I absolutely agree with you! We give cash to kids, grandkids, my father and brother.

At this moment, I have 4 gift cards in my wallet! I hate the things and never think about using them.

It's cold, rainy and dreary here...but I'm thankful that we are not getting a snowstorm!

We are finding gift cards don't work well either. My kids usually get a $20 gift card to Wal-Mart from the grandparents. They have a hard time spending it. They can't get what they want for $20. Usually, I end up taking the gift card to buy groceries. I give them $20 each.

Dh and I get a $50 gift card to PF Changs. That's out of our way by about 45 minutes to eat there.

Our local grocery store gives fuel points for purchasing gift cards (2x the value) which we use for fuel discounts (each 100 points = .10/gallon discount, up to 1.00/gallon per fueling). My DH drives for a living and he eats breakfast at McDs. I get him gift cards so he doesn't have to worry about carrying cash/making change. It makes getting through the drive thru a little quicker. He packs his lunch daily.

We will sometimes buy GCs for a restaurant chain we like so when we make a trip to that area, we have a pre-paid dinner.

It's all in how you use them. My 10yo step-GD loves GCs and it helps her feel a little independent when shopping.

Maybe there's a perception about not giving 'filthy lucre'? (I suppose you could wash and iron the bills!)

I agree that children *love* to get money.

If a gift card doesn't state its' value, I write it on the little folder. I've only given Visa, MasterCard, etc. -- cards that can be used almost anywhere.

Gift cards cannot expire for at least 5 years.
Some, however, will charge an "inactivity fee" after
a year of non-use.
Reference the FTC consumer info linked below.

Here is a link that might be useful: FTC Consumer Info

But, chisue, I go to my banking establishment and ask for the nicest bills they have. Sometimes they won't have new bills, but they happily sort through their stacks and choose the best ones. They usually also provide pretty xmas-y cash cards (with cutouts that display the central portion of the currency) and envelopes -- free.

dees, I can see that gift cards in your situations make sense. Time is more valuable to me than money.

adellabedella, your examples/experiences are more in line with how GCs work for me. :p

wanda, I'm glad you said what you did because our storm has now changed to rain. The roads must be dandy at the moment. Our storm started with a thick coating of ice, then we got several inches of snow, and now there's a steady rain. I just checked the forecast and they think it will change to ice pellets next. LOL!!!

Thanks for the replies, everyone! :)

I have sometimes given cards for a specific type of purchase.
For example, My stepson is really not the best with excess cash (he is getting better). Because he has a family I usually give them GC's to the grocery store, so I know they will buy food.

I also give my parents restaurant cards I know they frequent... who doesn't love a "free" dinner??
I love getting GC's. Cash seems to be spent quickly here and there without mindful thought of the person that gave it to me.
When I use a gift card I give it careful consideration of what I want to buy.
I usually call or write a thank you note to tell them what I purchased.

And yes, I know logically at the end of the day the cash value is the same. A gift card just seems like the gift all over again when I use it. :)

I never liked giving or receiving cash gifts, and I still don't. That's just a personal preference. But at some point I decided that gift cards were fun. I think it was the year my daughter gave me a gift card for Eddie Bauer. With it, I bought some clothes I never would have allowed myself to buy otherwise--and I took advantage of after-Christmas sales.

If she had given me cash instead, I'm not sure what I would have done with it. There's always the possibility it would have ended up getting spent on routine stuff. My definition of a good gift is something that you'd love to have but are unwilling to buy for yourself.

My understanding of some of the credit card gift cards, which can be used in more places, is that they can steadily decrease in value due to ongoing "dormancy fees" and which in some cases levees a fee to query the balance on the card.

For years my father would buy me Home Depot gift cards for Christmas. Which was, in theory, a good idea, since I often am working on projects for my house, but since our city only has a Lowes, and the nearest Home Depot is 30 minutes away over the mountain, in practice it was not so useful. I also have a gift certificate from him (somewhere) to a computer store in Ohio, from about 20 years ago when we lived in Ohio. I was reminded of it when I drove out there in June for his memorial service.

Hubby gives me gift cards to a couple of my favourite stores. I'll wait until there's a sale or when I want a specific item and get something.

Actually I just got back from getting my snows put on the car, and stopped in at my favourite greenhouse. I had the urge for an Amarayllis and I bought one using my gift certificate.

A few years ago we got a gift card to a very high end restaurant that we would never go to. We'd still have to put $75 of our own money for the meal, as well as the gift card, and that wasn't going to happen.
I actually sold it on Kijiji and we used the money for something that we wanted.

