Did you know that 10% of all holiday gift cards end up unused, devalued, or misplaced?
I know that my husband has never used a particular gift card he received. Between my husband and others like him, $8 billion dollars are lost each year.
Finally, there's a simple solution for managing all of the gift cards that you give or receive, plus info for trading or swapping gift cards to use them at different stores...
If you find that you have trouble managing your gift cards, you might want to visit Leverage.
Leverage was developed to reduce the hassles involved with keeping track of all your gift cards, as well as your loyalty and reward programs.
This free service allows you to start an account then purchase gift cards from retailers, earn interest on gift cards you register with the site, and swap gift cards. In addition, a Leverage account also allows you to manage your gift card balances and frequent flyer miles, as well as receive offers that interest you. All of this is done through a "virtual wallet" on the website.
Why I Like It
Basically, Leverage promises to save you money by helping you keep track of the gift cards you have purchased. Plus, Leverage protects you in case you lose a gift card, as that card information is always available to you.
Another bonus: If you buy a gift card for someone, you will know if they've used it yet or not -- which means that you can remind them of any unused balance.
I have to say, the ability to take gift cards that have been given to you and to manage them online (or even swap them online!) is priceless, as most people who don't use gift cards would use them if the card paid for an item that they actually wanted. (Another similar program is Plastic Jungle which will pay you up to 75 cents on the dollar for unused gift cards.)
Who Knew?!
Percentage of Americans who have at least one unused gift card: 49%
Average number of cards those people have: 3.7
Source: Deloitte (as printed in Money magazine, August 2008)
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Percentage of Americans who have at least one unused gift card: 49%
Average number of cards those people have: 3.7
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