Winter has finally passed, and spring is in full swing around the country – and that means the hot days of summer have nearly arrived. Summer is a great time, and the warm weather means that it’s easy to do everything that you love. There’s no time like summer to enjoy the great outdoors, or take your family on a vacation to the beach or the lake.
But how can you enjoy your fun in the sun without spending an arm and a leg? In this article, we’ll take a look at a few ways that you can save big while enjoying your favorite hobbies, vacations, and more – with discounted gift cards from EJ Gift Cards!
Get our top recommendations and tips, and enjoy the great weather – for less!
Discounted Gift Cards – Understanding The Basics Of The Gift Card Aftermarket
If you’ve never bought a discounted or “used” gift card before, you may be wondering how, exactly, the process works! Let’s go over the basics.
It’s pretty simple. While, in the past, there was no real way to trade in an unwanted gift card, or exchange it for cash, the internet has made things much easier for consumers. Now, there are gift card marketplaces like EJ Gift Cards, which allow consumers to buy, sell, and trade gift cards – for cash!
You can sell Nordstrom gift cards, sell Target gift cards, and sell Apple Store gift cards, and get cash payments for a percentage of their value. Here’s how it works.
If someone has a gift card they don’t want – they need to sell GAP gift cards, for example – they can simply give the card details to a gift card marketplace like EJ Gift Cards, and sell it for cash via PayPal.
Then, people who are interested in that gift card can purchase the gift card directly from EJ Gift Cards – and they can get that gift card for a discount!
Discounted gift cards are safe to buy, and allow you to save quite a bit of money when shopping at your favorite stores. If you want to buy outdoor gear for your next summer weekend hiking trip, for example, you could buy an REI or Bass Pro Shops gift card for a discount – and save quite a bit of money!
The Benefits Of Buying Discounted Gift Cards For The Summer
Not sure if you should buy any discounted gift cards this summer? Here are a few key advantages of using a gift card marketplace to get discounts on gift cards. Take a look!
- Save money on things you’d buy anyway – If you’re preparing for a beach trip, you’re probably going to head at Walmart at some point. You’ll pick up sunglasses, swim trunks, sunscreen for your kids (and aloe vera for when they forget to apply sunscreen!), as well as other basic necessities like pool toys, floaties, goggles, and more!
These little items can add up to a seriously high bill once you end up at the check-out counter! So if you’re looking for a way to save money on your everyday essentials for your trip, discounted gift cards are a great way to do so. You can get Walmart gift cards at a discount, for example, and save quite a bit of money when shopping for what you need!
- Stick to your summer budget – It’s easy to go overboard when it comes to purchasing new items for your hobbies, especially when it comes to the great outdoors. Before you know it, you’ve plonked down your credit card at the outdoor store, and spent hundreds of dollars on equipment that you may not have even needed!
Gift cards can help you save money, and not just because you can usually get them at a discount. Because gift cards have an inherent spending limit – you can’t spend more than the card is worth – they can be a very useful budgeting tool. When you’re spending money that’s on a gift card, you know that you will run out eventually, and that’s a sign that it’s time to stop shopping!
- Stack your savings – One particularly great thing about gift cards is that, at almost all stores, they can be used alongside summer promotions, coupons, and more. If you buy a gift card for a 5% discount, then use a 10% loyalty coupon at the store – and stack that with a 25% discount from the “clearance” rack, you could save 40% total on an item that you were going to buy anyway!
This is especially great during the summer. Many stores have “summer sales”, where they sell summer clothing, supplies, or other products at a great discount. By getting a discounted gift card to your favorite store, you can save money on all of these products.
- Great for giving kids spending money – Gift cards are a useful way to give spending money and allowances to your kids, especially during the summer, when they often go out with friends – without your supervision.
A gift card can be used to make sure that your kid actually spends their money in the right place. For example, if they keep asking for money for movie tickets, you could give them a gift card to a local movie theater chain – purchased at a discount! Then, you can rest easy, and know that they’re actually spending their money at the theater, rather than buying unnecessary items, or spending it all on junk food and candy!
For these reasons – and quite a few more – buying gift card during the summer, and for use during vacation, is a great idea.
Now that you know the basics about discounted gift cards (and why you should buy them), let’s talk about our top picks for summer gift cards!
The Best Summer Gift Cards – Our Top 10 Picks
So, what are the best summer gift cards to pick if you’re looking to enjoy the warmer weather – and save money in the process? Take a look at a few of our top picks now.
- Outdoor stores – Stores like REI, Bass Pro Shops, and Field & Stream are a great choice if you’re looking to save big, while still getting equipped with all of the gear that you need to enjoy the warmer weather. Fishing fanatic? Grab a new pole and some bait at a discount. Hiking enthusiast? Pick up a new pair of boots and a tent! Love outdoor sports like paintball and airsoft? You can find everything you need – and save money with a discounted gift card.
