And so goes another month… bring on those May flowers already! Plenty for you to win today, including a trip for two to Tahiti WITH spending money, a fantastic Beauty and a just-in-time fashion giveaway, plus a huge tip on how to be the first one to scoop up the discounted gift card of your choice.

Win $200 in Flowers from 1-800 Flowers – It may not be just in time for Mothers Day, but enter to win $200 in May flowers in celebration of Mother’s Day. Win two Enchanting Tulips Bouquets (vase included) from 1-800-Flowers.com – one for you & one for the recipient of your choice (each valued at $99.99). Click here to see the Enchanting Tulip Bouquet from 1-800 Flowers. To enter, join Coupon Mountain on Facebook, or browse the 1-800 -Flowers deals page & website and answer the following questions in the comments section of the blog post/entry page: In your opinion, what 1-800-Flowers bouquet is the perfect Mother’s Day gift? Everyone who comments will be placed into a random drawing. The contest will end on May 4, 2011; see contest rules on the entry page.

Check Plastic Jungle for discounted 1-800 Flowers Gift Cards now   >>>

Bloomingdale’s Back to Basics Sweepstakes – Have you checked into Bloomingdale’s lately? Here’s your last chance to enter their giveaway, which includes 10 perfectly chosen wardrobe basics from Diane von Furstenburg, James Perse, Citizens of Humanity and more, in your size (worth about $1,600) to get you outfitted. Or click on the Bloomingdale’s SALE banner also on the home page, to get the latest in Women’s, Men’s, Children’s, and more goods on sale (and with a discounted Bloomie’s Gift Card from Plastic Jungle, you’ll increase your savings). Sweepstakes ends May 1, 2011; check the Bloomingdale’s sweepstakes rules for details.

Get a discounted Bloomingdale’s Gift Card now   >>>

Chicken of the Sea Funniest Kids’ Quotes Contest – Win big for the family. Log into Facebook, and look up Chicken of the Sea (or use our link, above). Write up that funny quote from your kids that you repeat to friends making them howl with laughter, because  Chicken of the Sea is giving away a trip to a Disney park for the winning quote, plus runners-up will get $1,000 and $500 respectively. Even better, every Friday during the contest features a random drawing for a Chicken of the Sea prize pack. To enter, submit your short essay on the Facebook entry page of the funny comment or question by June 6 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. Starting June 7 at 9 a.m. PDT, get ready to tell all your friends to vote for your funny story once a day because the entries with the most votes will win! Voting ends June 28, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. See Funniest Kids’ Quotes Contest official rules for details.

Get Chicken of the Sea with a discounted Target or discounted Walmart Gift Card now   >>>

Win $300 of Bobbi Brown Makeup – Just let Bobbi Brown in on your beauty secret and you could be chosen (randomly) as one of five winners of a $300+ Bobbi Brown prize pack: Bobbi’s Best Sellers Beauty Kit. Contest ends May 14, 2011; see contest rules for details.

WAIT There are more Bobbi Brown Giveaways — On Tuesday, May 3, 2011, between 12:01 AM to 11:59 PM EST, you could WIN Bobbi’s Secret Gift Bag in a Tweetstakes. Follow @AskBobbiBrown on Twitter and tweet a response to the prompt with the hashtag #BobbisSecret. Four winners will be chosen at random; check the contest rules for details.

Save on Bobbi Brown with a discounted Macy’s or discounted Nordstrom Gift Card now   >>>

Win a Trip to the Billabong Pro in Tahiti – You may not surf, but you may be looking for a free getaway or free honeymoon in Tahiti, or what the heck, both! Here’s your chance. There are FIVE of the grand prizes to be given away: a trip for TWO to Tahiti (to see the Billabong Pro surfing contest) plus $750 spending money. And just for good measure, the folks at Monster Energy drink are also sponsoring 100 of the 1^st Prizes: a cool Billabong backpack. Sweepstakes ends June 30, 2011; see the Monster Energy giveaway’s official rules on the entry page for details.

Get to Tahiti or plan your honeymoon without winning: Get a discounted American Airlines, discounted US Airways, discounted United Airlines, or discounted Southwest Airlines Gift Card now   >>>

DID YOU KNOW?

