discounted Walmart Gift Cards.

We at Plastic Jungle have our eyes and ears open for all kinds of giveaways, but if you know of a good one, we’d love to hear about it!

Happy (hopefully three-day) weekend!