Christmas and Gift card

The Sunday Paper today the whole front page was an article on gift cards

(Baltimore Sun)

but what I think is important is that  I share the tips with you that they gave if you plan on giving a gift card as a gift.

The first and foremost thing is to check and see if the retailer is in danger of going out of business.

We all remember the problems the  Sharper image had, and most recently Linens and Things where they went bankrupt and the gift cards were no longer accepted.

Check for fees, read teh terms on the back of the card, if there is a bank backed card you might find that a bank backed card might have fees to go with it.

Buy the card directly fromt  the store its from, if you buy it elsewhere you will likely incur fees .

If you are giving a gift card to a restaurant, but from and industry group so that the card is good at more than one place.

Spend any card you get quickly.

If your gift card requires registration, register it online.

Mooch