- “Big Box” stores – Big box stores like Target, WalMart, and Meijer are always great choices when shopping for gift cards. Not only do they sell groceries, apparel, and toys, they also often have special “summer” aisles where you can pick up other essentials like grills, charcoal, pool accessories, and more.
Plus, you’ll probably end up shopping at these stores anyway – so why not get a gift card, and save some money on the things you buy every week?
- Grocery stores – Nothing says “summer” quite like an old-fashioned cookout. And you can get everything you need at your local grocery store – even a grill, in some cases! With a gift card to a local grocery store chain, you can pick up hot dogs, burgers, buns, chips, potato salad, soda and beer, and everything else you need for a relaxing, family-friendly cookout. And with a cheap gift card, you can save money while doing it!
- Movie theaters – Summer is when all of the latest blockbusters come out in theaters. Traditionally, the biggest movies always release in the summer, when folks are looking to escape the heat, entertain their kids, and enjoy themselves!
Getting a movie theater discount is an especially great idea if you live in a climate where the temperatures can really soar into dangerous or uncomfortable levels later in the summer. Escaping the heat, and enjoy a few hours in a dark, cool movie theater is wonderful, especially if you have children.
- Airlines – About 55% of all Americans plan to take a vacation this summer. So if you’re planning an escape to an exotic locale, or a family vacation to the beach, you’ll probably need to buy airline tickets – unless a long road trip sounds appealing to you!
You can buy discounted gift cards to most major airlines, like American Airlines and United, as well as some inexpensive “low cost” carriers like Spirit and Frontier. By using discounted gift cards to purchase airfare, you can save quite a bit of money. You can even get travel “points” on your credit card when you purchase the gift cards – so you’ll double your savings!
- Home improvement stores – Summer is the season of home improvement. The warm weather makes it easy to do things like clean out the gutters, repaint your siding, restore your deck and patio, and more.
So if you’re looking to check things off of that “honey-do” list, a gift card to a home improvement store like Lowe’s, Home Depot, or Menards is a great idea. You can pick up just about everything – from paint, to lumber, hardware, fixtures, and even appliances and deck furniture.
- Clothing outlets – Summer is a great time to refresh your wardrobe – or get your kids ready for back-to-school! Most clothing outlets and retailers have blowout sales of fall/winter clothing in the early summer, so you can save big on warmer clothing like hoodies, jeans, and sweats.
Not only that, summer promotions for shorts, t-shirts, and other seasonally-appropriate apparel are also quite common. By combining these sales and promotions with a discounted gift card, you can outfit the entire family in style – without blowing your summer vacation budget!
- Arts and crafts stores – Summer vacation means that you’re probably going to have to spend a lot more time entertaining your kids and their friends. If you’re tired of water fights, trips to the pool, and other summer activities, a great way to get some “me time” is to set your kids up with an arts and crafts station!
You can pick up construction paper, pencils and pens, and other essentials from a store like Hobby Lobby or Michaels. Your kids will be able to express their creativity, and you’ll be able to relax inside (where there’s air conditioning) – that’s a win-win!
- Pharmacies – Summer brings its own unique set of challenges for your personal health. Whether it’s a regular resupply of sunblock, aloe vera for sunburns, antihistamines for spring/summer allergies, or even Epsom Salts for bee stings and bandages for minor scrapes and cuts, you’ll probably find yourself going to the pharmacy quite a bit.
So grab a gift card to a nationwide chain like CVS or Walgreens, and save money while you stock up your summer “first aid kit” essentials!
- Gas and service stations – Family road trips are a total blast, and are sure to make memories that will stick with you and your kids for years to come. But with gas prices that rise in the summer, they can be pretty expensive when it’s time to fill up your gas tank!
So don’t get burned by high gas prices, especially during popular travel weekends like Memorial Day. With a gas gift card to a local or national chain like Shell or BP, you’ll be able to save a bit of money every time you fill up your tank – and over time, these savings definitely add up!
Get Ready For The Summer – Pick Up One Of These Gift Cards Today!
If you’re looking forward to sunshine, pools, family vacations, and warmer weather, don’t wait. Start shopping for all of the gift cards that you need this summer with EJ Gift Cards!
We sell gift cards from hundreds of different stores – including the ones we recommended above! You can save big with our discounted gift cards, and make sure that you have plenty of fun this summer without draining your bank account!
And if you need to sell some unwanted gift cards, we also buy gift cards at competitive rates. So ditch those useless gift cards now, and use your cash to enjoy your summer!
Sign up now, or contact us if you have any further questions.
