Gift cards can be a convenient alternative to cash, particularly in the USA, when you want to buy a product or give someone a gift. Also, you can easily skip mall shopping and opt for gift cards that open you to the best approach to a relishing shopping experience. However, you must know the most popular types of gift cards in the USA to inform your decision.
The United States is inarguably the epicentre of the gift card market; there is a wide range of gift cards for various purposes. As massive as the gift card market is in the United States, it is estimated to be worth over $162 billion as of 2022, with the projection of an increase to over $388 billion by 2027.
Therefore, there is a need to highlight the most popular types of gift cards in the USA for a preferred choice across space and time.
What Is A Gift Card?
A gift card is a prepaid stored-value payment card that a business brand or bank often issues as a cash alternative for purchases made at a designated store. This also can be relatable to using gift cards as an incentive for business customers or a gift for loved ones.
Sometimes, businesses use gift cards as a marketing campaign tool to attract customers. This is because when you own a gift card for a business brand, you can get the brand’s products at a discounted price when you redeem your gift card for the preferred outcome.
Types Of Gift Cards
Gift cards exist in two broad forms, namely, physical and digital. These gift cards in the USA have respective features and benefits that distinguish one from the other. Therefore, having a good understanding of how either physical or digital gift cards work with varying prices is the primary factor you can consider towards gift cards.
1. Physical gift cards: these are in paper or plastic form, and you can buy them from retail or online stores as you have them delivered. These cards are of varying denominations and available for brands like Google Play, Apple, Sephora, etc.
2. Digital gift cards: These are called Ecodes because you can only have them delivered via email. It is considered the most secure gift card as you can not quickly lose it to theft. The digital gift card also comes in different denominations. You can get this for iTunes gift cards, Google Play gift cards, Steam gift cards, Sephora gift cards, etc.
Benefits Of Gift Cards
1. Gift cards are easy and convenient to use without a hitch.
2. Gift cards can control spending habits. They are prepaid credit cards, so it saves you money as you from impulsive buying, which is peculiar to holding cash.
3. You can sell your gift card. If someone gives you a gift card that you don’t necessarily want to redeem, you can decide to sell it. For instance, when your loved one gives you a Steam gift card, and you are not a gaming fan, you can sell Steam gift card for cash. That is what we do at Prestmit. You can buy or sell your gift cards for either cash or cryptocurrency on our platform. We offer you the best gift card rates when you trade with us.
4. Gift cards are a substitute for payments. Most businesses, especially those with gift cards to their brands, support using them to make payments.
Top Most Popular Types Of Gift Cards In the USA
1. Retail Gift Cards
These are customised gift cards that a company designs for customers to access its products at discounted prices. Retail gift cards always with the logo or seal of the company, such that you can quickly identify the company that owns the gift card when you see one. For instance, you can easily place an Apple gift card when you visit one because your Macintosh logo represents the Apple company brand.
Examples of retail gift cards are eBay gift cards, Uber gift cards, Adidas gift cards, Aeropostale gift cards, AMC theatres gift cards, Atom Tickets gift cards, etc.
2. Restaurant Gift Cards
You can give these gift cards to a foodie to access food and drinks in a restaurant. You can provide this gift to friends and family, including your employees at work, to have a great cuisine experience. Restaurant gift cards are in varying dollar denominations in the USA. Therefore, you can buy food or drink within the range of the denomination on your gift card.
Restaurant gift cards include Cheesecake Factory gift cards, Bob Evan gift cards, Starbucks gift cards, Freemans Restaurant gift cards, Outback Steakhouse gift cards, etc.
3. Entertainment Gift Cards
Entertainment gift cards enable you to access movies and music of your choice without exclusion; so far, your gift card can afford it. These gift cards primarily represent popular entertainment brands in the movie and music industries to make their content accessible to a broader audience. Entertainment gift cards exist in physical and digital forms and have different denominations.
These gift cards include a Disney gift card, Google Play gift card, Regal Entertainment eGift card, Hulu eGift card, Cinemark gift card, AMC Theatres gift card, etc.
4. Online Shopping Gift Cards
You can use shopping gift cards to buy different products online without stepping out of your room. There is a proliferation of online stores that sell other products for varying needs, making it the best business method. This has helped the popularity of gift cards in the USA as you can use your gift cards to access top online stores and buy what you need while they are shipped to you.
