Check company perks. Your company may have retail partners that offer special deals to employees, like a percentage discount at various retailers, movie chains, or museums. But check company policy before you go crazy. Some discounts are for employees’ use only and can’t be applied toward gifts.
Redeem your reward points. Leisure time promotions offers some great discounts on this and you also get some reward points for the same. Most airline frequent-flier programs allow you to convert miles into magazine subscriptions, dining certificates, or electronics. MilePoint.com converts miles from America West, Continental, Midwest, Hawaiian Airlines, and Northwest into points that can be redeemed for magazine subscriptions (which cost from 300 to 6,000 miles). Credit-card rewards programs also offer gift-worthy loot. Blue from American Express, for example, will let you cash in 5,000 points for a $50 gift card for Pottery Barn or Bloomingdale’s, among other retailers.
Surf the Web for the best prices. Comparison-shopping sites search for the best deals online. A standout: NexTag.com, whose price-history feature charts the highest, median, and lowest prices of products, so you know when you’re getting a steal. Its Price Alert feature will e-mail you when the price drops to the level you choose. (A recent good buy: A Cuisinart convection-oven toaster broiler, with a list price of $150, was selling for $115 at press time.) Another resource is Google’s shopping tool, Froogle. Enter the item you’re looking for (be as specific as you can), then click on “Price: Low to High.” And Cairo.com searches off-line deals, from jeans to groceries, in and near your ZIP code.
