Nestea is running a new promotion that offers consumers $25 prepaid Mastercard gift cards if they collect a certain number of Nestea proof of purchases off of specially marked products. To cash in on the deal collect one of these sets of products:

1) 12 x 473/591ml bottles of Nestea, Nestea Cool, or Nestea Vitao and receive a $25 prepaid Mastercard gift card.

2) 10 x 10 (200ml) tetra packs of Nestea and receive a $25 prepaid Mastercard gift card.

3) 10 x 2 bottles of Nestea Cool and receive a $25 prepaid Mastercard gift card.

4) 8 x 1.89L cartons of Nestea

5) 4 x 12 (341ml) can packs of Nestea, Nestea Cool, or Nestea Vitao.

The proof of purchases will be available on specially marked Nestea products until the all the packages are sold or August 31, 2009. After purchasing the products the proof of purchase and receipts must be mailed in to Nestea. Each household is limited to claiming 3 $25 prepaid Mastercard gift cards. For the full details of this promotion check out Nestea’s Refresh and Redeem website.

Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) will join other Canadian provinces in regulating consumer gift cards from retail stores. The Attorney General Gerard Greenan says the government has received many gift card related complaints from the provinces consumers who had been surprised with short expiration dates, service fees or stores giving gift cards for returned merchandise instead of cash refunds. Greenan said the new legislation would ensure that consumers can make a purchase with a gift card without having to worry about it expiring or its balance being deducted. Currently Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador are the only provinces that do not legislate gift cards.

Giftah strongly supports any legislation to combat expiry dates or balance deductions on gift cards. No matter how much time has passed since a gift cards purchase there is no legitimate reason why it should expire or lose its balance. If retailers do not like keeping track of old card balances then we can all go back to paper gift certificates and cash refunds on merchandise returns. If your do get stuck with a gift card you don’t want or need you can sell your gift card on Giftah.

Not many people think about the economic impact of plastic gift cards, after all they are relatively small compared to the wrapping paper and boxes of a large present. In reality 10 billion plastic gift cards are produced every year, most of them end up hitting the land fills. Despite their small size, gift cards ecological footprint can be huge. Gift cards contain polyvinyl chloride (PVC) an extremely toxic compound that is a known carcinogen. Other toxins in gift cards include chlorine residue and heavy metal pollutants. Those 10 billion gift cards produced each year contribute 75 to 100 million pounds of toxic plastic that will site in landfills leaking toxins for the duration of their long lifespan.

Thankfully recycling programs and new materials are being put in place to combat the negative environmental impact of gift cards. Earthworks, a green manufacturing company has been collecting consumer’s gift cards and credit cards to make 100% recycled. The earth works system not only reduces cards environmental impact it creates a product with real value making Earthworks a truly sustainable business.

Creating gift cards out of bioplastics may be another way to reduce or even eliminate the environmental impact of gift cards. Bioplastic gift cards are made from renewable sources such as cornstarch and vegetable oil rather than petroleum based plastics. Mirel a corn based biodegradable plastic created by Metabolix has been adopted by a few large retailers. In 2007 Target sold Mirel gift cards in 129 of its stores. Commercial retailers are rapidly adopting greener business practices as their customers demand it. Recycling, bioplastics or digital distribution all contribute to reducing the amount of harmful chemicals. Any thing that creates more sustainable business practices and a cleaner environment is a step in the right direction.

This Sunday is Mother’s Day, and if this is the first you have heard about it a gift card might be a good idea. By now most of the good gifts could already be off the shelf and many florists are already struggling to keep up with demand. Yes gift cards can be impersonal and mom would much rather have a home made card or breakfast in bed. However, for many children time is money and these days many people do not have much of either. Although a gift card is not the most personal gift a person can buy it is cost effective and as long as you know what store mom shops at she will love it to.

If your looking for inspiration think about hobbies your mother enjoys. If she likes gardening gift cards a Home Depot gift card may be a good idea. Don’t get a gift card to a small local garden center, as they are usually only open during the summer months and could go out of business at any time. Local spa gift cards can also be a great gift, but again try to purchase them from a spa your mom frequents or a spa chain that is on firm financial ground.

If you completely misread your mother’s likes and get her a gift card to a store she never shops at do the right thing. Be a good son or daughter and teach your mom how to sign up for Giftah and help her sell the unwanted gift cards for cash. Happy Mothers day from Giftah : )

When the Red River crested at 42 feet Fargo was battling flood waters to save their city. While the thousands of volunteers and emergency workers managed to prevent the flood water from entering major parts of the city many homes on the outskirts were damaged beyond repair. The flood waters also did a number on Fargo residents vehicles, water damage to the frames and engines caused massive destruction.

Jiffy Lube franchise owners across the nation have pitched in to help families most affected by the flooding. Jiffy Lube gift cards will be donated to over 300 families in Fargo. The Jiffy Lube gift cards worth more then $11,500 will be good for over 300 oil changes. The Fargo Jiffy Lube franchise will partner with the Salvation army to distribute the Jiffy Lube gift cards to the families that need them most.

A recent gift card patent litigation trial had the potential to render all gift cards in the United States useless. Every Penny Counts claimed that any company that issued “open” or “closed” gift cards was infringing on their patent for technology that automatically deducts excess cash from gift card transactions.

The “open” gift cards cover the American Express gift cards or Visa gift cards that can be used at any store and the “closed” gift cards refer to gift cards that can be used at specific locations, for example a Best Buy gift card or Wal Mart gift card. Essentially ever single gift card in the United States was covered by the lawsuit.

Luckily the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the Florida federal district court’s dismissal of the lawsuits which challenged the legitimacy of gift cards technology. Had the patent litigation been successful it could have potentially banned the use of gift cards in the United States.

Although this did not happen it shows how fragile gift cards can be for storing value. The company you own gift cards for can go out of business, the card can be lost or stolen, and now even patent litigation may lead to the loss of gift card balances. Everyone should get rid of their unused gift cards. It is much better to sell gift cards you will not use or trade them for a gift card you will use. The best place to get cash for gift cards is Giftah. You can get the best price for you gift card and turn the card into a liquid asset.