Gift cards - Where to find?

[mrsstats]

I need to buy various gift cards for family members. What store has a large selection to pick from? Thanks

 

[NotUrsula]

Just be aware that in quite a few cases, gift cards sold by merchants other than the ones that will honor them may carry a surcharge.

My local supermarket has a huge rack of them for every merchant imaginable -- and they charge from $5 - $7 on each one as a service charge for the convenience of being able to buy them all in one place.

 

[Parkers_girl]

I know wal-mart has a huge selection, with no extra fees.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

CVS and Kohls have no extra fees either....

 

[ctinct]

You can buy many gift cards online with no shipping. I'm giving my two oldest kids a giftcard tree (thanks to the suggestion from someone on here last year). I just spent the morning ordering a bunch; now I will have to go to far fewer stores in person. Yeah!

These are some of the ones I purchased with no fees/no shipping: Kmart, Sears, Olive Garden, Penneys, Bob's Stores, Yankee Candle, Macy's, Burger King, Target.

Some that I did NOT order because there were shipping fees and/or they did not come in the amount I wanted (so ymmv-a few places MAY have free shipping, but I didn't get that far, because for instance, Bath and Body Works I think had $15 as the smallest card, and I wanted $10, so I didn't even check shipping): BBW, Barnes and Noble, Dunkin Donuts, Subway, Big Y, Home Depot.

Of course, there may be other places that ship free, too. I already have some of my cards, like McDonald's, Panera, Stop and Shop, etc., so i didn't check their websites.

Anyways, check out the websites of the places you are interested in. Saved me a TON of time and aggravation!

 

[pigletgirl]

Grocery stores often do.

Safeway especially. I'm sure other do too.

 

[Nancy]

Just be aware that in quite a few cases, gift cards sold by merchants other than the ones that will honor them may carry a surcharge.

My local supermarket has a huge rack of them for every merchant imaginable -- and they charge from $5 - $7 on each one as a service charge for the convenience of being able to buy them all in one place.

That's horrible that they charge that! All the grocery stores here carry large selections of cards with no service charges added to them. If you buy a Master Card, Visa or AMEX card there are service charges imposed by them not the store itself. The SC is based on the amount of the card.

 

[Cool-Beans]

My church has the most complete selection. There's a looooong list. After that, the chain grocery store (Giant Eagle) has a whole bunch. Neither charges any sort of fee. They get a percentage of the sales - that's how they make their money.

 

[TwingleMum]

Remember in this economy to be very careful when buying Gift cards this year. My DS got a gift card to Circuit City at his B'day party 4 weeks ago and now their going out of business Theres a list of all the places to avoid and you'd be surprized by the names on the list ~ JC Penney is one that leaps to mind. I don't have the list but I look for it. Just be very careful when buying gift cards this season.

 

[Lil Lil]

My local grocery stores- Meijers/Krogers have a HUGE selection with NO service fees. Unless your getting Amex or Visa. I know those have a small service fee by them.

 

[LilyWDW]

Remember in this economy to be very careful when buying Gift cards this year. My DS got a gift card to Circuit City at his B'day party 4 weeks ago and now their going out of business Theres a list of all the places to avoid and you'd be surprized by the names on the list ~ JC Penney is one that leaps to mind. I don't have the list but I look for it. Just be very careful when buying gift cards this season.

However, also realize that some of those lists are simply NOT TRUE. I work for a company that has been listed and we have no plans on closing any stores. In fact we are still doing better this year then we were 4 years ago!! Simply do your homework, it's not hard to find what companies are actually having issues, but do NOT buy into the lists being circulated.

 

[Nancy]

Remember in this economy to be very careful when buying Gift cards this year. My DS got a gift card to Circuit City at his B'day party 4 weeks ago and now their going out of business Theres a list of all the places to avoid and you'd be surprized by the names on the list ~ JC Penney is one that leaps to mind. I don't have the list but I look for it. Just be very careful when buying gift cards this season.

Check out Snopes, the list that is being circulated on the internet isn't all that correct. Some of those listed are old reports and the stores that they are claiming are going to close have already closed but the actual chain is still around. Example: it says "Such and Such" is closing 15 stores. Those stores closed a few years back and they are not closing anymore in the near future.

 

[FoundMyPrince]

Walgreen's has a bunch of gift cards in their stores.

 

[KathyTX]

You can also buy lots of gift cards online at Gift Card Mall. This is the same company that handles the gift card assortments that you find in a lot of the grocery stores.

 

[Mom2Satan&Daisy]

here...Walgreens, CVS, Wawa, local food stores all carry a large selection.

 

[MomofKatie]

However, also realize that some of those lists are simply NOT TRUE. I work for a company that has been listed and we have no plans on closing any stores. In fact we are still doing better this year then we were 4 years ago!! Simply do your homework, it's not hard to find what companies are actually having issues, but do NOT buy into the lists being circulated.

ITA. My DH works for a large housewares retailer, and in the past year, we've gotten concerned emails from several family members and friends because they "read a list on the internet" that had DH's employer listed on it as about to go out of business. This is untrue (the OTHER big housewares retailer was the one to declare bankruptcy), but we hear about "the list" all the time. It is mostly erroneous, out-of-date, or just plain wrong information.