Why in the world does anybody buy or give gift cards? If I'm going to give you a gift, I could give you a gift card, or I could give you the cash that I was going to use to buy the gift card. If I give you the card, you have no options: you must spend that money at that store. But if I give you cash, you can spend it anyplace. That is, cash is a much better gift for you. So if I'm trying to give you a gift you appreciate more, I should be giving you cash. So why does anybody give a gift card?