With time, the way gifting tradition has also undergone a significant change. Instead of looking for an expensive gift for near and dear ones, people prefer buying prepaid gift card and use it as a gift. If you just celebrated your birthday and have handed over a lot of gifts that are of no use to you or you already have it with you, you will realize the significance of gift cards. If you have been given a gift card recently, that too of the store where you frequently shop, it is going to be the best and most memorable gift for you. This card can be gifted on any occasion and for any reason.
Besides gift card, there is a prepaid gift card also available which is very similar to a gift card. It can also be swiped just like a debit or credit card till you exhaust its balance. Here let us understand how prepaid gift card is different from other gift cards.
A simple gift card cannot be used everywhere. Only a few limited stores accept these cards. Many times, the store from where this card is purchased can users redeem the card or at its branches. Conversely, a prepaid card can be swiped at any sale terminal point. The only thing that needs to be kept in mind is that it must have some balance in it before it is swiped.
Where a standard gift card can be swiped until the balance in the card is exhausted and after that it is of no use. Conversely, a prepaid gift card can be used till it has some balance in it. Thus, if the user recharge or refill the card before the balance runs out, it can be continued to be used. The same is not possible with a gift card. Prepaid gift card, on the other hand, is an excellent way of regulating the spending and keeping a check on monthly spending.
One similarity between both the cards is that there is an expiry date on the card which is clearly mentioned on the card. Prepaid card works very similar to a credit card and can be swiped at any store to buy products or services of choice. Here, it is important to note that gift cards bought from a store usually comes with a short expiration date. Thus, it must be used as quickly as possible. Prepaid gift card has longer validity and it largely depends on the card issuer. Moreover, these cards could be bought from banks and credit card issuers. This makes it easy to buy and use the card. It is also a perfect gifting option. A gift card on the other hand has lesser flexibility as it has to be bought from a store. Both cards can be bought online.
Prepaid gift cards enjoy fraud protection as they are issued by the banks but there is no such guarantee with store bought gift cards.