If you came here just to check Gift card related articles, please refer to following link -> Gift card Tutorials

Overview of a Gift card:

Credit: Apple Gift Card

A Gift card is a Payment card or any other ordinary card which holds the specific value of money in it. That can be used to purchase, get a discount, or spend money on some sort of service and product.

Gift cards can be issued by Retailers, Platforms, or Banks. Some of them give us Gift cards for free, but most of them charge the same amount of money that it actually holds.

You can use a Gift card as Gifts for someone. Gift cards are a popular gift choice for holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions.

Many gift card sellers offer customization options, such as the ability to change the background image of a Gift card and add a personal message or a photo to the card.

Types of Gift cards

There are several different types of gift cards, including Physical cards and e-gift cards(Electronic Gift cards).

Physical Gift cards are normal Plastic Gift cards that you get from Retailers or banks.

You can also order Gift cards for yourself or for someone else through Online Gift card sellers. In this case, you'll receive the Gift card by Email.

Prepaid Debit Gift card

Credit: Turkey Gift Card

Some are given by Employers to their Employees as Gifts during festival occasions or you can also purchase them from Different Online and offline retailers like Walmart, Target, BestBuy, eBay, etc.

This kind of Gift card uses Payment gateways like Visa, MasterCard, Amex, and Discover to do payments and online transactions efficiently.

Those Gift cards you can use as Prepaid Debit cards in almost every platform as a Payment method. We've written so many tutorials related to that.

A prepaid Debit Gift card has all those details like Card number, Expiry date, and CVV which are present in an ordinary Debit or Credit card. Which we can use to redeem before or during the checkout of the Product or service.

For more detailed information on different Debit Gift cards, please refer to below posts:

Visa Gift card

Mastercard Gift card

Platform-specific Gift card

Credit: 401kcalculator.org

Another type of Gift card that can be used only on a specific platform to buy certain Products or Services. E.g. Amazon gift card, Google Play Gift card, PlayStation Gift card, Netflix Gift card, Starbucks Gift card, etc.

This type of Gift card only has a Gift card redeem code which we had to redeem before or during the checkout of the Product or service.

Brand Gift card posts:

How to use an Amazon gift card on Amazon payments?

Reloadable Gift cards

Some gift cards can be reloaded with additional funds, allowing the recipient to use the card multiple times.

It just works like a Debit card. Once the Gift card gets out of money, we need to refill the card.

You can reload it through the Retailer website or by visiting any Gift card refill store. E.g. if you have a Reloadable Visa Gift card then you can visit its official website to reload the money or visit any other Gift card retailer like Walmart to refill the money.

Mobile Gift cards

Mobile Gift cards are another form of eGift card, where we receive gifts through SMS or Mobile apps. Some mobile apps do support Virtual Gift card facilities.

So, you can use that Gift card from your Mobile app or SMS to purchase anything that that Gift card can offer!

How do Gift cards work?

As we've seen there are different types of Gift cards and those work differently from each other.

Gift cards typically have different amounts and can be used to purchase Products or Services from a specific retailer or brand.

Activate a Gift card

Once you get a Gift card from others or purchase a gift card for yourself, you need to activate the Gift card.

Some gift cards may need to be activated before they can be used, either by the purchaser or the recipient.

You can activate it by Calling retailer customer support, the Gift card seller's official website, or by visiting the offline store.

Both Prepaid Gift cards and Platform-specific Gift cards need to be Activated before use. Some Gift cards don't require Activation.

The online Activation process is almost similar for all the Gift cards, you just need to Visit the Activation page of the Gift card.

Check Gift card balance

It is usually possible to check the balance on a Gift card by reaching out to the Seller or by using an online balance check from their respective Websites.

You can also call Respective customer support to check the Gift balance.

Transferring, Selling, or exchanging Gift card balance

It may or may not be possible to transfer the balance from one gift card to another or from the Gift card to any other platform or Bank account, depending on the seller and the specific terms and conditions of the cards.

We've got some techniques to transfer the specific Gift card balance to our Bank account or any other Platforms like Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, Amazon, Google Play, or others.

Some people may choose to sell or exchange their gift cards for cash or other cards, either through a third-party marketplace like eGifter, Paxful, or GameFlip or by negotiating with a buyer directly.

We've incorporated some Gift card transfer tricks and techniques in our Articles. If you have any of these Gift cards and want to transfer the funds, Please have a look into it.

Fees and restrictions on Gift cards

It is important to be aware of any expiration dates or fees associated with Gift cards, as they may affect the value of the card over time.

Some gift cards may have fees or restrictions on how they can be used, such as expiration dates or limitations on where they can be used.

Most of them apply some amount of Fee while purchasing the Gift card. E.g. If you are buying a $100 Gift card from any retailer, you'll need to pay money around $105, or $106. It depends on how much commission they charge!

Precautions to be taken for Gift card-related Scams

It is obvious to protect Gift cards from being lost, stolen, or damaged, as they cannot usually be replaced or refunded.

It is also important to be aware of Gift card scams and to take steps to protect yourself from fraud.

Your Gift card may get Stolen online if you've Ordered an e-Gift card which is going to land in your Email.

Attackers use Phishing and other Hacking techniques to Steal your Gift card Redemption code.

So, don't open any of the Emails which you get from unknown entities.

Don't open any of the Links from those emails which may be used to control your Email address and take important information from your Email.

Read How do Gift card scams work! for more information.

FAQs:

Where to buy Gift cards?

Gift cards can be purchased at a variety of locations, including online, in-store, and through third-party vendors.

If you want to buy Prepaid Gift cards or Platform-specific Gift cards, we'll suggest you purchase Gift cards from Retailers like Target, Walmart, GiftcardGranny.com, etc.

You can also purchase Platform-specific Gift cards from their official store. As you will get much better on the Official store!

How to redeem Gift cards?

Gift cards can typically be redeemed online, in stores, or over the phone, depending on the Gift card seller and the specific terms and conditions of the card.

The best way to redeem the Prepaid Debit Gift card is to Redeem the code option while checking out the product. As it will deduct the Product or service amount from the Total balance of the Prepaid Gift card.

If you're using a normal Gift card, please redeem it from the Redemption section of the Platform.

What resources do we provide on Gift cards?

This guide is to educate you on the Gift cards and resources related to Gift cards. Our Gift card category is all about how-to, Issue fixing, and other Miscellaneous questions problem-solving guides for different merchant gift cards,

1. How-to guides for Gift cards: How-to guides for different merchant gift cards.

2. Issue-fixing guides for Gift cards: Issue-fixing guides are how to fix Gift card-related issues like not being able to use a Gift card on a specific platform or How to fix a Gift card not working, etc.

3. Miscellaneous Topics & questions for Gift cards: Some examples of miscellaneous questions regarding Gift cards are

3 steps to Reload the Gift card balance!
3 ways to Check the balance of a Gift card!
Can I check Check the money from my Gift card?
Is it free to use a Gift card?

If you get any problems related to the Gift cards, please refer to our list of guides on Gift cards first. Definitely, you'll find something useful out of it!

Gift card Guide list - The Tech Review

Credits:

Gift cards
"Apple Gift Card" by bfishadow is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
"turkey gift card" by killrbeez is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
"Gift Cards" by 401(K) 2013 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Things you need to know about Gift card!

Overview of a Gift card: