A new way to love gift cards again?
Do you hate gift cards? Do you love giving them, but not receiving them? Did you misplace a bunch of gift cards you received as presents? Are you a vegetarian who got a gift card to a steakhouse chain?
Whether you love them or hate them, gift cards will make up $26.3 billion in sales for the 2007 holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation.
Those of you in the hate group might despise gift cards a little less thanks to a new, free service that helps users "purchase and register their gift cards, track their balances, swap cards of equal value and even earn interest," according to this L.A. Times story.
Leverage Inc., a California-based firm, allows users to register cards on the Web site and then track their cards on-line, the story says. Users are notified when gift card balances change and if a card goes missing, a backup mechanism can retrieve lost card numbers.
For those who buy gift cards on the site, the story says, there's a small financial reward: 3.65% in interest. Cards that are registered with but not purchased from the website earn 1% interest.
Not bad. Now, can it help me find that $100 gift card I misplaced last year? I've turned my house upside down to find it with no luck.
(Photo courtesy of AFP/Getty Images)
