Gift Card Advice Needed?

[GRITSinMS]

I have read the many posts about giving gift cards - the fees associated with them, the charges when not used, etc. We have family - several adult children and other relatives, none of whom live in the same city as us. I am considering sending Visa gift cards in lieu of presents or cash. A gift card would be easier to ship and I think might be spent on something more useful than if we just sent cash. Any thoughts or advice?

[MiikeB]

If you know what stores they frequent you can get store gift cards, which do not have fees associated.

Also, you can sometimes find the Visa's with rebates on the load fee from walgreens.

[snafu]

As a receiver of gift cards, I am very appreciative that the sender knows me well enough not to buy a useless trinket. I always respond with a thank you, telling the sender what item I bought.

If sending a card with an expiration date, let the receiver know and that you'd be thrilled to know what they selected.

[cooliemae]

The Visa cards cost around $4 per card to activate (purchaser pays that fee), as for the fees on the card, it depends on the manufacturer. Most VISA cards have a 12 month free grace period from the date of purchase, then apply a small 2-3 dollar fee every month after that until the card is used up.

Some card manufactures though only give you a 6 month grace period so read the fine print.

[CrazShop]

I don't purchase the Visa cards because of the fees. I didn't know they have a 2 or 3 dollar fee every month after until the card is used up. The best bet is to get store coupons like MiikeB said.

[poundwise]

I have used Gift2Go Visa gift cards in the past and have been very satisfied. Gift2Go is from IDT and you can order the cards online.

Depending on the dollar amount of the card, the service fee is between $3.95 and $5.95. There are no per-use or monthly ongoing fees for the card recipient. The card does have an expiration but it is 12 months from the date of issue.

(Even after that, the money isn't just gone - see details on site - but IMO it is perfectly reasonable that one should use a gift card up within 12 months.)

When you order a card, you can choose from different designs and can have the recipient's name put on the card along with an optional message like "Merry Christmas."

The card can be mailed to either the recipient's or the purchaser's address. To have this done by first-class mail incurs no additional charge. I always have the card(s) sent to me and then I give them to the recipient myself at the appropriate time.

In general, I think store cards are great, as long as you know what the person might like to have. If you aren't sure of that, or just want them to have the freedom to shop virtually anywhere, I think Gift2Go is the best option for a gift card.

[disneysteve]

If the folks on your list are online, send them an Amazon gift card. There is no fee and Amazon sells a wide variety of merchandise from books and music to appliances and food and office supplies. You can get almost anything on Amazon.

[poundwise]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

If the folks on your list are online, send them an Amazon gift card. There is no fee and Amazon sells a wide variety of merchandise from books and music to appliances and food and office supplies. You can get almost anything on Amazon.

That is a good suggestion. Amazon gift cards can be purchased in a format that the purchaser can print and give, as an actual card mailed to either the purchaser or recipient, or by e-mail, which may not work well for gift exchanging at the holidays, but does serve other purposes.

[freesamples]

Love and affection can be shown by any means. The method you adopted should be received by the other end with positive attitude. Thanks.

[aukxsona]

I sent my family restaurant certificates from Restaurant.com. It cost about 12 dollars for my whole family to get one. I ordered them when the certificates were at an 80% discount. My family goes out about once to twice a year to these places, and it always costs a mint. The bills usually come to about 50 dollars for my granny and pap. I ordered a 25 dollar gift certificate, as a way of saying hey. They last a year. You can print it from home and send it in a letter. Grandma loved it. (I sent it early)