[Skoob]

A gift card program seems clever at first blush, but run a search for "Gift Card" and "Fraud," and a dark picture develops. Cards appear to represent quite a headache, maybe / probably more trouble than they're worth.

Online Retail Fraud Attempts Increased by 30% in Past Year (18-Nov)

I despise gift cards generally. People give them when they feel obliged to buy something but can't be bothered to shop.

Gift Cards Suck

American consumers are wasting roughly $8 billion annually on holiday shopping, thanks to gift cards. Each year an estimated $1 billion on gift cards go unredeemed, while $5-7 billion on gift cards expire before use or are simply lost. That sucks.

Gift cards are thoughtless, wasteful presents – and yet, the National Retail Foundation estimates that this year the average American consumer will spend approximately $163 on gift cards, the highest average to date. Stop the madness! Don’t give your loved ones something they will just throw in a drawer and never think about again. Give them something unique and personalized – something they will cherish. Be the hero this holiday. Don’t give a gift card.

My preference is quality time, followed by good old paper CASH. No fees, no fraud, no hassle, fully transferable, and no expiry!