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What is a gift card and where can I buy one at?:Gift cards are a modern term for gift certificates that many of us are familiar with. We used to get gift certificates for birthdays and holidays and some people still use them, but the more sophisticated product these days is a gift card. Much like a temporary VISA or credit card, the gift card has a certain amount of money on it that you can spend. When you buy the gift card online or at a store, the gift card gets money put onto its balance that can be spent at a later time by the recipient. The new online gift cards offered by Amazon or Itunes are so advanced you never even have to have the gift card or certificate in your possession. An email and a login ID take care of everything. Once the recipient has logged into the website where the certificate was bought, they enter a special ID code and pop, up comes their gift card balance and they can shop online. Any store that wants your business either in the real world or online offers gift cards these days. Even restaurants (see below) have entered the market along with gas stations. The only drawback to a gift card is that you don't actually buy anything for the person you are giving it to. They are very impersonal and are not suggested as a gift to your wife. They are better used for distant relative, teenagers, or office co-workers in a gift exchange. Starbucks and Borders gift cards are popular gift cards seen at Christmas party gift exchanges so don't be surprised if you wind up with one before the year is over. In an online search, Target gift cards were right up there with HomeDepot as the top gift cards.
Restaurant Gift Cards:Restaurant gift cards are somewhat of a new idea only becoming more popular in the last few years. You can get a Cheesecake Factory gift card or one for The Outback or keep it simpler with a gift certificate to fast food restaurants so you know that your college age kid will eat something. Check with your local restaurant to see if they offer gift cards since not all have taken on this type of payment yet. I think it's a great idea since it has always been a nice gesture to treat someone to dinner. Now you can do it wihtout having to take them yourself. Restaurant gift cards usually start at $20 and go as high as you want.Discount gift cards:It may sound to good to be true and it is. Discount gift cards are usually a scam. Sometimes you may see them offered at a discount if you buy $100 or more in merchandise at a store to begin with, but if you get an email advertising discount gift cards from name brand stores, then you are probably being scammed. Stay away from online offers for discounted gift cards. There are discount "codes" that you can use at online websites for discounts, but those are totally different and don't require any money spent upfront to get them. If you are looking for discount codes that you enter in at websites during the purchase process for cheaper prices, then try Keycode.com or Fatwallet.com.
Best gift cards for teenagers?Let's start with music, Itunes and Ipods are all the craze in the under 18 crowd, so why not deliver a smile to your kids faces by giving them an Itunes gift card. Teenagers love music and they are definitely proficient at shopping online or in malls, so a gift card gives them the freedom of buying what they want. Gas gift cards are another great gift idea for teenagers that drive. We all know they drive around until the last second and then buy a few bucks in gas. Why not make sure they have a full tank for a while. All the popular clothing stores like Abercrombie, Old Navy, or the Gap are perfect for teenage girls and teenage boys would love to have money to spend at stores like Circuit City or Best Buy. Movie rentals are a popular past time as well amongst teenagers so getting them a Blockbuster gift card or a Hollywood Video gift certificate will surely go over well. Lastly, Amazon.com is an excellent online website for all sorts of fun things and teenagers frequent the site often. Giving an online gift certificate from Amazon is easy. An email is sent to the recipient with a special code that will signify how much the gift certificate affords them to spend. Each time they log into Amazon, the gift credit appears until they have spent the whole amount. By having a preset limit on the gift card/certificate, your kids will get used to a budget and they won't be allowed to overspend unless they pitch in their own money. $50 gift cards to stores are the perfect amount for younger people.
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