Americans are expected to spend nearly $30 billion on gift cards this holiday, according to the National Retail Federation. Most will be redeemed.

Gift cards make great stocking stuffers — just as long as you don’t stuff them in a drawer and forget about them after the holidays.

Americans are expected to spend nearly $30 billion on gift cards this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. Restaurant gift cards are the most popular, making up one-third of those sales.

Most of those gift cards will be redeemed. Paytronix, which tracks restaurant gift card sales, says around 70% of gift cards are used within six months.

But many cards — tens of billions of dollars’ worth — wind up forgotten or otherwise unused. That’s when the life of a gift card gets more complicated, with expiration dates or inactivity fees that can vary by state.

  • @fuckwit_mcbumcrumbleEnglish
    16•11 months ago

    and know they’d feel guilty or embarrassed about receiving money directly

    That’s what I never understood about the taboo of cash as gifts. Whats weirder to me is it’s pretty common to get straight cash money as a gift for graduating from highschool, but not for christmas or birthdays?

    I personally dislike feeling the obligation to buy something from a specific store because of the gift cards. Getting cash (or not spending money on gifts) gives me more flexibility. And if I ever need the cash I don’t feel obligated to lose money in a transaction having to sell some item off. Whether it be the item I bought with the gift card, or some other item I bought so I can keep that other item.