Set up a free account with Plastic Jungle (no financial account information required), and then you can set up email notifications for your favorite restaurants or merchants: you’ll be emailed when discounted gift cards or eCODEs from any one of our over 400 merchants come into stock on the site. So, even if there are no discounted United Airlines gift cards available right now, as soon as they come in, you’ll be the first to know!

Enjoy this last weekend of Spring showers and let’s welcome May in with a win! Good luck, and don’t forget to tell us what your favorite sweepstakes are. Perhaps I can respond with more giveaways in your interests.

How soon can Spring Break start? Well, if you’ve got a few weeks like I do, take a minute’s break to enter April’s giveaways and sweepstakes from around the web.

Dial for Men 30 Days of Dirt – Dial for Men has plenty of prizes to give away, including $50 Gift Cards, riding lawnmowers, and dirt bikes, when you enter their sweepstakes through April 20, 2011. Just go to their Facebook page and “Like” Dial for Men to gain access to the entry page. See the sweepstakes official rules for details. Then, use this handy $1.00 OFF coupon for Dial for Men along with a discounted Walmart Gift Card from Plastic Jungle and watch your savings pile up.

$250 Old Navy Gift Card Giveaway – My Wee View is giving away a free $250 Old Navy Gift Card. Just visit Old Navy online and make a comment back at MyWeeView.com on what you would like to get for your family. Get bonus entries by using Facebook and Google Connect. Hurry! Sweepstakes ends on April 15^th, 2011. Can’t wait to get a deal at Old Navy? Purchase discounted Old Navy Gift Cards and Old Navy eGift Cards (at time of writing up to 12% OFF) right now on Plastic Jungle.

Wilton Easter Prize Pack Giveaway – Here’s a quick one: the blog Two of a Kind Working on a Full House has regular giveaways, and this weekend take a second to check out the Wilton baking website then enter the Two of a Kind drawing to win the cute baking prize pack. While on Two of a Kind, see their many other sweepstakes, where you could win Tangled DVDs, mini-roller coasters, fishtanks, and more! The Wilton baking prize-pack contest ends on April 11, 2011.

ReadyMade and Wüstof Slice It & Dice It Sweepstakes – Do-it-yourself mag ReadyMade and the knife experts at Wustof want to put a knife in your hands. Win one of five top-quality Wustof knife sets when you enter your information for the drawing, which ends May 22, 2011. Check official rules for details.

Can’t wait to get a set of Wustof or Henkels or anything else for your kitchen? If you’ve been saving up and are that close, a discounted Williams-Sonoma Gift Card or eGift Card from Plastic Jungle might just make those perfect kitchen utensils within your budget!

Chiquita’s Make Your Way to Rio Sweepstakes – The Grand Prize in this Chiquita giveaway is a trip for four to Rio de Janeiro, and there are so many other prizes to win it’s hard to list them, including Xbox consoles, T-shirts, books, iTunes Gift Cards, Best Buy Gift Cards, and they’re even giving away bananas and avocados. Sweepstakes ends May 31, 2011; check official rules for details. Actually, Chiquita has a new snack, called Chiquita Duos and you can get a 2-for-1 Chiquita Duos coupon right here.

If you have a sweepstakes or giveaway, don’t hesitate to contact us at blog@plasticjungle.com; we’re happy to post it here.

Enjoy a lovely April weekend, and if you have stress about travel, keep an eye on the Plastic Jungle blog for tips and ideas to make your Spring Break more of a break than a working vacation!

In case you’re wondering, Yes! We at Plastic Jungle hear your feedback and work to improve the site every day.

We’ve got some new website enhancements to help you come to a quick decision about which gift card will be the one for you.

Who will have the best discount?

Sort Your Gift Card Searches

Now, after you perform a search for a card, say you choose a category from the pull-down menu on the left, you can search for the biggest discount by clicking on the “Discount” heading. Automatically, the cards with the biggest discounts, no matter which merchant they come from, are listed at the top of the page.

