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« The Worst Gift Card Ever! | Main | The Value of ONE Share of Microsoft »

Question of the Day – Gift Cards

By JLP | December 11, 2006

Do you plan on giving gift cards this year? If so, do you have a favorite you like to give?

Topics: Question of the Day | 7 Comments »


7 Responses to “Question of the Day – Gift Cards”

  1. HC Says:
    December 11th, 2006 at 2:41 pm

    I’m probably going to get one cousin an iTunes gift card, because he has an iPod that he uses a lot.

    I prefer to give store gift cards, because you can bundle them with some suggestions (Borders? Here’s the NYT Year-end Review of Books. iTunes? Here’s a list of the Metacritic winners. This won’t necessarily work for clothing stores, though.). Regular debit-type gift cards are just cash, and I’d just as soon give an envelope with bills in it at that point.

  2. Matt Says:
    December 11th, 2006 at 2:54 pm

    Nope, no gift cards this year. This year is on a budget because we’re saving for the wedding. Gifts will be small and a lot of people are going to get cards and a small bottle of wine at best.

    I’ve given them in the past but they’re very uninventive and really don’t show any thought behind the gift. It seems like you’re getting the card because you couldn’t be bothered to think up a nice gift idea.

  3. Traciatim Says:
    December 11th, 2006 at 3:58 pm

    I am giving my sister a Home Depot one since she is buying a house. It’s got a picture of paint brushes on it and it will be hiding in the interior paint section of the home maintenance book that I also got her.

    Since my Mom was too difficult to shop for, I got her one to the local Mall so that she can use it in any of the stores in the 3 major malls in my area, since the same company owns them all. I figure it will be good for a great jacket or a nice outfit.

  4. sam Says:
    December 11th, 2006 at 5:25 pm

    I give a lot of gift cards. Restaurants gift cards are among my favorites. I also like Target cards.

  5. Stacey Says:
    December 11th, 2006 at 6:52 pm

    I love giving and receiving gift cards. I hate buying and receiving CR**! With a nod to Cap…If I get one more candle I’ll scream!

    So, my favorites are restaurants (With Chilis–I keep the 20% bonus gift card when purchasing $25 increments. I also love to give Blockbuster (again, I keep the bonus gift card)

    I give gift certificates to my parents for their favorite restaurants and to the local movie theater. It’s my way of ensuring they have some fun on their limited budget.

    For the kids, they get their share of dvds, books, and some boardgames. No video game stuff tho’. Historically, I’ve also put $200-250 into each son’s 529 plan.

  6. Denise Says:
    December 12th, 2006 at 6:10 pm

    I’m a fan of restaurant certificates more so than gift cards, also. Just nice to force some folks to enjoy themselves — and to think of me while they do :-) . Also, I think it’s a little easier to make sure you cover the full cost of something, too. I always hated it when someone would give me a Tower Records gift certificate for less than the cost of a CD with tax. It was a nice thought — but it’s not a gift in full. There’s no way I could use it without supplementing it. Not that you couldn’t get in the same boat at a restaurant, but you can pretty much figure how much a meal will cost.

    I am not as much of a fan for spa certificates for some reason — probably again because they are never enough to cover a full service. If you’re buying a spa certificate, buy the service, including tip, if you can, as opposed to buying a $ figure — that way you’re not asking them to use their own money to redeem it.

  7. Angela Says:
    December 13th, 2006 at 12:19 pm

    Over here in the UK you can get book tokens which can be used in pretty much any bookshop, from small independent retailers to large chains. If I’m getting a giftcard, thats probably what I’ll get.

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