Yeah, what is up with that? I’ve got a kid and he hit an age where getting toys didn’t make sense – but there was this huge taboo against just giving his friends cash for their birthdays; it had to be gift cards. I tended to just do cash anyway, but he would always get gift cards on his birthday from friends – even if he was very clear that cash was JUST FINE!
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If I give gift cards its Amazon, because everyone can find something they need or want there.
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I hate gift cards, because in the end they are a gift to the retailer.
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Not me. I have been on an amazon strike since Prime Day of 2017.
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Postage stamps are another example – especially if you can get people to collect them.
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It’s the pressure to find a gift that shows a personal connection. That you know and understand the person. Cash is too impersonal.
What to get Susan? She like cats, reads murder mysteries. Oh, and she eats! Subway card! Whew, disaster averted.
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VISA gift cards are worse; they’re harder to actually use and a lot of the ones I’ve received start to decline in value after a while.
So I convert them into Amazon gift cards, which I know I will use eventually.
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When I give cash to kids, it is in the form of Sacagawea dollars in a pouch. Shows some effort went into it, is more fun than bills, and, I mean, it’s a sack of gold coins.
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Really depends on the scented candle.
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Missed out on on a particulary juicy deal, eh?
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Ugh. Amazon gift cards aren’t universally liked. I don’t like Amazon, but the company I work for LOVES LOVES LOVES to give us Amazon gift cards as year-end bonuses. I accumulated over $350.00 in Amazon gift cards over two years. They sat in my drawer until I finally had an idea what I could buy. But since I don’t have Prime, I also get to take a portion of the gift cards and pay for shipping. Yay.
Give me cash (note to boss) so I can buy what I want or need from a local place that could use my business.
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But they have honey! 
A good reminder to use the balance on the 4 StarBucks cards I have laying around.
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If you spend over like $35 I think the shipping is usually free… unless its from a 3rd party seller.
Still, you could buy 100 bucks worth of toilet paper and eventually use it all up.
I agree bonuses should be checks. I bet hes buying them and writing them off as expenses - vs employee pay.
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I’m pretty sure this varies state to state.
Nope. I spent over $50 per transaction and shipping was always extra. I’m sure they were third-party vendors, but that’s what is frustrating with Amazon. Most everything I looked at were from third-party vendors.
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Instead, lend money to your local shops buying their gift cards.
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Cash.
And one credit card for when something costs more than the $75-$100 I usually carry in my wallet.
No gift cards.
No debit cards.
And for ghod’s sake, no “apps”.
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Because they were paid for with a compromised credit card, a counterfeit draft, or a bad cheque. Then sold on Craigslist. Buyer goes in to redeem gift card and is out of luck if the vendor has voided the card.
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Consider giving them to someone in need - I used to get gifted Starbuck Cards a few times a year through work and would give to someone on the street.
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