What Are Cash Gift Cards?
Doug Smith

Defined Tag: Cash Gift Cards.

The answer for buying presents for those people that are "hard to buy for" is to give them cash gift cards. Instead of browsing for hours or even days in malls and department stores, these easy to buy and convenient gift cards make excellent gifts. They are essentially gift certificates in credit card form. They are purchased with cash, and spend just like cash too. The buyer decides how much cash to load onto the card, and then the recipient can spend it like money on anything he or she wants, depending on the rules of the cash card.

Some cards, like prepaid Visa and MasterCard, can be used anywhere credit or debit cards are accepted, which is virtually anywhere. Because the card is backed by a fixed cash amount, the user incurs no interest or other fees that are associated with credit cards. When the cash gift amount on the card is exhausted, the card is worthless, although some of them can be reloaded with cash. Department stores offer these card-like gift certificates, but the gift card must be used in a branch of that department store only. Malls and gallerias offer prepaid gift cards that can be used at any merchant in the mall! That's a really flexible present to give.

To purchase prepaid cash cards, visit the store, bank or mall that you want the card to be from. Blank gift cards are often found near the cash registers with various denominations printed on them. Some stores allow you to decide exactly how much cash to load onto the card. Either pick the card with the denomination you want to give, or a blank card, and take it to the register. The cashier will scan the gift card and you will pay the amount you want to put on the card. The bar code on the card is registered in a central database, and any purchases made with that card are subtracted from the initial balance until all the money is spent. Gift cardholders can often check their card balances online by visiting the store's website and entering the bar code number on their card.

If you are going to send a cash card as a gift from a particular store, it helps to check that a branch of that store is located near the recipient. If the nearest store is 100 miles away, that's not very convenient for the gift recipient! It is easy to find stores near the intended recipient by visiting the store's website and using the "store locator" function. Sometimes all you have to enter is the recipient's zip code.

The gift card recipient does not have to use the entire card balance on a single purchase. He or she can make several smaller purchases over time, with each transaction being deducted from the remaining balance. If the balance is not sufficient to cover a purchase, the buyer can make up the difference with cash, or a credit or debit card. Hold on to your gift cash cards, because they are just like cash and usually can't be replaced if lost or stolen.

When you don't have time to shop for a gift, or don't know what to buy for a birthday, holiday, religious, Valentine's, or graduation present, cash gift cards offer a nice alternative that is classier than stuffing cash into a card.

Copyright 2008 by Doug Smith. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Unauthorized Duplication Prohibited.