Alternately, you can adjust how the results appear by toggling the “Merchant” heading to see the merchants in a-z order or z-a order, or by Gift Card “Value”, “Discount”, or purchase “Price”.

Each merchant’s page, displaying which gift cards are available for purchase, now also has that functionality, and you can sort cards by price, discount, or value.

• Price is the cost of the gift card. Remember, what you see is what you get. Plastic Jungle does not charge shipping or handling fees.
• Discount is the percentage off you’ll receive from the full value of the gift card.
• Value is the full value of the gift card.

If you’re wondering what the BEST DEAL on Plastic Jungle is at any point in time, go ahead and click the  button. Then sort by discount (arrow up) and the most discounted cards will come to the top of the list.

Finding an eCODE – a Discounted Electronic Gift Card – Is Now Much Easier

Right from the Plastic Jungle home page, you can click through to see what stores are offering eCODES at the moment.

Just look for the following link, right below the    button on the Plastic Jungle home page:

View All Electronic Gift Cards 

With eCODEs you can take advantage of online savings opportunities right away: as soon as your payment is processed, the eCODE is emailed to you.  You can pay for items in your online cart at the selected merchant AND possibly still use valid discounts or free shipping codes.

When you purchase eCODEs on Plastic Jungle, it will be sent to the email address you registered in your Plastic Jungle account. Please add customerservice@plasticjungle.com to your email address book to ensure delivery. Shop with the card on the merchant’s website, just like you would use a regular gift card.

What update would you like to see on Plastic Jungle? How can we make your experience buying gift cards, exchanging gift cards, and donating gift cards easier and more fun?  Let us know at blog@plasticjungle.com

BY THE WAY:  ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT to enter Plastic Jungle’s Spring Cleaning Sweepstakes. Sell a gift card on the site to WIN!!

Step by step, a Plastic Jungle fan shows you how to save $100s by combining discounted gift cards, coupons, and rebates.

It is fair to say that most households have wish lists. From house to house, these lists can be as diverse as the inhabitants. You could be pining for fresh electronics (new TV or gaming system), or home improvements or furniture, or maybe a special accessory, such as a pricey designer purse or a pair of shoes. Often, wish lists develop when you move into a new space, as our Plastic Jungle fan, Marcy B., relates.

In her letter, Marcy B. outlines how she went about saving big on renovating her window treatments in her new home. She explains that it wasn’t a matter of combing the Internet, or paging through Val-Pak coupons, but a matter of patience and a small amount of planning.

Thanks to marketing and promotions, all shoppers get the idea that we could save big, but jumping the hurdle to map out the steps can be a stumbling block.

Her letter explains her simple process, step-by-step:

You are welcome, Marcy! : )

Marcy's Living Room Before the New Blinds

Marcy's home with her new blinds. Success at a discount!

As it turns out, Marcy is also a guest contributor for a parenting site: MamaModerne.com, and she wrote up her story as an article, “Saving Big on Big Purchases”. Check it out for more details on how to save when it comes time to pull out that wishlist.

What’s on your wishlist?

Consider the following categories. When you’re dealing with a wishlist, it’s OK to be greedy. Writing out what you want might help you prioritize your wants and needs. (Well, that sounds like another blog post!)

Consumer Electronics: get gift cards from Best Buy, Kohl’s, Target, Walmart, Sony Style, Apple Store, Office Depot, Staples, JCPenney

Home Improvement: get gift cards from Home Depot, Lowe’s, Ace Hardware, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target, Bloomingdale’s

Furniture: get gift cards from Crate & Barrel, Williams-Sonoma Home, JCPenney, Macy’s, Walmart, west elm, CB2

Designer Apparel & Accessories: Zappo’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Bergdorf-Goodman, Tiffany & Co., Burberry, Coach

Pick up any of the above gift cards on Plastic Jungle’s Buy Gift Cards page.

Get thinking, and let us know if you’ve got any strategies for saving with discount gift cards.

February saw the Superbowl, the Oscars, Valentine’s Day, and Presidents’ Day all packed into a few short weeks. Plus, a few frozen moments across the country kept shoppers inside and online, no doubt.

