Trade your unwanted gift cards
If you have a stash of unwanted gift cards, here’s away to possibly deal with them: Take them to certain Target stores to trade them for aTarget gift card, which you can use to shop at its store orTarget.com.
The idea is that you’d make the trade at the “TargetTech” kiosk in the electronics department at participatingTarget stores, includingGreenacres (5900 LakeWorth Road, 561-963-3382), Delray Beach (1200 Linton Blvd., 561-265-3500), Deerfield Beach (3599W. Hillsboro Blvd., 954-333-5214) and Hollywood (Hollywood Mall, 954-963-1200).
The designatedTarget Tech person “will assess your gift card and provide youwith a quoted value. If you accept, you’ll receive a Target GiftCard in the amount of the quoted value,” according toTargetTrade-in.com. More than 150 types of gift cards appear to be candidates for trades including those for Best Buy, Bed Bath& Beyond, Dillards, L.L. Bean, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Petco, PetSmart, Sam’s Club, Starbucks, Toys “R” Us andWalmart, according toTargettrade-in.com, though it’s possible your store’s listmay vary.
Don’t expect to get face value for your trade, Iwas warned. Popular gift cards — likeWalmart’s— trade at higher value than, say, Pottery Barn’s. Some aren’t accepted at all, as in the case ofmy Ross Dress for Less gift card.
Before you make a trip to Target, you might check tradingwebsites likeCardpool.com and GiftCardGranny.comto get a sense of what your gift card is worth and possibly go that route instead. Examples: If you sold a $50 Best Buy gift card directly to Cardpool.com, you’d get a $44.75 check or $47.44 to use instantly at Amazon.com. For a $50 Pottery Barn gift card, Cardpool.comoffers a $41.25 instant check or $43.73 credit to use at Amazon.
Cellphone service for $1: VirginMobile through July 31 is offering one year of cellphone service for a buck. The deal requires buying an iPhone and using Sprint as your carrier (get details atVirginMobileUSA.com). The “Inner Circle plan,” as it’s called, includesVirgin-related perks such as 20 percent discounts onVirgin America flights. Another is a free companion ticket when buying a round-tripVirgin Atlantic ticket to theU.K. “Virgin is essentially betting on the fact that customers will stick aroundwhen the regular plan pricing of $50 per month (which requires AutoPay) later kicks in,” TechCrunch.comreports.
Meanwhile, Sprint has extended through July 31 its deal offering new customers free cellphone service for one year. Read details at sprint.com/1yearfree.
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