Do you use your gift certificates and gift cards....

[kdonnel]

making sure to order above the value of the card to use it up, but then it’s costing money out of pocket.

One of the main reasons gift cards exist! Businesses love this feature!

 

[Searc]

Starbucks and Amazon cards get used because I shop at those places on a regular basis so it’s convenient to use and if I forget to use it this time, I can try harder to remember to use it next time in a day or two. Basic Visa and Amex cards would get used for the same reason, but no one gives me those.

Outside of those examples, I’d rather not deal with gift cards. Restaurant cards become an obligation, having to make time to go to a restaurant we usually aren’t that crazy about in the first place, then making sure to order above the value of the card to use it up, but then it’s costing money out of pocket.

Last month I finally used a $300 gift card to a spa that I’d been sitting on for twelve years and the only reason I got around to it is because I’m moving out of state and needed to use it or lose it. My in-laws have been giving us Penzey’s gift cards every Christmas for the past few years. They’ve been piling up and now we have hundreds of dollars we need to spend on spices. Gift cards become a burden when they aren’t to a place one shops at regularly.

You can order Penzey's online.

 

[mjkacmom]

Starbucks and Amazon cards get used because I shop at those places on a regular basis so it’s convenient to use and if I forget to use it this time, I can try harder to remember to use it next time in a day or two. Basic Visa and Amex cards would get used for the same reason, but no one gives me those.

Outside of those examples, I’d rather not deal with gift cards. Restaurant cards become an obligation, having to make time to go to a restaurant we usually aren’t that crazy about in the first place, then making sure to order above the value of the card to use it up, but then it’s costing money out of pocket.

Last month I finally used a $300 gift card to a spa that I’d been sitting on for twelve years and the only reason I got around to it is because I’m moving out of state and needed to use it or lose it. My in-laws have been giving us Penzey’s gift cards every Christmas for the past few years. They’ve been piling up and now we have hundreds of dollars we need to spend on spices. Gift cards become a burden when they aren’t to a place one shops at regularly.

It didn’t expire? I have a $200 one that expired 10 years ago. I recently went though ours, looked up values and wrote the balances on the cards. Some had the balance whittled down to nothing due to fees, some places are no longer in business, sold an American girl card on raise (my youngest daughter is 16).

 

[Erzengel]

We told family, to get us Best Buy, Crate & Barrel, Apple gift cards and two or three years later, we'd have enough for a new tv, couch or phone.

Now it's get us Disney Gift Cards because they offset the price of eating out at Walt Disney World.

 

[Kozmikkruiser]

Me too

You dont feel guilty about that I do when I do that but I am not going to eat something I dont like either

I dont because I give them specifically to people who I know will use it. And o do double check the balance to make sure they get an activated card otherwise I would feel awful. I will never go to gamestop but my brother loves it. All the gamestop gc for him! Hahaha

 

[TipsyTraveler]

You can order Penzey's online.

I know, but this is my current spice situation. The last thing I need is more. (I already had this picture, I didn’t just take it for this thread. )

It didn’t expire? I have a $200 one that expired 10 years ago. I recently went though ours, looked up values and wrote the balances on the cards. Some had the balance whittled down to nothing due to fees, some places are no longer in business, sold an American girl card on raise (my youngest daughter is 16).

No, it actually specified that it was a non-expiry gift card so they didn’t have much choice but to honor it. The ones they sell now are only good for six months, I think.

 

[Searc]

I know, but this is my current spice situation. The last thing I need is more. (I already had this picture, I didn’t just take it for this thread. )
View attachment 419394

No, it actually specified that it was a non-expiry gift card so they didn’t have much choice but to honor it. The ones they sell now are only good for six months, I think.

I'd throw all of them away and replace them with Penzey's. Most of them are probably expired, anyway.

 

[Sabeking]

I receive lots of gifts cards as a teacher and I love them! I will save some restaurant for a special occasion and spend others quickly. I do however receive lots of Starbucks cards and I can’t stand their coffee, so I let them pile up and then take them on vacation. My daughter’s love their teas and I will treat them when we are out of town.

 

[Floridaman999]

I can't remember the last time we received a gift card, but we would certainly use it if we did.

