Giftcards do seem like an easy present, I mean who needs to return the gift?  Giftcards is like an invitation to shop.  But, here comes the giftcard dilema.

Seattlepi: “Limited Brands Inc. said last week that unspent gift cards contributed $30.4 million to fourth-quarter revenue, boosting profit 4 cents a share.”

That’s a lot of unsent gift cards.  Buying a giftcard is like changing something very liquidable (able to purchase almost anything), into something unliquidable.  Unlike a credit card, if you lose your giftcard, the money is gone.

Retailers are using expiration dates on their giftcards so the can be cetain when they can write that giftcard as pure profit.

You’ll almost always spend more than the value of the giftcard, putting even more money into the retailer’s pockets.  Giftcards?  Perfect retailers, but perfect for you?

If giftcard are suitabe or the perfect store for a person, it still makes a great gift,  but as a cash method for yourself?  Use a credit card.