What's the point of gift cards?

rumblefish

I mean by buying these things aren't you basically saying:


"Hello, can you please ruin this twenty quid so it can only spend it in a particular store/stores, no longer gives you change, has an expiry date and becomes worthless if said store goes bust."


And subsequently:


"Happy birthday! Here's twenty quid that can only be spent in a retailer/retailers that I've chosen rather than one that can be spent anywhere you wish."


What's wrong with just giving someone the twenty quid?






.

Takeaway_Addict

Its because sending money has connotations of being rude, but a gift voucher......

Faith177

If my mum sent me a Scottish £20 note I would have issues spending it where I live so I would have to change it in the bank before I could spend it. Would rather the gift voucher lol

vyle

Faith177 wrote: »

If my mum sent me a Scottish £20 note I would have issues spending it where I live so I would have to change it in the bank before I could spend it. Would rather the gift voucher lol

Where do you live that won't allow you to spend scottish £20 notes? Russia?

lucy03

It also enables you to give a gift which you know the recipient will use, so if you give 20 pounds of vouchers for a cinema chain, you know they'll go and see a film and enjoy a night out. If you give them 20 pounds of cash, it might just get used up on other things and the giver never gets to think they're enabled the recipient to have a night out.

It's always difficult, but it is nice for many people when giving a present to think that the recipient will enjoy a night out, a meal out or entertainment they wanted, even though there is the unfortunate risk the company then goes under.

arbroath_lass

I don't trust teenagers not to buy crap with £20. Or I know their parents will make them bank the money. I want them to have a gift so they get a voucher.

I don't get what you mean about no change, though. Anything not spent remains on the card.

Oh, and because some people will buy stuff for their kids/family (it is mostly Mums do this IME) when the gift was meant for them. (Not because they are short of cash - that is completely different)

System

A £20 note will just get spent on everyday things and tends to get lost. A gift voucher forces you to buy an item from a designated store. Then when the gift giver asks what you bought you can say "I bought this coat". As opposed to "I bought a newspaper, a can of coke, a bus ticket, a mars bar and a couple of pints down the pub"

System

vyle wrote: »

Where do you live that won't allow you to spend scottish £20 notes? Russia?

Its a nightmare trying to spend Scottish currency in England. A lot of retailers won't take them. Although the other week I got a Northern Ireland £10 and that was even worse to get rid of!

Faith177

vyle wrote: »

Where do you live that won't allow you to spend scottish £20 notes? Russia?

Have you ever tried to spend a Scottish note in London??

90% of retaliers will refuse it as they don't believe it to be legal tender.

arbroath_lass

Faith177 wrote: »

If my mum sent me a Scottish £20 note I would have issues spending it where I live so I would have to change it in the bank before I could spend it. Would rather the gift voucher lol

We do get English notes up here too, lol. There are cash machines I can find locally that dispense only English notes!

Faith177

arbroath_lass wrote: »

We do get English notes up here too, lol. There are cash machines I can find locally that dispense only English notes!

There is only 1 machine in my mums local town that we know of that does English notes and they don't always have them.

She works long hours so doesn't have time to drive 30 mins to the other side of town to go to 1 cash machine in the hope it has an English note