The Risks of Giving a Gift Card as a Present

For millions of people, the now famous gift cards have proved to be the quick, yet simple solution for those "impossible to buy for" individuals we all have to deal with these days. I don't know if it's because so many people have just become incredibly difficult to shop for, or if it's just do to the unbelievable selection of merchandise the manufacturers and retailers have made available to us. Whatever the case may be, purchasing a gift card is an awesome way to satisfy just about anyone. But, before you run out and buy one for everyone, there is one drawback that they fail to mention, when you pick up it up.

The problem is, if the recipient fails to use the card within a certain period of time (check the card as they all have different rules), they may find that the card has lost some of it's value. I found this out the hard way a couple of years ago. I had received a $50 gift card for Sears one Christmas, and since I didn't do much shopping at Sears, my gift card sat around for over 8 months. In fact, I had forgot about it altogether. One day after finding the card, I decided to go to the store and use it. After picking out a few articles of clothing, I went to the checkout to pay. The items came up to around $60. With the card valued at $50, my portion should have came out to $10, right? Wrong! I was asked to pay $22 after the gift card was applied to the purchase.

Naturally I asked, why so much? The woman at the register (after checking with her manager), explained to me that because the card was inactive for over 6 months a monthly service charge kicked in and began to depleat the value of the card by $3.99 per month. So, beginning on the 6th month the card began to lose value, to the tune of $4 a month! Had the card not used at all for another 9 months or so, it would have become totally worthless! Talk about paying for convenience! If you decide to purchase one of those gift cards as a Christmas gift, make sure you completely understand the rules that apply, and be sure and let the recipient know about them. I'm sure this has happened to an awful lot of unsuspecting people, since the inception of these cards. Anyway, It seems to me, that's pretty unfair for someone to receive less than the value of their gift, just because of the failure to read the fine print on the packaging.

However that being said, with the sheer amount of merchandise available to us these days, it isn't always that obvious to select the perfect gift for everyone. It's hard enough trying to select the right gift for someone you live with, forget about the relatives you only see a couple times a year. That is where the gift card becomes the perfect choice. Let them decide on their own what they want for Christmas. If you have family members or relatives who live out of town or state, keep in mind the availability of retail stores within a short distance from where they live when selecting a gift card. Another great benefit to these cards is, many of the larger restaurants and retail store chains are owned by the same corporation. Often times the cards will be accepted at any of the locations within that company. For instance, Outback Steakhouse gift cards are able to be used in any of several different restaurant chains (Carrabas, BoneFish Grill, Chesseburger in Paradise Etc.) In those cases, there will usally be a list of logos on the back of the card, showing each retail outlet where it can be used. Nothing like convenience!

So, if your like me and suffer from the "I have no idea what to get them" syndrome, the gift cards are a great way to solve that problem. If you decide to get that "hard to shop for" person a gift card, make sure it will be convenient for them, and make sure you let them know about any potential terms and conditions that could diminish the value of their gift.

Happy Holidays to ALL!