Gift cards are a waste of money.

Rebuttal"Shout out to your organization skills by the way, lets me tackle each argument in order, which is how I like to do it."Why tank u :)"Gift cards only limit your purchasing power if you let them."Con concedes that gift cards do in fact limit your purchasing power if you let them."Let's say you buy a $20 gift card for your friend. It's for a restaurant that you KNOW for a fact that he goes to at least twice a week. The card will probably be used up within the month. The point of gift cards isn't to give back to the user. It's a gift. You buy it for someone else, and you show them that you at least thought about what they might like to buy instead of shoving a $20 in an an envelope and writing their name on it."Indeed, the card may contain sentimental value. However, we are talking about the purchasing power of the gift card, which is less than the money it took to get. Gift cards are not pointless, but they do decrease the purchasing power of that money."Also, if you want them to buy freely, buy them a gift card for a store that has many choices to choose from, such as Target or Amazon. I know for a fact that you can find literally anything on Amazon. Anything. Check my search history."Yes. However, you may find a better deal at some other store, or that store may be located far away, or the person doesn't like having things shipped to them due to scams. It still decreases the purchasing power.Now for that first paragraph, you are arguing that it doesn't effect the user much. I don't disagree, but it is still decreasing the purchasing power. Let's say I took a $20.00 USD bill from you and gave you back a $20.00 bill that can do everything a normal $20.00 bill could do EXCEPT one thing. If the United States ever takes over Proxima Centauri and opens businesses on that star somehow, you can't spend it there. That would still be decreasing your purchasing power ever so slightly. "Yes, money doesn't expire. Gift cards do, but in the site you referred me to (I did look) the CARD Act states that the cards can't expire within 5 years of the activation date, unless you haven't made a transaction in 12 months, etc. Who seriously will keep a gift card for 5 years and not use it?"I can think of a lot of people who keep money for 5 years. The thing about gift cards is that you are forced to spend that money within 5 years, which is plain stupid, but that's an entirely seperate debate. Imagine if Bill Gates put absolutely every last dime he had into Target gift cards. His total capital would severly diminish from that move."You could also re-gift it (it's kinda being a douche, but what else will you do with it?) You say gift cards become obsolete when the stores associated with it close. If you know a store is about to go into bankruptcy or is closing soon, why buy a card from there? Businesses usually put out a warning a good length of time ahead before shutting down."This could reasonably occur within 5 years. However, it isn't essential. You must assume that people have the intellect to not purchase from a store that isn't doing well. It's all unlikely, but it still is a possibility! (again the Proxima Centauri analogy)"Under the rules of the new laws in place, inactivity fees can not be placed on the customer unless there has been zero use on the card in 12 months. Seriously, it's the person who received the card's responsibility to know this and to use the card accordingly."*points to Proxima Centauri analogy* "As for inactivity fees on money, inflation anyone?"Yes! I was hoping you would bring this up :D Gift cards experience inflation just like real money does AND you can't put a gift card into the bank, thus protecting it. Inflation is a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money. A gift card's value is determined by the amount of money put into it. Therefore, gift cards are dependent on the value of money and inflation effects them just like real money. When too much money is printed out, stores increase their price. Gift cards are just as vulnerable as money and more since they can't be put into a bank.Thank you and good luck!