Many of the usual favorite gift cards showed up in February’s Top Ten, plus a very conspicuous hanger-on at #11, giving hope to all girlfriends, wives, and mothers out there for something a little more than a card.

I’m thinking the bridal business might be busy this year, because TIFFANY & CO came in at #11 on the sales chart. (Right now, there are no discounted Tiffany & Co gift cards for sale on Plastic Jungle. You can set a Tiffany & Co alert to be notified via email when gift cards become available.)

Where did lingerie retailer VICTORIA’S SECRET land during the month for love? Still in the top 50, at #28, but well behind #9, CABELA’S.

10 JCPENNEY

Purchase discount JCPenney Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle, currently at up to 14% Off.

9 CABELA’S

Purchase discount Cabela’s Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle, currently up to 12% off.

8 BARNES & NOBLE

Purchase discount Barnes & Noble Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle, currently at up to 9% Off.

7 KOHL’S

Purchase discount Kohl’s Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle, currently at up to 14% Off.

6 MACY’S

Purchase discount Macy’s Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle — when they come into stock. Set an Alert Now.

5 LOWE’S

Purchase discount Lowe’s Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle, currently at up to 7% Off.

4 WALMART

Purchase discount Walmart Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle, currently at up to 3% Off.

3 BEST BUY

Purchase discount Best Buy Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle, currently at up to 6% Off.

2 TARGET

Purchase discount Target Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle, currently at up to 3% Off.

1 HOME DEPOT

Purchase discount Home Depot Gift Cards on Plastic Jungle, currently at up to 7% Off.

Ready to ditch your unused gift card and trade up to one of the favorites? You can safely and securely SELL your gift card on Plastic Jungle, with many different payout options.

What’s your favorite gift card of the moment? Something to get ready for spring — sporting goods or travel? Let us know in the comments below.

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):

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

Get 1800Flowers Gift Cards at up to 35% off   >>>

Get Dunkin Donuts Gift Cards at up to 10% off >>>

Get Fandango Gift Cards at up to 30% off        >>>

Get Cabela’s Gift Cards at up to 10% off          >>>

Get Walmart Gift Cards at up to 3% off         >>>

See All Discounted Gift Cards and eCODES Available Right Now on Plastic Jungle   >>>

What are your ideas when it comes to discounted gift cards? Do you have any shopping shortcuts to share? Let us know with your comments!

The Academy Awards are this weekend! The Official Red Carpet coverage starts on ABC channels at 7 pm on the East Coast/4 pm on the West Coast, then the Academy Awards show starts at 8 pm EST/5 pm PST. For more information go to Oscar.com.

Here’s info to tune into the myriad pre-shows that dish on designers, celebrities, and movie stars:

• E! Online has red carpet coverage beginning at 6 pm EST/3 pm PST.
• The MTV Movies blog will have live online streaming from 6 pm to 8 pm EST.
• CNN’s Showbiz Tonight will have “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Camille Grammer as a fashion and celebrity commentator; their live coverage is at 7 pm EST, then wrap-up coverage is at 11 pm EST on HLN.
• For the real down-low and what they were wearing, E!’s Fashion Police, with Red Carpet veteran quick-wit Joan Rivers will likely air on Monday… can’t find a specific airdate, but look for it on E!

Here’s a quick link to the complete list of Academy Awards Nominees for your Oscar Pool. If you could cast your vote for the Oscars – how would you go? I pick The Social Network for the Best Picture win. Why? Because it’s the only Oscar-nominated movie to pass my litmus test: my brother saw it!

