Gift Card Paradise: CardSwap.ca Review and Giveaway

Did you receive any gift cards this past holiday season that you know you won’t use? Wishing you could swap them for your favorite store instead?

Well, there isn’t “an app for that” (even though that may be coming in the future); instead, there’s an awesome online card swapping program called CardSwap.ca!

CardSwap.ca is an online marketplace where you can buy gift cards from a large variety of retailers or sell gift cards that you don’t want. They’ve been featured on Dragon’s Den and a variety of other media outlets. They also offer SwapPoints, which are the icing on the cake because you can earn points from either buying or selling your cards. SwapPoints are redeemable for more gift cards or straight cash!

I just happened to have a $25 gift card that has been burning a hole in my wallet for a little while, so of course I had to try it out for myself.

MY CARDSWAP.CA SELLING EXPERIENCE

The website for CardSwap.ca is very user friendly, as you only have 4 menu options to choose from.

Pretty simple, no?! Ok, so I choose SELL and I’m brought to another simplified page that asks for Merchant Name (via drop down list), gift card balance and email address. Easy peasy! I enter in the details and now it’s time to get to the nitty gritty.

What do I want to do? Collect SwapPoints or receive cash? I’m shown an offer for about 85% of the value of my card. I choose the SwapPoints because I get a little more value and I have this thing with loyalty cards/rewards programs, I am truly a collector of points…I’m a points kinda girl (seriously, you should see my wallet, scary stuff).

To finish up the transaction, the next screen asks you to enter in the details from the back of the card so that it can be verified, and then you are presented with an option to print a prepaid shipping label for you to mail in the gift card you are selling. Prepaid AND free people! They thought of everything! I drop my envelope in the mail, wait about a week or so and voila, the SwapPoints are in my account!

As with any program, there are a few conditions that need to be satisfied:

Gift cards sold to CardSwap must:

• Be an approved retailer as listed on the website
• Have a balance of $25 or higher (gift cards valued at $25 are accepted)
• Not have any fees, expiration dates, or other restrictions
• Not be a rewards card or tied to a specific user
• Not be damaged or unsellable (i.e. Unreadable UPC or Pin)
• Not be a paper certificate
• Be redeemable in Canada

Fair enough, right?!

Sooooo, I had eluded to a giveaway earlier this week, and I refuse to disappoint! One super lucky reader of PegCityLovely will win a $50 gift card of their own choosing from CardSwap.ca! WOOHOO! I apologize in advance to my American and International peeps, but this one is purely for the Canucks (Canadians for those not familiar with the lingo)! Enter below, and good luck! Contest ends January 17, 2013.

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Disclosure: PegCityLovely received a credit on CardSwap to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.