I Still Love Gift Cards, But No Bankrupt Ones Please
Last year around this time, I talked about my love for gift cards. Unlike many people, I love gift cards. I understand that sometimes they can be an impersonal gift, and a poor substitute for just giving cash, but still I love them. For me, a gift card is like giving the gift of shopping. I may have tamed my spending ways, and I may be rekindling my inner saver spirit, but that does not mean that I have suddenly become a hater of shopping. I find shopping fun (when I’m not overspending in the process) and although grocery and drug store shopping is a weekly treat for me, I also enjoy shopping just for the fun of it. And gift cards are a way to do that, for me.
(Note on drug store shopping: I have gotten to the point that I have not spent actual out of pocket money in Walgreens or CVS for several months now, I roll ECBs at CVS into new ECBs or use my Walgreens gift card to earn more money on my gift card. I do not recommend randomly shopping at drug stores weekly for just general items with no plan - drug stores are expensive.)
Gift cards, like any other gift, can be a thoughtful one or a thoughtless one. Gift cards get a bad rap in part because people just buy them without thinking and hand them out as gifts instead of learning what the person they are getting a gift for actually likes. If you just buy a random gift card for a store you have no idea if the recipient likes (or even has in their area… it has happened to me!) then it isn’t a very good gift. But if you are thoughtful about it, and choose a gift card you know the recipient will enjoy, a gift card is a perfectly valid gift. For me. 
But this year, there is an added complexity - researching the company you are buying a gift card for to see if they are in imminent danger of bankruptcy. If a company goes bankrupt, their gift cards may no longer be valid. A gift card is like a loan you’ve made to the company. Which in many cases is no problem, but sometimes, well…
At least I have already used all my Linens N Things gift cards.
So this year, if you are giving the gift of gift cards, do some research. Research is no guarantee but you’ll at least have tried to avoid companies that may not make it to the new year. Patrick at Cash Money Life put together a list of companies you might want to avoid, which is a good start to your “no bankrupt gift cards” research.
This year I’m asking for CVS gift cards.
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December 4th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
So true! Years ago I got a $50 gift card to Paul Harris and then they went bankrupt. I went to the store and they were selling clothing like crazy, very eagerly taking cash from people’s wallet but would not honor my gift card. I simply lost the money
December 4th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Like this article…I love gift cards too. I understand the pitfalls of them but I do think what gift card you give someone still shows thought.
December 4th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
I love gift cards too! This year I asked for Lands End so I can buy myself a NEW sweater, instead of a thrift store one.
For my nieces and newphews, I splurged and paid the service charge to get them gift cards from a bank - this way they can use them anywhere and I don’t have to worry about the store going bankrupt.
Interesting times we live in.
Happy Holidays!
December 4th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
I completely agree! If someone gives me cash, it just goes into my bank account and I feel guilty spending it on frivolous items. BUT, if someone gives me a gift card then I feel justified shopping for a treat for myself since I have to use the card anyway!
Great advice, though, about double-checking the store’s financial standing before buying gift cards this year…
December 5th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Ah, yes… cash. To be honest, I still haven’t spent my birthday money from 6 months ago. It will probably be absorbed into our budget when the NEXT birthday comes around, because I also feel guilty spending cash on myself.
Of course, I can’t put a gift card towards the mortgage so I have to spend it. I just wish that people would put more thought into gift cards, and think about where you actually shop. I’ve gotten all sorts of odd gift cards, from places that the giver likes to go.
December 5th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Since you mention CVS in the same post as gift cards…
I was truly annoyed to find that the American Express gift cards (on ECB special this week) cost $3.95 on top of the gift amount. I don’t blame CVS, but AmEx…gimme a break. I actually understand why they need to charge a fee, but they need to chop that in half to be even remotely competitive.
A few years ago, when my sister was a debt-reducing fiend, she refused to spend any money on herself and even felt guilty getting a $15 Supercuts hair cut. So for her birthday, I sent her what she really wanted: a shopping spree! Yup, a whole passle of giftcards: $25 at Barnes & Noble, $15 at The Body Shop, $50 at The Gap, $10 at Starbucks, $25 at Target. I could truly tell that she wanted the shopping experience as much as she wanted the stuff she bought.
December 11th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
I’m a gift card guy because all my kids are all over the country. I stumbledupon (literally, that site is awesome) this site and it saved me a ton of time. It is www.giftzip.com. It is just a giant directory of stores that offer instant gift cards that are printable or emailable. The hyperlinks take you right to the gift card so there is no need to comb through the sites. You don’t even have to go to the store! I’m in lazy dad heaven.