 

[Dznypal]

we had one for thats amore that my DH got when he graduated from college-- in 2009 weve never been there but I kept it in my purse--our DS took us out to eat and we went there I told them to use the GC not even sure if it would work but it did!! full value too--there was nothing on the back of card as far as expration or any fees--that was fun

 

[TipsyTraveler]

I'd throw all of them away and replace them with Penzey's. Most of them are probably expired, anyway.

Picture was taken after going through the expiration dates and throwing away the four bags of (ironically enough) Penzey’s dried peppers that were past date. (All of this Penzey’s stuff has been gifted to me.) I just don’t find that brand to be worth the price, nor is it convenient to have to place a separate online order when I run out of something that I could just pick up at the store while doing my regular shopping. So back to my original point, gift cards can be a waste and/or pain in the butt if they’re not for something you’re interested in.

 

[bethbuchall]

I have a bad habit of saving them for something "special" and then not using them for a long time. For instance, I have $55 in Target gift cards that I was given at the end of the year by students. I go to Target fairly often, but I don't want to spend them for my regular purchases. I want to wait until there's something that I want but might not otherwise buy. But then nothing ever seems "special enough" to use the cards. I realize that it's not logical, but it's what I do. Restaurant ones are nice because dh doesn't like eating out, but I can convince him to go out if we have a gift card. The only trouble is when the gift card actually causes us to spend a lot of money that we otherwise wouldn't have.

 

[Moliphino]

I did know this about Visa gc’s and it’s one of the reasons that I never give them. The other is that if it’s partially used and you don’t know the remaining balance it’s very difficult to use as a store cannot tell and they need to know an amount to enter. I didn’t explain that last part well, sorry.

For those reasons when someone gives us a Visa, I just take it on my next grocery shop and use the full amount.

I've had an American Express gift card in my wallet with $1.36 on it for years. It's such a pain to use them when they have next to nothing on them. I should probably check it's still worth anything, haven't done that in a while.

Looked at it closer, it expires this month! Still not sure where to use $1.36.

 

[wishesuponastar]

I've had an American Express gift card in my wallet with $1.36 on it for years. It's such a pain to use them when they have next to nothing on them. I should probably check it's still worth anything, haven't done that in a while.

Looked at it closer, it expires this month! Still not sure where to use $1.36.

At the supermarket or gas station?

We are in the middle of a dispute on a gift card. DD18 got a $50 Visa gift card for her HS graduation. When she went to use it, she realized someone that day had used it at the MAC store! We called Visa and they emailed us a dispute form. Wonder if we will ever get that $50 back. I never want another visa gift card.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

DD gets DQ or McDonald's gift cards often from relatives. I found a stack of DQ cards and decided to start using them. Our local DQ (where the cards were bought) couldn't accept the cards for a couple years! It was infuriating. They take them now so that pile is gone lol. I usually just hold onto them. I did just use a few Disney GCs to purchase VAH party tickets!

 

[disneychrista]

I don't get them very often but when I do I am getting them for places I frequent (Starbucks, Amazon). If I didn't go to the place that I got a card to, I would look at giving it away or as others say it would "live" in a drawer.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

or do they wind up collecting in a drawer somewhere?

We have quite a few that need to be used....

if they are for dining we keep an accordion folder in our car and try to remember to use them. If they are for Sephora trust me I keep them in a envelope and use them during discount times. That being said any others for stores etc that I never frequent sometimes get lost. I had a 10 year old Barnes and Noble I found the other day. Luckily, it did not depreciate. I guess I like to get certain gc but wish I could be better at keeping track and using. I think many of them go to waste.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

One thing about Cheesecake Factory, if you get a gc with a bonus like a free piece of cheesecake and it has expired they will still let you use it.

 

[fla4fun]

I don’t receive any gift card but Publix, which I would use for groceries right away, and Disney, which I use on vacation. I only buy gift cards for people that I specifically know they will use, like getting my BIL an Apple gift card because I knew he wanted to upgrade a device, or my sister for stores I know she shops at frequently. If there’s a store I think someone would like goods from, I buy the actual goods first, and then if they end up buying from that store a lot, I know it’s OK to get a gift card. One of my coworkers has an issue every year at Christmas when their in-laws give them random gift cards that they would never use, sometimes totaling hundreds of dollars. Why they don’t buy a Visa or Amex gift card instead is beyond me.

 

[disneychrista]

Why they don’t buy a Visa or Amex gift card instead is beyond me.

They $4.95+ activation fee would prevent me from buying these.