Using gift cards during the holiday season

If you received a gift card with a VISA/MC logo on it then you can use it either online or off line to make your purchases. If not you will have to actually go to the brick and mortar version of the store to use the gift card in the store that it was purchased from.There are many stores that offer added online discounts. Since plus size specialty shops are no different than others when it comes to wanting to please there customers look to some of the many merchants listed on this blog for sales that will be coming out from now through New Year’s Day.

If you do decide to go to the mall to redeem your gift card you can make the savings go even further by combining coupons with your gift card to get a better value.  With that in mind there is also a word of caution that goes with gift cards.

When purchasing gift cards from any merchant:

• For better security only purchase cards that require a PIN number.
• If the card requires you to call an 800# do so ASAP
• Purchase cards that require customer service activation

Gift card fraud is becoming more common with cases being documented of thieves recording gift card numbers then calling to see if they have been activated then going on online shopping sprees.  This is happening because of the ease of purchasing gift cards while standing in line at retail stores.  Thats why its important to purchase your gift cards with a few added security steps to ensure the whatever monetary amount is on the card stays there until the card is actually used.