3 On Your Side: Virtual Gift Cards
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- So what's going to be one of the hottest gifts to give this holiday season? Industry insiders say it's virtual gift cards. 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan shows us how they work and what to watch out for.
Shannon Duffy has no time to hit the stores. So she makes gift shopping cyber easy, and sends virtual gift cards. "They're great for people like myself who are always on the go," says Duffy. She logs on to the growing number of stores offering online gift cards, picks the amount she'd like to spend, enters her credit card info, the recipients name and email address-and poof! Her shopping is done. According to Duffy, "Buying a virtual gift card is super easy to do."
A virtual gift card can be spent online immediately. Some businesses let you print it out and spend it at the store. And other retailers say have started using apps for that. You can actually save some gift card codes to your mobile phone and have the cashier scan it at check out. "As mobile technology is advancing so quickly more and more retailers are adopting the use of virtual cards," said Karen Renk with Incentive Marketing Association.
But there are some pitfalls to online gift giving. Duffy actually received one once, thought it was spam and deleted it. She says, "It was really frustrating." She and her gift giver had to battle with the retailer to get it reissued. So spam filters can be a real virtual gift card Grinch.
"If the email doesn't arrive, it's like the gift doesn't arrive," said Gail Hillebrand with the Consumer's Union. Consumer's Union suggests giving your recipient a heads up that you sent them an online gift card, so it doesn't become virtual junk mail. Other things to keep in mind? Cyber gift cards are regulated just like plastic gift cards under federal law. That means, a virtual gift card can't expire for five years and you can't be charged dormancy fees as long as you use it once every 12 months.
But as always, read all of the terms and conditions before you buy. It could also be a good idea to use your online gift card fast. Because if the store goes out of business, you could be out of luck.
Reported By: Jim Donovan, CBS 3