Get Discounts on Movie Tickets, Concessions, and DVD & Blu-Ray Discs

Getting to see the Oscar-nominated movies might get expensive. Discounted gift cards to theaters, media retailers, and restaurants take the sting out of what could be a pricey proposition. Here are some gift card ideas from Plastic Jungle based on what’s on sale right now (at time of writing) on the site.

|   | |

• Straight-up, purchase discounted gift cards to theaters or movie chains. Right now, cinema gift cards and theater gift cards on sale include:
• AMC Theatres Gift Cards |  Cinema De Lux Gift Cards |  Landmark Theatres Gift Cards |  Loew’s Theaters Gift Cards |  Regal Cinema Gift Cards (also good at United Artists Theatres and Edwards Cinemas )
• Choose Fandango Gift Cards for flexibility as to which theater or movie chain you can use them at, and Fandango Gift Cards are sold as eCODEs too so you can potentially use them the same day you buy them. Recipients must have Internet access to redeem Fandango Bucks; to see if you can use them locally, enter your zip code on the Fandango home page.
• 
• For movies that have left the theaters (or those foreign ones that may have never played near you but critics tell you not to miss), go for a media store gift card. Right now, Plastic Jungle has FYE Gift Cards (and eCODES) |  Hollywood Video Gift Cards |  Barnes & Noble Gift Cards |  Best Buy Gift Cards | Border’s Gift Cards (at a 14% discount, but use it fast!) | iTunes Gift Cards. Consider even Walmart Gift Cards and Target Gift Cards, where you can buy an inexpensive DVD player and watch movies on your lunch breaks!
• Get an Amazon.com Gift Card when you trade in one of your unused gift cards in exchange, here on Plastic Jungle!
• 
• Post-Movie Discussion: In “The King’s Speech”, didn’t Geoffery Rush just break your heart when the King berated him for having no credentials? How bizarre, on a scale of 1-10, did Natalie Portman seem to you in “The Black Swan”? Was Jesse Eisenberg’s character in “The Social Network” a mean guy, or just another motivated capitalist winning at any cost? The cup of coffee after the movie might be just as important as the movie itself. Get discounts on Starbuck’s Gift Cards | Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Gift Cards | Applebee’s Gift Cards | Cold Stone Creamery Gift Cards | The Cheesecake Factory Gift Cards.
  

  Mark Zuckerberg meets Jesse Eisenberg on Saturday Night Live

View the Video: Samberg, Zuckerberg and Eisenberg on SNL 2/19/11

Enjoy the movie fun this weekend! Let us know how your Oscar Picks came out, and who you thought didn’t win, but deserved it.

Saving money is not always easy. Many of us have to weigh a cost of time : benefit ratio. It’s got to be simple, foolproof, and secure. We do our best to make the gift card-swap process as easy as it can be. Plus, Plastic Jungle offers a few ways to redeem your gift card. You can exchange your unused gift card for an Amazon.com Gift Card; for cold, hard cash; to fund a PayPal account; and you can even exchange your gift card for Facebook Credits.

More stores are taking PayPal as a method of payment on their websites. For example, the Abercrombie & Fitch network of clothing stores that also includes Hollister Co., and Gilly Hicks. While you can’t use the same gift card to pay at all three sites, you can use a PayPal account as payment at checkout at each of these stores. It becomes really efficient to exchange a gift card for instant PayPal account funding on Plastic Jungle and check out at Hollister in the same day you make the gift card swap.

Other online merchants who accept PayPal as payment include: Sears, Walmart, Best Buy, eBay, newegg.com, Delta Airlines, 1800Flowers.com, Zappos and many more. The PayPal Store Directory will give you a complete list of retailers who accept PayPal for payment.

Check the Plastic Jungle “Sell Gift Cards” page to see what the exchange value will be for your unused gift card.

Plastic Jungle’s Top 10 Gift Cards for January 2011 (in reverse order)

10. iTunes (down from #4 in December)

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted iTunes Gift Cards >>

9. Nordstrom

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Nordstrom Gift Cards >>

8. Kohl’s

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Kohl’s Gift Cards >>

7. Apple Store

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Apple Store Gift Cards >>

6. Macy’s (down from #2 in December)

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Macy’s Gift Cards >>

5. Best Buy (up from #9 in December)

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Best Buy Gift Cards Now

4. Lowe’s (up from #10 in December)

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Lowe’s Gift Cards >>

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Target Gift Cards >>

2. Home Depot (up from #5 in December)

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Home Depot Gift Cards >>

Check Plastic Jungle for Discounted Walmart Gift Cards >>

View gift cards you loved in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, Fall 2010, and December 2010.

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!

