Five Tips For Buying The Best Gift Card
The gift of a gift card can be a fun and even exciting gift to receive. To make sure the gift card you give is appreciated, here are a few tips to help you accomplish just that. Gift cards, like any gift, can be thoughtless and a careless giving, or it can be very thoughtful and a truly personalized gift.
Tip One – Customize Giving
First, as when giving any gift, you need to think about what the person receiving the gift card likes to do. What does the receiver like in the way of entertainment, where do they like to eat, or where do they like to shop? Gift cards can mean a trip to a museum or to the movies. They can provide a meal at a favorite restaurant or offer a new dining experience.
Gift cards can offer so many ways to express your good wishes for a friend or family member. A well thought out gift card can be easy when it is for a person that you know well. If you know what they like to do, where their favorite restaurant is, what they might like to try sometime, a gift card is an easy choice. On the other hand, a gift card that offers someone a new adventure, or gives them the chance to go to dinner or movie when they otherwise couldn’t squeeze that into their budget can be the perfect gift.
Tip Two – Specific Stores
However, sometimes you might just want to give someone a gift that may help with their grocery budget. In this case, make sure the card is to a store where they like to shop. If they hate the meat, or the produce at a certain store they might not even use the card. You also need to make sure that any gift card to a clothing store or specialty store is one they will use.
Tip Three – Online
Something to keep in mind is not all gift cards will allow you to shop online. Even specific shops who have online shopping, may not allow you to use the gift card for online purchases. So if the receiver does a lot of online shopping, make sure you know if the card can be used online or let the person know it is for the store only.
If you purchase a gift card online, be doubly sure of the rules that govern that card. Know the expiration dates and any charges – like if the card has “no-use” fees and isn’t used in a timely manner. Also, can the gift card you bought online be used in the local store?
Tip Four
There are those situations where you want to give something to someone you really don’t know. Like if you plan to purchase a gift card for an employee or colleague. In that case there are gift cards that can be used anywhere or at several different businesses. Banks and credit card companies offer gift cards that can be used anywhere. You do have to be careful because they will sometimes charge you a fee to purchase the gift card and there may also be fees taken off the balance of the card when it is used. These cards normally have an expiration date and may have money deducted monthly when not used.
The gift cards offered by a mall or a company owning several different restaurants or businesses can be a good choice for giving to those you don’t know well. These types of cards will sometimes have promotions where if you spend $25 you get $30 on the card.
Tip Five
With any gift card, you need to know and understand the rules and regulations governing this specific card. Until August 2010 there haven’t been any federal laws that regulate gift cards in the US. Each different card issuer has set their fees, charges, and expiration dates.
The new federal law will mandate that all gift cards have a life of five years. It also states that there can be no fees assessed on the card balance if the card is used within the first 12 months. This doesn’t mean they can’t charge a fee when you buy the card, just that no fees can be taken off the card for the first year. If you have gift cards that were issued before August 2010, use it. There are some that may become null and void when the new regulations go into effect.
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