Utterly stupid little things, its money that is less useful in EVERY situation and expires! Even at the store where you can use it, what do you do with the money that’s leftover but too little to spend? Especially at expensive places, you could very well end up with 10-20$ OF YOUR OWN MONEY, that you can’t even use!
I was given a dunkin giftcard for volunteering at a repair cafe. First of all I’m on a diet but secondly I stuffed it in my wallet so quickly I completely forgot about it. The day I remember and go through the trouble of attending such a wretched establishment I was told it expired after I finished giving my order! After such bother to try to use this cursed thing I refuse to return fruitless from my endeavors so I paid with my own cash.
It is now, sulking into my hashbrowns and Boston cream do I realize I am now poorer, fatter and fucking miserable. FUCK gift cards.
I buy gift cards for the discounts. Usually you can get a gift card from anywhere between 3% and 20% off. Over the last 5 years, this has saved me $1000s on house renovations alone.
I have a credit card that gives 6% cash back on grocery stores. Gift Cards are supposed to be excluded from that, but it still works at some stores. I used to buy Amazon gift cards, effectively making Amazon 6% cheaper.
There’s some psychological stuff to consider, though. Did I spend more on Amazon because there was a gift card balance? I like to tell myself no, but I probably did.
This is honestly the only reason to buy a gift card especially at Costco. They often sell gift cards for 20% off their face value.