Christmas Gift Cards. More Popular Than I Ever Suspected.
I have written about gift cards on this site before. Gift cards like Simon gift cards and Visa gift cards. However I had no idea that they were so popular.
According to the National Retail Federation gift cards are big business. BIG business. $26 billion worth of business to be exact, this holiday season. Can you believe that we spend that much money on gift cards?
A gift card like the Simon Gift card (which is in fact a Visa gift card) works as a way to give someone what is in effect a cash gift, but doing it a little more subtly than just giving cash.
The card is purchased to a value, then the recipient is able to redeem the value of the card at any place that gift card is accepted. In the case of the Visa gift card for example, anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted, although possibly with some exceptions.
It is possible to purchase gift cards in lots of guises. I, for example, have received a gift card from a large retail chain, but it can only be redeemed at that particular chain. Nowhere else.
However the purpose of this article is not to cover the particular gift cards available, but to alert you to the fact that gift cards are not as good a gift as cash, on a purely monetary basis. That a gift card purchased for, say, $50 does not enable the purchase of $50 worth of gifts or products, or if it does it may cost the purchaser more than $50.
It’s all about the fees. Because of course with cash there are no fees. If you give someone $50 they get $50 to spend, and it costs you just $50.
But with gift cards you need to factor in the fees and charges, and some of these are not obvious.
For example I have been reading more on the Simon gift card. And I’m not coming down on Simon gift cards at all, just using them as an example. Fees apply everywhere.
A Simon gift card attracts shipping and handling charges of $5.95 for the regular card, or $6.95 for the custom card. And, depending on the card, if the card is not used for 12 months it attracts a monthly administrative fee. And possibly a lost or stolen replacement fee, and possibly an expired card fee.
Now that’s not to say that you shouldn’t purchase a Simon gift card or a Visa gift card or any other gift card. They are a nice gift, they are more secure than cash, they can be posted more securely, (although at the risk of fees if they disappear in the post) and it’s much nicer to give a gift card than cash at Christmas.
And they allow the recipient to choose exactly what it is that they want, if you’re stuck for ideas.
So if you’re thinking of a gift card for him this Christmas go ahead, as long as you’re aware of the possible fees. They should all be listed in the terms and conditions, go ahead and read them before you buy. And suggest, when you give a gift card as a gift, that he should consider using it relatively quickly, (depending on the card), because delay can attract fees.
And if you’re interested in reading more about [tag-tec]gift card[/tag-tec] fees you can do so here.
And you can also, while you’re here, read some more of my ideas for Christmas gifts for men.
And here's a few more hot mens gifts suggestions:
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