If you’re looking for a gift that will cover just about any restaurant whim of the recipient, you might want to check into Darden Restaurants Gift Cards. Darden Restaurants Gift Cards can be redeemed at any Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, or any other Darden restaurant in the US.

So, you can use an Olive Garden Gift Card at any Olive Garden restaurant, or any of the above-mentioned restaurants. They are interchangeable.

With graduation coming up, restaurant gift cards make a great gift, or a great way to send out the group for a meal after the graduation ceremony as a treat on you. There are over 1,700 Darden restaurants across the US, and the Olive Garden has over 650 locations around America. Check the online Olive Garden restaurant locator to find one near you.

Looking for a discounted Darden Restaurant Gift Card?

Darden Restaurants-branded Gift Cards  >> |   Olive Garden Gift Cards  >> |   Red Lobster Gift Cards  >> |   LongHorn Steakhouse Gift Cards  >> |  Bahama Breeze Gift Cards  >> |   Seasons 52 Gift Cards  >>

Remember, if your desired Darden Restaurant Gift Card is not available, you can purchase one from another Darden Restaurant and use it interchangeably. Note that Canadian and US Olive Garden gift cards are not interchangeable. At present, the Olive Garden and Darden Restaurants do not offer eGift Cards. For the latest on terms and conditions on Darden Restaurant Gift Cards, see their Gift Card FAQ page, or call their Gift Card Customer Service number: 800-642-7336, Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern.

Check the Balance on Your Olive Garden Gift Card or Olive Garden eGift Cards

Online: Check the balance on your Olive Garden Gift Card online.

Phone: Call 877-230-4120

In Person: Go to any Darden Restaurant (Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52) and ask the host to help you. Find any Darden Restaurant.

Sell Your Gift Card

Once you know your balance, you can sell or trade your gift card securely on Plastic Jungle. At Plastic Jungle, you can trade any unused gift card for cash, or an Amazon.com Gift Card, or use it to donate the funds to charity (Gift Cards for Good—look for the green ribbon at checkout), or even fund a PayPal account.

To know how much your gift card is worth in exchange on Plastic Jungle, on the main page, click “Sell Gift Cards” at the top of the page. Look up the store and enter the gift card balance you’ve just acquired. You’ll see instantly what your gift card balance is worth in cash or trade.

Check other Plastic Jungle blog posts for the same “Check Your Gift Card Balance” information for other stores, including Sears, Land’s End, Macy’s, Best Buy, Lowe’s, and more.

It’s Deal Time! As the web’s largest secured gift card exchange, Plastic Jungle gives shoppers choice and flexibility with funds they’ve got trapped on gift cards. If you’d like to sell your gift card, take a look at all the safe and quick options Plastic Jungle offers. See your options when you Sell or Swap gift cards on Plastic Jungle now >>>

Now, let’s take a look at only a few of the key discounted cards for sale on Plastic Jungle (at time of writing — hurry, supplies are limited!):

American Eagle Outfitters – discounts up to 14% off.

FYE — discounts up to 17% off. FYE is a music & movie retailer.

JCPenney – discounts up to 14% off with eCODEs available too – save on purchases today!

Olive Garden – discounts up to 10% off — also good at may also be used at any Red Lobster, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze or any other Darden restaurant.

Starbucks — discounts up to 9% off

AMC Theatres — discounts up to 16% off

Go to a complete listing of discounted gift cards for sale right now on Plastic Jungle >>>

Friday Gift Card Giveaways & Sweepstakes

This week we take you to the savings blogs. Coupon-cutting has entered the modern age and the best way to find elusive deals is to troll the savings blogs. You’ll find one for every segment, from technology geeks to mommies to fashionistas, and I’ll bet every one of us falls into each of those segments at least once a day.

MyBargainBuddy.com – Enter to win a $50 Kohl’s Gift Card. Just submit your info (no Byzantine follows or reports required) and let Karen know whether or not you want her email newsletter on retail bargains up to 90% off. Drawing to take place on 3/1/11; see details on the MyBargainBuddy.com giveaway page.

CouponingFor4.com – Enter to win one of 10 $10 Amazon Gift Certificates. You are eligible to win one of five by leaving a comment on the Giveaway blog post. To be eligible for one of the other five, become a Facebook fan of CouponingFor4.com. See the Giveaway blog post for details; drawing takes place 3/2/11 at about 10 pm CST.

TechBargains.com – Enter to win an iPad. Well, it’s not a gift card or an egift card, but we didn’t think you’d mind winning an iPad with 32GB and WiFi + 3G – a $729 value. To enter, subscribe to the new TechBargains YouTube Channel, or become a fan of TechBargains on Facebook. The last day to enter the contest is 2/28 and the winner will be announced on the site shortly after; for details see TechBargains’ iPad Giveaway contest rules. Be sure to share the giveaway link with your friends because we’re going to ask the winner how they heard about the giveaway and the site. If they name you, then you’ll win a $100 American Express gift card.

PassionforSavings.com – Enter to win a $50 Amazon.com Gift Card. Entering is easy, Just sign up for Free Email Updates or Subscribe to the Passion for Savings RSS Feed. You can also follow on Facebook or Twitter. Each method gets you one entry into the giveaway. The winner will be selected at the end of the month. See giveaway page for details.

WellHeeledBlog.com – Enter to win a $100 Amazon.com Gift Card. This site about personal finance and savvy living is handing out a $100 Amazon.com Gift Card thanks to MrRebates.com. It’s complicated, so visit the Well Heeled Blog giveaway page for details and info on both informative sites. Deadline is Wednesday March 3 at midnight PST.

Won anything yet? Let us know… and let us know: Would you rather enter a big sweepstakes with thousands of entries or little giveaways where your chances are better, but the prizes are smaller?

Have a great weekend — shop away!