With gas prices at record highs, consumers are stretched and are finding various ways to save on gas. One way small businesses can show appreciation to their customers is to offer a free gas gift card for qualified purchases.

Apart from the obvious benefit of increased sales, consumers will instantly connect with the offer. I know personally that even a free $30 gas card will make a difference to my gas bill.

One key point to keep in mind is to make the qualifying criteria easy to understand. For example, you can set your qualified purchases as every $200 in purchases gets a free $25 gift card, at the register. No forms to fill out, or no rebate forms to mail in. You are more likely to attract more customers if there is instant gratification with the offer.

Kroger, one of the largest grocery chains in the U.S. sells its own brand name gift card called ‘The Kroger Family of Stores Gift Card.’ The gift card is redeemable at any Kroger family store for store merchandise (except for money orders, lottery tickets, stamps, hunting/fishing licenses and Western Union). The Kroger gift card can be reloaded for up to 90 days and does not expire as long as there is value on the card.

I highly recommend the Kroger gift card due to the variety of stores that accept the card.

Below is a list of Kroger Family of Stores that accept the Kroger Gift Card. For a list of other gift cards sold at Kroger, click here.

Kroger
Ralphs
Fred Meyer
Food 4 Less (stores in So. CA, NV, IN and IL only)
King Soopers
Smith’s
Fry’s and Fry’s Marketplace
Dillons
QFC
City Market
Bakers
Cala Bell Read the rest of this entry »

Getting a mother’s day gift can sometimes be challenging. Many times, you are not sure what to get. The usual suspects - flowers, dining out, chocolates, cards, and chore tickets are probably overused. This year, you can try something new by giving a gift card. Yes, a gift card!

Your immediate reaction probably is: “gift cards are impersonal.” Well, they are impersonal if you make them. With some preparation and creative packaging, gift cards can be presented with the usual element of surprise. They also make a perfect mother’s day gift because they take the guesswork out of giving and provide the recipient a chance to get what they want.

Before you pick a gift card Read the rest of this entry »

If you are reading this, you are either in trouble with your wife/girlfriend, plan to get in trouble, or are prone to getting in trouble and want to see what this article is about. Well, it’s about great gift card ideas that will help you smooth things over with that special lady.

On my way to work yesterday, I saw a billboard for a local florist with a big caption: “Exactly how mad is she?” Below the caption were three flower vases of different sizes filled with red roses. The vases were arranged from left to right from the smallest to the biggest. I guess the message is: the madder your wife/girlfriend is, the bigger your flower size should be. I thought the message was creative and effective. Then it got me thinking, we men always gravitate to buying flowers when we are in trouble. How about switching things up a bit with gift cards?

Read the rest of this entry »

Card Details

• No Fee
• No Expiration Date
• Redeemable Online & In-store
• Accepted by Multiple Merchants
• Not Replaceable When Lost

Note: One of my favorite cards due to the flexibility it offers. Gap gift cards can be redeemed online and in-store. They can also be redeemed online at oldnavy.com, bananarepublic.com, and piperlime.com.

To see more clothing store gift cards, including reviews and ratings, click here

Curiosity got the best of me today so I decided to find out what the 10 most popular gift cards are. I figured the best way to do this was to see which gift cards feature the most on searches. Since I am biased towards Google and Yahoo, i decided to use a keyword research tool to find out which gift cards are popular on these two sites. It turns out the most popular gift card according to Google and Yahoo Search results is the Visa gift card. The top 10 is made up of the following:

• Visa
• Walmart
• Target
• Home Depot
• American Express
• Lowe’s
• iTunes
• Best Buy
• MasterCard
• Simon Gift Card (Visa)

The result was surprising to me. I was expecting to see more department store and clothing store gift cards. I am not sure why i had that thought. It is interesting that the bank issued gift cards (Visa, American Express, and MasterCard) feature prominently in searches because these cards are laden with fees and have expiration dates. Does this mean people want the convenience of being able to use these cards everywhere and don’t care about the fees or expiration? Let me know what you think. Post your comment below.

Card Details

• No Fee
• No Expiration Date
• Redeemable Online & In-store
• Accepted by Merchant Only
• Replaceable when lost

To see more Department Store gift cards, including reviews and ratings, click here
Photo by OhGizmo!

Card Details:

• Redeemable Online Only
• Accepted by Merchant Only

Note: iTunes Gift Cards can be redeemed for songs, albums, audiobooks and videos on the iTunes Store. They cannot be used to buy Apple products. The Apple Gift Card may be used to purchase other Apple products outside the iTunes Store. For the Apple Gift Card, click here

To see more Books & Music gift cards, including reviews and ratings, click here

Card Details:

• No Fee
• No Expiration Date
• Redeemable Online & In-store
• Accepted by Multiple Merchants
• Not Replaceable When Lost

Note: Sam’s Club members can use Walmart Gift Cards at Sam’s Club locations. Lost or stolen Gift Cards cannot be refunded or replaced. However, if you have stored your Gift Card information, you may still use that Gift Card to make online purchases.

To see more Department Store gift cards, including reviews and ratings, click here

Card Details:

• No Fee
• No Expiration Date
• Redeemable Online & In-store
• Accepted by Multiple Merchants
• Not Replaceable When Lost

Note: Barnes & Noble gift cards can also be redeemed at any B. Dalton Booksellers.
To see more Books & Music gift cards, including reviews and ratings, click here