When your goal is to give someone money to spend, doesn’t it seem odd that you’d need to have a conversation about getting “your money’s worth”? Why wouldn’t you just give, um, money?
Nonetheless, the Mint.com blog takes on the topic of gift cards with a neat new infographic that’s pretty confusing—and that’s sorta the point, because the rules and fee limits regarding gift cards are very confusing. With Mint’s permission, the infographic is below. The main point—and the main reasons why it’s still better to just give plain old cash rather than gift cards—are down at the bottom, revealing why gift cards are gifts primarily to retailers, not to the recipients:
If you use a gift card, you are 2.5 times more likely to pay full price from the retailer.
If you use a gift card you are less likely to care if you are paying for something that is overpriced.
