Comments on My Open Wallet: Whaaa?? The Gift that Does NOT Keep on Giving

The Chinese give cute little envelopes with cash i...

2009-10-05T21:40:30.824-04:00

The Chinese give cute little envelopes with cash in them as gifts.

In general, gift cards are great for businesses because they get the money upfront and it is well known that fully 20% of gift cards are never redeemed.

The "lack of usage fees" probably originated because without them the company (say, AMEX) could never actually use or claim the abandonded money as it could always theoretically be reclaimed later. (initially, the purchase price is probably held on the company's books as a loan to the company that the company is obligated to repay on demand or use of the gift card) But if the company depreciates the account by a certain amount after say, a year, which is basically the time you can say the card won't be used if it hasn't already, then the company can officially take the money as income.

I'm not an accountant BTW and I've never dealt with this aspect of gift card accounting, these are just my thoughts.

FYI the purchase fee does not come out of the amou...

2009-10-05T12:43:10.778-04:00

FYI the purchase fee does not come out of the amount on the card, it is paid to the merchant directly when you buy the card, i.e. the $50 card costs the purchaser $56.95.

It might look old fashioned or might violate etiqu...

2009-10-05T10:09:23.002-04:00

It might look old fashioned or might violate etiquette - For gifts I always give cash. I bet the recipient is truly happy every time!

This is actually against the law in CT. Several ye...

2009-10-04T17:28:26.506-04:00

This is actually against the law in CT. Several years ago, the state passed a law that said gift card issuers cannot deduct any type of fee from a gift card. So in CT, $50 is $50. Good thing, cuz I have some gift cards that I don't use until almost a year since I've gotten.

There are a lot of fees associated with gift cards...

2009-10-02T05:44:04.891-04:00

There are a lot of fees associated with gift cards that consumers do not know about. Here comes American Express to the rescue saving us from hidden fees.

Faxless Payday Loans

2009-10-01T14:43:35.803-04:00

Faxless Payday Loans

Completely absurd that Amex ever had a fee such as...

2009-10-01T14:41:07.153-04:00

Completely absurd that Amex ever had a fee such as that. In my personal experience they are the worst credit card issuer on the planet. Why should anyone pay to use a their card?

I completely agree! Some gift cards do not have a...

2009-10-01T11:05:22.530-04:00

I completely agree! Some gift cards do not have any fees and don't cost anything extra to buy (like Dillard's and Bath and Body Works). I much rather give/receive cash or an actual present that would be appreciated.

Thanks for the post. Really interesting informatio...

2009-10-01T10:26:22.552-04:00

Thanks for the post. Really interesting information. Bottom line, read all the fine print when it comes to credit cards, bank cards, etc.