GHow Gift Cards Work: ift cards are a very easy, effective, and convenient way to give someone a gift. Since you only have to buy the gift card for the amount you want to give away, in the store of your choice. Then the person you gave the card to will buy what they want with the amount of money on the gift card.  Some stores even give you the option to send the card electronically by text message or email.

How Gift Cards Work

A gift card is a form of payment that can be used to make purchases at retail stores, gas stations, restaurants, and other locations. You load money onto the card, which you or the gift card’s recipient can then spend at accepted locations.

It is important to know that Federal law prevents gift cards from expiring for up to five years after their activation date, however, failing to use a gift card could trigger an inactivity fee.

Gift cards can be open-loop or closed-loop. Closed-loop gift cards can only be redeemed at the merchant name on the card. Walmart gift cards and iTunes gift card is a popular example of closed-loop gift cards as these gift cards can only be used at the Walmart Store and iTunes Store respectively.

Open-loop gift cards, on the other hand, can be redeemed almost anywhere because they are more or less like ATM cards. Visa gift cards, for example, can be redeemed in-store and online where Visa cards are accepted.

Physical vs. Digital (E-codes)Gift Cards

Gift cards can be physical—meaning a plastic card—or an e-code/digital. E-code gift cards have no physical shape; instead, you’re sent a unique gift code number that you can use to redeem at online retailers when making purchases. Digital gift cards are most times received via email. Physical cards are the most popular kind of gift card, but that is expected to change soon since everything is going digital over the years.

Companies such as Walmart, Target and Amazon, allow consumers to purchase physical cards as well as to load online or digital accounts. Major restaurant chains, such as Starbucks, Chipotle, and Chili’s, also offer customers digital and physical gift cards. These cards make it convenient for customers to pay for their drinks and meals using an app or in-house card reader to speed up the checkout process.

You can also store digital gift card codes inside a mobile wallet app, such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, or PayPal’s Venmo. Then, when you’re ready to check out, you can simply select your digital gift card as your preferred payment method.

Pros of Gift Cards

Gift cards can offer various advantages. For example:

• They can be a good alternative form of payment if you’d rather not pay cash or use your credit card.
• Gift cards can be an appropriate gift for the holidays or other special occasions.
• You can use gift cards to control spending (helpful for avoiding overspending). It is a moderately good budgeting technique.
• They can be easy and convenient to use.

In terms of gift giving, a gift card is a great gift item because it allows the recipient to choose what they like the most. Say you want to gift your sister a birthday present, instead of giving her a clothing item that she won’t like, you can just give her a Sephora gift card. She can then choose the appropriate dress for herself in the Sephora store.

Cons of Gift Cards

Gift cards can also have some disadvantages. Here are a few.

• After purchases are made with a gift card, there may be a small amount of money left, which if not used, whether due to forgetfulness or inactivity, ends up as money wasted.
• You may pay purchase or reload fees to add money.
• Closed-loop cards limit purchasing power.
• Losing a gift card or having it stolen can be a headache, especially if you have failed to register it or keep the gift card number.
• You could be charged an inactivity fee if you fail to use your card.

How to trade your gift cards for cash

The first thing is to find a reliable platform to trade your gift card on, this is where Cardvest comes in.

Cardvest is a modern gift card exchange platform where you can seamlessly trade your gift card for cash. We offer our service in Nigeria and Ghana, hence customers get to receive payment for their trades in Naira or Cedi depending on their location.

You get the best exchange rate for your gift cards when you trade them on Cardvest, we offer our customers favourable rates no matter the prevailing market condition.

How to trade gift cards on Cardvest

• Go to Cardvest’s website or download the mobile app on Google Play Store
• Create an account or log in if you are an existing user
• Verify and set up your account by saving your bank account details on your account
• Navigate to sell gift cards on your account dashboard
• Choose your preferred gift card and input the gift card details
• Submit the picture of the gift card in the image field
• Wait for your gift card to be verified
• Your account will be credited once the gift card is verified.
• Authenticate a withdrawal to your bank account from your Cardvest account.