Review of the Visa Gift Card.
Should you use a Visa gift card?
Many people want to give a gift to someone but don’t know what they would like. So they decide to give a gift card.
Gift cards don’t always work well as gifts because some are not easy to use, and stores don’t always stay in business long enough for the gift card to be spent.
I recently read an article that stated that last year (2008) $8 billion in gift cards went unused! That is 8 billion dollars that were given as a gift to merchants or Visa.
Be careful when choosing gift cards. Some, like the Visa gift card, cost you more than you may think.
I discovered that the average Visa gift card costs you a minimum of $5 to purchase it. Then when the recipient attempts to use it the first time, an additional minimum amount of $5 is deducted from the card amount.
In order to use the entire amount on the card, you have to know the EXACT amount – to the penny – left on the card. It is impossible to use the full value of the card amount.
And once you start to use the Visa gift card, you have a limited amount of time to use all the cash on the card before you lose it. NOT a great deal for giver or recipient!
By contrast, gift cards from Walmart, Target or Lowes don’t charge you to purchase the card, or charge the recipient to use it – and you can use it right down to the last penny without a hassle.
You can usually find information on the store’s gift card policy by reading the back of the card BEFORE you purchase it.
OR… you can decide to give a gift of cash which can be spent anywhere and on anything the recipient chooses.
And here are some fun ideas for money gift holders.
And check out these great money origami ideas.
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