Online shopping gift cards come in different denominations, depending on the gift card, and can exist in physical and digital forms. These cards include a Visa Prepaid card, GameStop gift card, Home Depot gift card, DoorDash gift card, Xbox gift card, Nintendo eShop card, etc.
5. Travel Gift Cards
A travel gift card is the best gift you can give your loved ones travelling to a new country or continent if you do not want to pay for their flight ticket or hotel booking. But, in this case, you will want to get a travel gift card that your recipient can use to help them with their travel experience.
Some travel gift cards are Delta gift cards, Hotels.com gift cards, Airbnb gift cards, Holland America gift cards, Starbucks gift cards, Nordstrom gift cards, etc.
6. Gas Gift Cards
You can use gas gift cards to buy fuel and other items from a designated gas company’s outlet. This gift card is your one-stop shop for purchasing gasoline, auto supplies, a car wash, and other products or services.
These are available for Shell gift cards, Chevron Station gift cards, Sunoco Gas gift cards, Exxon and Mobil Gas gift cards, etc.
7. Virtual Gift Cards
These gift cards are in digital form as an option for physical gift cards. They are available in different denominations depending on the business brand they identify with and what they can afford. You can buy virtual gift cards at online and physical retail stores, and you will have the gift card delivered via email.
Examples of virtual gift cards in the USA are Visa gift cards, Vanilla gift cards, Amazon gift cards, Google Play gift cards, Steam gift cards, Sephora gift cards, etc.
8. Beauty And Spa Gift Cards
These gift cards enable you to access beauty products from both physical and online stores while enjoying spa services. Beauty and spa gift cards are used mainly by women who constantly care for their skin and, in turn, their beauty. So you can give this gift card to your wife, girlfriend, sister, or anyone you deem fit would enjoy the gift card.
Beauty and spa gift cards include Sephora gift cards, Ulta gift cards, Range Beauty gift cards, Farmacy Beauty gift cards, Whole Beauty gift cards, etc.
9. Sports Gift Card
Different gaming activities take place in the sporting world, and with a sports gift card, you can enjoy a complete sporting experience with the game of your choice. You can give a sports gift card to a sports enthusiast and be assured that it will be greatly appreciated.
Sports gift cards come in varying denominations, depending on the popularity of the marks. Some of these cards are the Marathon Sports gift card, Beaver Sports gift card, Skirt Sports gift card, Paragon Sports gift card, etc.
10. Others
Other popular types of gift cards may not be lucidly mentioned, but they are also used in the USA for their intended purposes. This includes holiday gift cards, religious gift cards, wedding gift cards, etc.
Comparison Of Popular Gift Cards In USA
1. Redemption Options
You can redeem gift cards in physical and digital forms at their official stores. For instance, if you want to redeem a physical or digital Google Play gift card, you can only save it on Google Play Store by following some steps promptly.
However, you can redeem some gift cards at their physical stores. When you have a restaurant gift card, you can use any restaurant’s outlets to redeem your gift card for food or drink. This also applies to gas gift cards that you can redeem at any of the gas card stations around you.
2. Expiration Dates
Expiration dates are relative as they vary with the gift card you are holding. The likes of restaurant gift cards, sports gift cards, online shopping gift cards, and retail gift cards have expiration dates to redeem your gift card.
But some gift cards do not also expire, some of which are Google Play gift cards, Sephora gift cards, etc. Therefore, you should always look out for this when buying a gift card.
3. Fees
Similar to the relativity of expiration dates, the activation fee, shipping fee, and inactivity fee of gift cards vary. For instance, while the activation fee Visa card is about $4.85 with free shipping, the activation fee and shipping fee for American Express (AMEX) gift card are $3.95 and approximately $10.00, respectively.
Conclusion
There is a wide range of gift cards available in the USA, and they respectively have the purpose they serThis gift card shopping ping is easy, safe, and simple for us. You always buy products at your convenience.
However, getting gift cards that will serve your need at a particular time is essential because most gift cards expire, and it is best to redeem them before their expiration date.
If you are new to the gift card world and want to take hold of the numerous opportunities it offers, I recommend Prestmit to you. You can buy and sell popular gift cards from us, as we remain the best gift card trading platform in Nigeria and offer the best rates that are second to none.
