Gift cards have rapidly become a sure-fire gift giving idea for any holiday, birthday or other special occasion.  When you are unsure of what the gift recipient might want, you can easily treat them to a shopping spree with a gift card.  But as with other gifts, you can still sometimes "miss" with a gift card.

What happens when the gift card you receive is actually from a vendor that you don't shop at?  What if you already have your eye on a gift you really want from another vendor instead?  Is there a way to turn a less-than-desirable gift card into cash or an even more desirable gift card?  Yes there is!  Keep reading to learn more about Plastic Jungle!

Plastic Jungle is a company who realizes that every gift card you receive isn't always exactly what you want or need.  They give you several ways to convert any gift card into another form of payment, such as a cashier's check or Paypal deposit.  You can even exchange your gift card for an Amazon.com gift card or make a donation to charity!

For instance, I had received a $25 Old Navy gift card, but I rarely shop there.  Just the other day, I was thinking how great it would be if I could get a few new storybook cartridges for Riley's VTech V.Reader.  I then realized that this would be a perfect opportunity to use Plastic Jungle to convert my Old Navy gift card into an Amazon.com gift card, so that I could get the things I really wanted instead.

Converting my Old Navy gift card through Plastic Jungle couldn't have been easier, for I was lucky that Old Navy is one of the 38 retailers that accepts the Plastic Jungle Instant Funding option.  Plastic Jungle will offer up to 92% of what your original gift card is worth during the exchange, but since every retailer could be different, you first have to enter your gift card's information to see what amount of money you will be offered.

Once I did this, I discovered that I could exchange my $25 Old Navy gift card for a $21.52 Amazon.com gift card.  As you can see from the picture above, I had the opportunity to opt out of this offer if I didn't like the exchange rate or proceed with the transaction if I did.

I continued on, entered a few details and within 30 minutes, I had my new Amazon.com gift card number emailed directly to me.  The whole process only took a few minutes and the great thing was that I was able to place my Amazon.com order within an hour of completing the Plastic Jungle transaction.

If you have received a gift card from a less-than-desirable vendor and are looking for a quick and easy way to turn a dud gift into an awesome one, then I highly recommend checking out the Plastic Jungle.  Now, you can exchange your gift card for exactly what you want or need, right when you need it!