Tell Santa, “No Gift Cards, Please.”
- December 16, 2009
- 2 comments
- Posted in Family, Latest Posts
Why are you giving a gift card for Christmas or Hanukkah? Why not make your gift the old-fashioned way—namely, by giving cash? A gift card is cash, and you’re probably paying good money for it. There might be a service fee and there’s always a shipping charge if you order the card online or by phone. Your giftee will be richer if you tuck that extra cost into a holiday envelope or mail a check, instead. Besides, giving cash ensures that the lucky recipient gets your gift’s full value. Lots of gift cards worth, say, $25, get thrown away if the purchase costs just $23. No one tosses $2 in cash into the trash.
If you receive a gift card, put it into your wallet and spend it as fast as you can. You might pay a monthly maintenance fee—say, $2 a month—if there’s still cash on the card after six months or a year. To redeem your card, you’ll have to shop in stores—it usually can’t be used for a purchase online (going out to stores would be a pain in the neck for me). If you lose the card, it might be replaceable (for another fee!), as long as you can prove, with receipts, how much you’ve used it for already. Some merchants simply say, “tough luck.”
So why is Santa buying gift cards? Beats me. Instead, wrap cash or a check in pretty paper, with a bow on top.
Tags: gift card
Itunes gift cards was my solution for teenage gifts. I guess I need to rethink that.
Itunes didn’t charge you for the card itself or for shipping, which is good. Whether it’s worth what you paid now depends on whether the teenagers use the full amount of the card’s value.