I've usually given gift cards to my my sisters' kids. The way I see it, it shows that even though you might not have been searching for the perfect gift for them, you were giving some thought to where they like to shop and what kind of item they might want. I don't think I've ever just put some cash in an envelope and given it to them.

I love gift cards, especially the ones for my favorite restaurants.

My mother used to gift me for birthday/Christmas with a greeting card and enclosed $100 bill. That was a pretty nice sight! It was so fun to have that cash to do anything I wanted with it.

I guess it seems less crass to make some effort and give someone a gift card in a store they like. For example, if someone loves to buy Kindle books, an Amazon card would be a popular gift.

I agree with most here: gift cards aren't that great. Can you imagine how many millions of dollars in cards are NOT used each year? It's a gold mine for the card issuers.

At times I will give a gift card if I want the recipient to use the gift for themselves and not put the cash towards - paying bills, food, something for someone else.

(Plus you can get a discount on gift cards if you buy them at BJs).

ML

I once heard of a boyfriend who gave his girlfriend a gift card to Foley's (nice department store) because Foley's "doesn't sell dog food".

I remember 6 years ago managing a gift card for a retirement gift for which a small group of us donated. I was amazed at the fee I was charged for the purchase of the several hundred dollars gift card.

Nowadays, my DH likes to buy gift cards for favorite restaurants either at the restaurant or Costco. For $80 he gets a $100 gift card. He buys them frequently for our use all year.

I enjoy giving and receiving gift cards. Some couples would rather have gift cards as wedding presents and then can buy what they want or need. If their wedding registry is at Kohl's, I buy them a Kohl's gift card.

Cash seems to get spent without much thought, but a gift card gets used for a specific item or occasion which means the recipient has that memory. Also, there's less chance of a store-specific gift card being used for drugs, alcohol or tobacco. I have a few family members with addiction issues so it's better to give them (or their children) a gift card rather than cash.

I always give gift cards to my kids and gkids and ask my DH to give them to me~~within the next few weeks the kids will all email me where they want their gift card from. This way I know they actually buy themselves something, not just use the cash to eat or buy gas with. Last year I got $300 worth of gift cards for some of my favorite shops~~~I saved them more than I would $$. Only spent them on something I would not usually buy myself. I would take a picture of it and text it to the person saying Thank You.

The kids know I am going to give them a gift card and sometimes they already have something picked out that they want and run to the store the next day and buy it. They may even ask others in the family to give them GC's from the same store in order to buy something pricey.

I also save mine for sales and never use them to buy for anyone but myself;) Where as $$ I would just fretter it away JMHO

salgal and fun2bhere both make the good point that "Cash seems to be spent quickly here and there without mindful thought of the person that gave it to me."

My wife judged a local 4-H horse show a couple of months ago, the club thanked her by giving her a $50 gift certificate to a local restaurant. We went there a couple of weeks ago and had a really nice meal. The final bill (sans tip) was $49.23. Nailed it. :-)

I would buy my niece a gift certificate to the mall. That way she can use it at any store she wants, without being store-specific.

We drew names when Mom was alive, and I wanted a gift card to a particular department store that I love (Canadian Tire). When I'd finally use it, I'd call and thank the gifter for the (waffle maker, mixer, etc etc).

just remembered a sad story:

Years ago, a guy who worked at a local business asked me to take him to a walmart, but not the local one.

He had a long sad story about having an accident & losing a job & then losing his car, & he had been reduced to living in a back room at the place where he worked.

I found out later that he had lost his job & car because he'd been in jail for DWI, & his wife had divorced him because it was the last straw;
his mom had sent him a walmart card because she knew that our local store didn't sell alcohol & he had no way to drive to another store.

Q: What do you call a guy/gal who has about 45 cards in his/her wallet?

A: "A person with a few cards short of a deck".

If I put out money that's good in 2,500 stores in town, and get a card that's only useful in one store, there's sure as heck a benefit for the store ... especially if it gets lost in my house before I give it ... or the recipient's house, after ...

... but I don't see any benefit for either me or the recipient.

I was unpleasantly surprised the other day when I looked at a gift card, one of a couple of dozen or more on a rack, to find that the issuer charged a $3.95 activation fee ... can't recall the base value, sorry.

Tape/staple a small piece of paper/card to the gift of currency with a note saying "Gift from Mom/whoever" to forestall it being frittered away on regular merchandise.

(You could add, "Confirmation requested", should you so choose.)

ole joyful

My old boss gave me a gift card to the school book store as a birthday present. Now if you have ever shopped at a school book store you know how costly everything is. Went to the cashier to get the balance amount and was shocked that it was for $5. Got a bottle of water and 2 candy bars and still had to pay the difference.

