PITTSBURGH, PA — Penny for your thoughts? What about pennies for gift cards?
For one day only, Giant Eagle is giving customers the opportunity to trade in their pennies for a gift card worth equal to twice the value of the pennies exchanged.
The opportunity will occur Saturday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at all Giant Eagle and its Market District stores.
Giant Eagle is temporarily collecting pennies to help ensure it can continue providing exact change to customers for cash transaction as the U.S. Department of Treasury phases out production of the coin.
To participate in the exchange, customers need to to convert a minimum of 50 pennies for which they will receive a $1 Giant Eagle gift card. The maximum amount allowed to be exchanged is $100, which would equal 10,000 pennies. That would equate to a $200 gift card.
“Retailers across the country are taking steps to maintain adequate supplies of pennies,” Giant Eagle CEO Bill Artman said in a statement.
“At Giant Eagle, we saw a unique and fun opportunity to reward customers for joining our efforts. We invite everyone to check their change jars, desk drawers, and couch cushions to help keep pennies available for those who choose to pay with cash.”
According to the Giant Eagle release, the coin exchange will enable the “company to maintain accuracy and fairness while it awaits formal guidance from the U.S. government regarding future rounding practices.”