What Is Gift Card: The NRF(National Retail Federation), has researched that gift cards have been the most requested present over the past nine continuous years. Everyone loves using a gift card. Many people have gift cards but still, know less about it. So, in this article, we will tell you about gift cards and how you can access them through your mobile phones or how to use your gift cards. Even if you have non-working gift cards then we have also explained how can you replace those cards very easily. In addition to that, this article will tell you about how to use gift cards. If you are also new gift card holders and want to know several things about these Gift cards then you are at the perfect place. So without any further ado, let’s get started….
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Storing Gift Cards in the Phone via App
Most people prefer their gift cards on their mobile phones, especially if they have a bunch of these cards. They have clicked the picture of the front of the gift card and have stored it in some apps on their phones. This makes it very easy for cardholders to carry your card more safely and easily. Many apps are specially designed for storing the cards in your smartphone such as the Gift app, where you can not only store your gift card but can also back them up as well. Another example of such an app is Stocard and this helps in storing your gift card more easily. From this app, you scan your cards and can also add them to a “digital wallet”. In this way, it also lets the cardholders know the recorded balance and manage their card as well.
Gift Cards Also Have Expiration Date
Many people are not aware of the fact that the gift card can also expire. However, these cards don’t expire within five years and according to the Credit CARD Act, your gift card will not expire until 5 years after the date when the card was purchased. Therefore, before you buy these cards, you should know that these may expire after some time so be smart enough to figure out when the card is going to expire so that it doesn’t take you by surprise.
Protect Your Card From Theft And Loss
The best thing about most of the gift cards is that you can protect your card from any kind of theft and loss. Earlier, there used to be no policy for the protection of these gift cards. It used to be equal to cash, you can’t do anything if stolen or lost. Nowadays, you can protect your cards from any loss or theft by issuing bank-branded cards. You can register your card with the issuer so that you can replace funds if the card is stolen or lost.
It applies to the retailer’s card also. If you want to register your gift card then you can go to the website behind the card or call the toll-free number of the free registration model. You just need to provide the card number, PIN, expiry date, name, and address. It will hardly take five minutes and your gift card will get registered.
Be Careful Of Gift Cards For Poor Businesses
One thing about gift cards which most of the cardholders ignore while purchasing the card is that these cards are tied to many companies. However, most of these gift cards are linked with companies that are not doing well in the market or are at the stage of bankruptcy. So when you buy these cards then you can no longer redeem them as the company has gone broke. This factor makes the cardholders unhappy and takes them by surprise. So, whenever you buy these cards make sure you check about the companies to which these cards are tied with.
Retailers Also Prefer To Use That Card
You must have suspected sometimes that a retailer won’t use this card as it will let him keep its entire value but it is not true. Timm Walsh, board chairman of the Retail Gift Card Association and vice president of sales for Regal Entertainment Group says that they want it to be spent. If the gift cards are spent, they’ll make more of it.
What Can Be Done For Inactive Cards?
Sometimes what happens is that you pull out a card to register but in the place, you get to know that the card is no more in working condition or its worth is less than what it should be. In this situation, you need to have an activation receipt. It is with the person who purchased the card. Mostly it is the cardholder. So, you need to have an activation receipt to provide proof that this card was activated. A malfunctioning store card will be taken back to the store and if it is the bank branded card then you should call the toll-free number on the back of the card.
Conclusion
So these are all the necessary points that you should know if you are planning to buy gift cards. Moreover, in the holiday season, the supermarket gets flooded with these gift cards and at that time not only you are the one who will be gifting these cards to your friends and family but you will be also among those who will be receiving these cards as a gift from other people as well. That’s how these cards have become a popular and very common gift for almost every celebratory occasion. The range of its kind of gift cards is out of our imagination. These cards can cover almost everything that you favour the most such as department stores, restaurants, music or video streaming services, and bookstores, among many. So you can buy these cards as per your preference if you are purchasing them for yourself or else as per the preference of the one to whom you are gifting these gift cards.