this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2024
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Big disagree.
It is unlawful for a gift card to expire in the US. (Ask Simon Malls how badly they got fucked for this.)
There are tons of expensive restaurants my partner and I are simply not going to go to unless we're able to knock $100 of the bill.
Retired people are on a budget. Gift cards help them with that.
Often times people have niche hobbies wherein buying a present might have good intentions. but it'll be in vain. I'm a beer snob. Do not get me beer as a gift, ever. Gladly take a gift card to a good brewery. I'm a musician -- don't buy me gear. I work and tinker with networking. Don't buy me hardware. Give me gift cards.
They are low effort and high reward. They are excellent gifts, both to give and receive.
Gift cards are intentionally earmarked for a specific purpose. If you give me a gift card for a restaurant, I'll go to that restaurant, and not feel guilty about "this is too expensive". You've given me an experience I won't choose for myself, but may enjoy. It's memorable, and the experience is inherently connected to you even if you don't go with me. I won't buy myself a massage. But if you encourage me to do so with a gift card to a massage place you enjoy, I will enjoy the experience.
That's the intent of gift giving. It's a way to strengthen a relationship by sharing items or experiences you think someone will enjoy. Cash can theoretically do that, but rarely does.
This is exactly it for me. If you give me cash, I will appreciate it but just end up saving it. If you give me a gift card I will use it to buy something I wouldn't have otherwise.
Plus, you can be more intentional with gift cards. Was your dad talking about how much he'd like a new fishing pole? Getting him a gift card to an outdoors store shows you were paying attention. Maybe your wife really likes manicures but never gets them for herself. A gift card to a spa shows thought.
I feel like at that point you just invite them to dinner/massage/etc. Much better way to bond anyway. Plus if someone is rare to prioritize fun, a bunch of gift cards to random ass places like rpg quests is stressful for those on an already tight schedule.
Having a bunch of gift cards you know you HAVE to use is stressful!
No one gives someone "a bunch" of gift cards - it seems like you're racing to validate your dislike of them. And I'm going to feel weird if my sister invites me to get a massage with her, though I appreciated it when she gave me a prepaid one years ago.
Here's another example. My brother barely makes ends meet, but he loves Starbucks. Of I give him $100 cash, is not going to move the needle for his cost of living, but it's going to go to bills. Of I give him $100 on a Starbucks card, he's going to treat himself a bunch of times to something he loves but can't really afford.
The other thing about it is that cash usually gets interpreted as "I put no thought into what to get you," while a gift card at least says you had something in mind.
You don't "have to" use them.
Most people consider a gift card as a substantially better gift than equivalent cash for a reason. It's a shared experience whether they're there or not.
For a specific purpose at a specific vendor. And thatβs why I hate gift cards. What if I want to go out to eat at a nice restaurant, but not the one they gave me the gift card for? Now you canβt go to the place you wanted to go to.
Or what if I want to buy something online, and itβs 50% off at vendor A but full price at vendor B and the gift card is for vendor B? Now your stick between paying for the item like normal, or wasting money getting it from the place that takes your gift card.
Going to the restaurant they recommended is the point of the gift. That's not a bug.
That's kinda the point, isn't it? Do you get mad if someone plans a fancy dinner, but you happen to be craving a burger that day?
Mad? No. Unhappy? Yes. If I don't want the food I'm not going to eat the food. I don't want people to waste their money on something I don't want.
Even if it's not my money I don't like unnecessary spending.
Cash is sterile and impersonal. It shows minimal effort and interest.
Lol bc gift cards arent...
giving somebody a gift card for a product or service you think they specifically will enjoy is objectively more personal than giving them cash, yes
Just tell them what you think they might want
It's not the same.
"Here, kid. Here's 50 bucks to get this toy I think you'd like"
"Why not just get me the toy?"
I feel this is a false equivalency. Toys are easy, and you often know if the other person would like it or not, in which case you get them the toy, and not a gift card. The statment being made here is money vs gift cards, not money vs actual items.
The comparison is off. A better comparison would be:
"Here, kid. Here's 50 buck to go to this restaurant I think you'd like" "Why not get me a gift card? / Thanks, but I dont like that restaurant. Thankfully I can spent it in others, whereas I wouldn't be able to with a gift card".
Why did you give me this toy, with you had just given me $50
There's a certain something to giving people cash versus a gift card.
For one, cash today is almost an inconvenience, a lot of places don't accept cash.
The other element to it is that gift cards need to be used for specific things, while cash is often seen as something to just toss in a bank account and use for necessities or forget about. If the goal of the gift-giver is for the recipient to treat themselves to something, a gift card helps set some limits. Or if the goal is to get something related to someone's hobby but you don't know enough about what to get them, the gift card is an option.
I don't hate getting cash as a gift, but I am going to be honest that it is not going to get spent on anything nice. It's going to rent and groceries and whatever is left gets tossed into savings.
I'm not much of a gift card giver, but there have been a few times where I gave Steam gift cards as a gift for friends who are into games but I don't know exactly what they want.
I have rarely encountered places that don't accept cash. The only places I've seen signs that state no cash are smaller businesses and/or street merchants/vendors.
Regardless, I agree with the spirit of your comment. I rarely use cash anymore simply because carrying it around is inconvenient. You have to know ahead of time exactly how much something is going to cost and then when you get coins back, that's doubly more inconvenient/annoying.
Ultimately, OP's post is a little melodramatic. Gift cards are meant to be more personal, although in the specific context they wrote, it does feel a bit half-hearted ("Thanks for helping, here's a random gift card I found in my wallet that I never used!").
I wouldn't say cash is sterile given how many hands etc that have handled it before you
If you give me cash, I'm probably just going to be boring and invest it.
Some people rarely prioritize fun things. Gift cards force them to.
Exactly the point here. Let's force people to allocate money in a way they don't want AS A GIFT BECAUSE WE'RE NICE!
Cash is superior in every way
On the expiration thing, that is only for certain types of gift cards. It's kind of a confusing mess. I know this because I tried to look into it, and I do not recall the answers I found, because they were confusing. My company uses a vendor called Tango for our gift cards, and some of those definitely do expire. The only ones I can think of that I'm almost certain about are the VISA gift cards. I'm not defending it, I think it's utter tripe, but somehow they do it.
It may be unlawful but I have over $100 in useless gift cards because the companies went out of business before I could use them. Cash is inherently superior. Although both cash and gift cards have the problem of being potentially tacky or offensive to give as a gift, depending on the context.
Bankruptcy is the only legitimate loophole.
These are all good points but the biggest reason I HATE gift cards is because they offer ZERO protection.
Buy something with a credit card and you often get double warranty protection included. That something gets damaged or stolen? Also protected.
Gift cards offer none of that. Neither does cash but at least I can use cash to pay off the credit card.
I get that a gift card is more personable and it earmarks the funds for a particular store. If you like gift cards, then cheers and go about your merry way.
I've emphatically told my loved ones that I never want a gift card. You want me to use the money somewhere specific? Just say so and I'll do it.
But don't give me a script that I can only use in one place and might lose.