I too prefer greenbacks to store specific gift cards. It has a much nicer feel than a piece of plastic. And more flexibility. You gave me something, let me spend it. Cash or card, I can always thank you for something. Obvious if the seller offers a discount, buy them for yourself to use. 20% is 20% saved.

In ND they never can expire. They passed a state law for it.

I rarely give gift cards....usually cash. It is amazing how many gift cards never get used....that is why stores love them!

I love gift cards.........this afternoon I went on line and got one for DD at Amazon. In about five minutes, they had emailed me that it had gone through, and I could now print out the card. Saved me a trip. I have a lovely story about a gift certificate......a teacher had given me one for $20.00 when I retired many years ago. It was for a steak house and I just never got there. A couple of months ago, a friend and I decided to go there one evening, and l jokingly took along the gift certificate. When the waitress was taking out order, I asked her if they would honor it. She looked at it and shrieked, "I was three years old when you got this.!" But she insisted on checking to see if it would be honored and returned with the message that they would be glad to. Needless to say, they got good PR from me!!!

I wouldn't hesitate to give kids, teenagers, college students cash, but I can't imagine giving a card with cash in it to a girlfriend, sibling, parent, etc...that just seems odd to me.

I always give cash/checks...we have 3 children and 3 grandchildren...they can use the money however they want. No limits to time or places to shop.

I LOVE gift cards. They gather no moss in my wallet. I spend them on something special just for me.

When I get one, I spend a lot of time studying the website for the particular store, making sure I choose something I really want. (I guess I have never gotten one for a restaurant.)

One can order online with many gift cards and you can't do that with cash. That's one reason we give gift cards.
Some of the gift cards are decorated nicely too for holidays or birthdays..etc. Nice touch.
Either way..it's nice and fun to give.

I enjoy gift cards to the various craft stores, but if the sender doesn't mark the amount on the card, I really hate going to the register and having to ask what is the value of the card.

I do enjoy the gift cards my son give me.....he gives Visa cards and they can be used anywhere...they are always a nice amount and I can get something nice for myself that I would not spend money to get.

Because I can go online and get gift cards and I don't want to mail cash via USPS.

I remember when the cash we got, as children, was meant for the piggy bank. Gift cards say "spend". We learned that cash meant "save".

A check can be easily mailed.

I dislike gift cards. I don't want someone to decide where I should buy something, or ask me to decide where I want to spend money I don't have for something I haven't thought about yet. I have a relative who insists on sending us Starbucks and grocery store-purchased Amazon gift cards. They get misplaced or accidentally discarded half the time. When asked what we've gotten, I usually make something up and thank her for the gift. I hate Starbucks and never use those at all.

Cash is King. I give cash gifts to the younger people in my family (by check or direct bank transfer) and it's always gladly accepted.

I usually check with my kids to see if they would rather have a gift card or a check. Usually they want a gift card to Whole Foods or Lush Cosmetics.
I usually pick up gifts for the grandkids and order them online....after checking with their parents to make sure it is something they want/need.

Another cash giver here. I just think gift cards are a hassle.

There are 2 in my glove compartment now that are 2 years old.

Put me down in the Cash Corner. I don't like to dictate where someone can spend their money, even if it's a store I know they shop at. Giving cash in a nice card gives them the choice of how and where they want to spend it.

I like gift cards. If I get one to a store/restaurant that I think I'll never use, I regift it to someone who will like it and spend an equal amount of money of my own on me. I did that recently with a Starbucks card, sent it to my niece-in-law, just for fun, no occasion. Actually, I went to Starbucks and added more to the card, because it was just for $5 and that seemed a bit low to bother to send in the mail. :) First and last time in a Starbucks, for me, probably.

If someone gives me a card and there's no amount on it, I go online to their site and plug in the number from the back and find out what they put on it. That helps when shopping.

I have no problems with sending them out, either, but we don't do a lot of gift-giving.

I don't like checks, because:
1. My account number is on the check...if it's lost or stolen, then a stranger has my account number.
2. Most people today rarely go into a bank. It's a hassle to drive to the bank and wait in line to cash a check.

Like I said above, it's just a personal preference/reaction, but I always felt cash gifts said "we didn't put any thought into this." My late mother-in-law always gave me generous cash gifts, but I always wished she had bought something instead. I used to take the cash to Tiffany's and buy a piece of jewelry and then tell people, "My mother-in-law gave me this." Only technically true, I guess, but it felt so much better to me than saying, "My mother-in-law gave me the money to buy this."

Unfortunately, it's all moot now since my jewelry got stolen years ago. :-(

I should add that for certain recipients, like teenagers and college students, cash is probably the most appreciated gift of all.

This post was edited by alisande on Thu, Nov 20, 14 at 12:47