Money Poll #21: Gift Cards
Gift cards are getting to be a more and more popular gift-giving option, but they’re not without their drawbacks. Dormancy fees, expiration dates, etc. If you’re not careful, that generous gift that you just received from Aunt Martha might just slip away. With the foregoing in mind, I wanted to get a sense for how many people out there got gift cards over the holidays this year. We did, and we’ve spent some of them, but haven’t (yet) touched others. How about you?
Note: If the poll doesn’t work properly in the RSS feed you’ll have to click through. Sorry.
Published on January 8th, 2007 - 4 Comments
Filed under: Polls
email this article
- add to tip'd - stumble it - digg it - bookmark it
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
Related articles...
» Gift Card Poll Results» Credit Card Poll Results
» Money Poll #3: Credit Cards
» Money Poll #4: Carrying a Credit Card Balance
» Buyer Beware: Sharper Image Gift Card Restrictions
» Beware the Siren Song of Gift Cards
» Credit Limits Poll Results
» Credit Card Receipt Poll Results
Was this article useful? Please sign up to receive our content via e-mail:
Great deals...
Readers’ choice...
Recent articles...
- Did Congress Make the Homebuyer Tax Credit Retroactive?
- Congress Extends $8000 Homebuyer Tax Credit, Adds New $6500 Credit
- Lending Club Update - October 2009 Performance
- How Much to Budget for Car Maintenance?
- Series I Savings Bonds Now Paying 3.36%
- Use Weight Loss Strategies to Get Out of Debt
- Weekly Roundup - Disney Shanghai Edition
- How to Save Money on Vacations
- Most and Least Reliable Cars - 2009 Edition
- Get 100 Free Trades from OptionsHouse Brokerage
Recent comments...
- Penny: I am about to purchase a new home.. which will be my new residence...
- APRIL DAYS: I FOR ONE HOPE THAT THE FIRST TIME HOMEOWNERS TAX CREDIT IS EXTENDED BECAUSE...
- JB: I drive a 1999 car and save $60 a month for car repairs, oil...
- Greta: My significant other and I bought a house in February 2009. My boyfriend...
- Jay: Don't forget nCleaner 2nd for turning off widows firewall and windows defender...also use the...
- Bryan: @Doug - you said it... if you simply delayed the closing, it would have...
- Sympathetic Dish TSR: @ Bonnie: Is your HD tv a Flatscreen LCD style? If so then a...
- John DeFlumeri Jr: Thanks for explaining the tax credit. Too bad for those who purchase in...
Most talked about...
- Dave Ramsey is Bad at Math
- $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Dish Network Customer Service SUCKS
- How to Claim the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
- $15,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Reduced Credit Limits? Share Your Experience
- Would the "Fair Tax" Gut the Economy?
- Tax Stimulus Rebate Payments to Start Early
- Pay Off Mortgage Early? Or Invest?
- The Best Online Savings Accounts (Updated!)
- Life's Too Short to Drink Cheap Beer
- $7500 First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
I really wish people would stop giving gift cards. What ever happened to good old fashioned cash? Gift cards are less helpful to the recipient, but gost the giver the same. Unless you get a ShareBuilder gift card, you can’t invest the card value (to buy something even bigger in the future).
Comment by CreditShack — Jan 8th 2007 @ 9:10 amTarget is now doing something interesting. I don’t know how long ago they started it or the extent to which they do it. They are offering store rebates on some items. This sort of rebate I don’t object to. It is issued automatically at the register when you pay for your purchases. There are no tricky conditions or pre-expried deadlines.
What Target has done that makes these different is that the rebate comes in the form of a Target gift card. What it works out to is a hybrid somewhere between a rebate and a buy 2 get 1 free deal. You get the equivalent of a buy 2 get 1 free, but the freebie can be anything for that amount in the store. We’ve seen this deal from time to time on certain brands of soda.
Comment by Anonymous — Jan 8th 2007 @ 3:24 pmI got one gift card for a small amount so that’s already been spent.
I agree — I hate getting them. If you’re not going to bother shopping, just give me the cash. I’ll decide how to spend it.
Comment by Luna_C — Jan 8th 2007 @ 11:25 pmWhen I got married we got a ton of BB&B and HD gift cards, all of which got used. Most of the HD gift cards went towards insulation for the attic, and what was left went towards replacing our back door after we got broken into. For the holidays, we got a linens and things card, but that was just a few days ago since I didn’t get down to CT to see my sister until this past weekend. My guess is that she thinks we’ll use it on a towel warmer, but we have no room in our bathroom for it and our only plug is directly above the sink (I haven’t bothered moving it I just switched it for a GFCI outlet). I am sure my wife will make use of it in short order though.
Comment by Blaine Moore — Jan 9th 2007 @ 10:04 am