Gift cards are a fairly recent invention of the commercial world, only coming into widespread use over the past decade or so. Also called prepaid cards, they are a great alternative to either buying the person you care about a particular product or just giving them cash iTunes gift card.
These cards can be given for just about any occasion, including birthdays, Bar or Bat Mitzvahs, Christenings & baptisms, graduations, promotions, employee rewards, and partner appreciation programs.
If you are not sure about whether to purchase a gift card in a store or to buy the person something else entirely, here are 3 advantages to getting prepaid gift cards as gifts:
1. Dedicated prepaid gift cards can be purchased for a large variety of brands:
Most cards are issued by the purveyors of dedicated brands, restaurants, stores, or websites. For example, you may have seen Target, iTunes, or T.G.I. Fridays gift cards. These cards can only be used to buy goods and services represented by that brand. They can be redeemed in-store or online, in most cases.
However, another type of these cards are also known as prepaid debit cards. In this case, they carry major credit card symbols such as MasterCard, Visa, and American Express. And, these cards can be used wherever the particular major credit card on the label is accepted. The difference between these and actual credit cards is that there is no need to fill out a credit application or open a checking account to qualify for one. Once the balance is depleted or used up, the card can be thrown away or, in some cases, reloaded with more value.
2. The recipient can use the card for its full face value:
If you purchases a card for $100, then the recipient can use it to purchase goods and services for that full amount. In other words, there are no hidden fees that the recipient has to pay in order to use them.
3. They are more fun to receive as a gift than cash or other products:
Let’s face it: it is always fun to receive a gift. However, receiving specific products that the gift-giver chose is sometimes less-than-satisfying. That’s because if you do not like what you got, you are stuck with it or have to go to the store to exchange it. By contrast, receiving cash as a gift is much more versatile, but giving cash can give the impression that the gift-giver was a bit lacking in creativity.
Another thing to keep in mind is after you sign up for one of these programs, if you notice that you don’t like what they are asking you to do, like sign up for certain programs or buying something you don’t want. Don’t waste your time, leave the site immediately. Cut your losses and move on to the next site.
The third thing that you should do is make a second email address. These companies tend to be a bit spammy. If they have your actual address there is nothing to worry about because they will not spend the money on the actual mail system, plus you will need to give them your address to get your free gift card. What they will do, however, is spam the heck out of your email. So start a secondary email just for these offers and when that one gets over run with spam start a third and a fourth…. well you get the idea. Don’t worry you can have as many emails as you’d like… they are free after all. I personally like Gamil.com but there are a ton of free email services out there PlayStation Gift Card .
That is why gift cards are so much fun: the recipient can use them for whatever they want, but it still feels like the giver had actually put some thought into it.