February 4, 2011 Getting a good deal is top priority at Plastic Jungle, both for us and, of course, for our customers. When we find something good, we have to pass it on!

Every Friday we share our sweepstakes and gift card giveaway finds with you. There are many more giveaways posted in earlier Friday Giveaways listings still open to enter: just go to the Give Card Giveaways category in the right-hand menu and check out posts from 2011 – there are many sweepstakes and giveaways that are still open.

Our latest sweep of online sweepstakes and gift card giveaways is definitely relevant for the romantic and wintry month of February. Let’s get to it:

Victoria’s Secret Love Me, Make Me, Send Me is a giveaway with a chance to win a $250 Victoria’s Secret Gift Card or a romantic getaway to Napa Valley. It’s a fun way to enter a sweepstakes: create and send a Victoria’s Secret Valentine’s Day eCard. After you send the Victoria’s Secret eCard, you will have the opportunity to enter the sweepstakes. No purchase necessary; contest ends 2/14/11; check Victoria’s Secret’s Love Me, Make Me, Send Me official rules for details.

Photo taken with a GoPro Camera

GoPro: One Person Wins Everything We Make. Daily. Sweepstakes If you’re into filming crazy stuff, say extreme sports, extreme kids, or you’re just looking for an amazing camera that can mount just about anywhere (surf board? helmet? car hood?), check out GoPro’s hot Hero camera. This is next-gen video recording at its affordable best – and you can win it. Ends 1/18/12; check out official rules for details.

>>>Get a GoPro camera at Best Buy (get a discount with a Best Buy Gift Card from Plastic Jungle)

>>>Get a GoPro camera at Amazon.com (trade in an unused gift card and get an Amazon.com Gift Card).

100 Sunny Days Facebook Contest: Win A Prize A Day Giveaway SunnyD really will stand for “Sunny Day” if you win one of their daily drawings. This is a giveaway you can enter to win a prize a day (for 100 days, starting on January 29, 2011), on Facebook or outside of Facebook. You’ll need a code which you get on SunnyD products, or to receive a free code, go to the site and click “Need a code? Click here.” and follow the directions to enter. Prizes include: iPods+iTunes Gift Cards, flat screen TVs, YMCA memberships, Nintendo Wii gaming consoles, $10,000 CASH! Wow. Contest ends May 7, 2011; check official rules (see link on the page) for details.

>>>Get SunnyD at Target or Walmart with discounted gift cards from Plastic Jungle.

If you’re looking forward to a proposal on Valentine’s Day, it works in your favor that February is National Wedding Month (according to the National Association of Bridal Consultants). Honeymoon and Romantic Getaways Blogger Susan Breslow Sardone (Honeymoons.About.com) shares information on the hottest honeymoon destinations and the most amazing Getaway Giveaways with four pages of contests you can enter to win and more. It might be a surer way to get to your honeymoon destination by biting the bullet and buying a ticket: you can get discounted American Airlines gift cards and  discounted JetBlue gift cards. Right now on Plastic Jungle is a (ONE!) discounted Four Seasons Resort Gift Card available at 10% off face value. Act fast to snap it up.

Skimp.org’s page of Giveaways has tons of gift card giveaways and gift card sweepstakes for you to enter by following them on Twitter and retweeting the prize you want. Right now in separate giveaways, win a Walmart Gift Card, a Best Buy Gift Card, a Target Gift Card, Cheesecake Factory Gift Card and much more, including iPod Shuffles, iPads and an iPhone 4! You win when they get to their desired number of Tweets for the prize – the more you enter, the faster they get to giving away the prizes. Fun idea, plus Skimp.org collects and posts tons of hot coupons for everything from CafePress to Coach, so for deal lovers like us, it’s a good pit-stop before any online shopping venture.

If you’ve got a gift card and you need to check the balance, you can easily look up our “How to Check Balance” posts — just click on the category in our blog listing (on the right-hand side of the site page). Usually, you can find gift card balances by calling the number on the back of the card, or going to the merchant’s website and searching “Gift Card”.

Have you won anything yet? Definitely let us know what you win – and feel free to comment below on which sweepstakes and giveaways are your favorites.