7 Gift Card Best Practices
Gift cards are popular gifts. They're popular with the giver because they're easy to procure and share. and they are often highly valued by the giftee who can use their own discretion about what they receive from you.
Did you know that retailers love them too? Why is that you might ask?
Because a large number of folks who receive them don't redeem them! According to a July 2022 survey of 2,372 US adults conducted by CreditCards.com, 47% of respondents said they have at least one unused gift card. It's estimated that Americans have $21 billion in unused gift cards. That's net profit to the retailer.
Let's keep that from happening. Here are seven tips for giving and receiving gift cards:
When gifting, think about how savvy the receiver is. Are they the kind of person who would transfer the funds into their Google Play account? Do they even know what Google Play is? Gift cards such as Amazon and Apple can be directly transferred into personal accounts and held until their next online purchase at that establishment.
When receiving a gift card, put it directly in your wallet/purse and make a plan to shop there. Sometimes it helps to write of list of items you would actually purchase at that merchant on a post-it note and attach it to the card itself.
Does the giftee track their belongings pretty well? If they keep their house messy or don't manage their finances well, they might not be good candidates for gift cards. As Professional Organizers, we often find gift cards tucked into drawers, behind sofas or stashed in out-of-the-way places…never to be redeemed.
Teachers love gift cards. The best ones are: Amazon, Target, Peets, Starbucks…places that are easy to find brick and mortar locations and have a variety of usable/consumable options.
There are even online gift card swaps where you can exchange your gift cards for cash or other gift cards you would actually use.
If all else fails, the giftee can re-gift the cards to charity. Non-Profits are highly motivated to take advantage of the funds.
Gift cards can be purchased through CoinStar machines. If you have extra coins, take them to your local grocery store that has a Coin Exchange machine and, in lieu of paying 10% to get cash, opt for a merchant that you will use. You get a receipt with a code that can be entered into the merchant's website and used to purchase items from them.
NOTE: In California, the law says that if a gift card value is less than $10, it can be redeemed directly from the merchant for the remaining value on the card.