Some shopping rewards programs send you gifts cards. The best gifts are the ones that enable you to shop at your favorite stores while taking advantage of discounts and rewards programs without having to spend any of your own money. Have you ever received a gift certificate for your birthday or for Christmas? It’s great to be able to buy what you want instead of getting a gift you’re only going to return later. Gift certificates used to be hand-written slips of paper that you had to physically bring into the store. For the most part, however, gift certificates are now called gift cards. They come with a pre-selected amount of money (depending on how generous your friends or family are!) that you can spend an anything within that store.
A lot of department stores will also let you use your gift card online, allowing you to take advantage of online shopping rewards, accumulate travel points, and even take advantage of free shipping, if that’s an option. All you have to do is visit the store’s website, shop online like you normally would, go to the checkout, and enter your gift card number (the digits are usually found on the back of the card). If you go over the gift card limit, you’ll be asked to pay the balance using another payment option. If you still have money left on the card, you can usually carry the balance for a later date.
