Comments on: Gift Cards: My Secret Emergency Supply Item

By: Geof L

Geof L — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 15:02:31 +0000

Gift cards are good but so many have now gone to fees for non-use after some time that they can loose all value. Instead we use a no fee credit card and a no fee cash card. Most places will take one or the other, we are not stuck to a limit (our family of 8 w/ grandkids can easily out-eat a $100 gift card at a single seating). We also now have a Pet Survival Kit that has eliminated the need to buy things post-storm for our dog. He’s covered for more than a week as we modified the contents to include extra food and bedding just for him.

By: spjlc

spjlc — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 05:59:22 +0000

I love getting gift cards, and there are so many ways to get them for a discount these days that if you do use them, you can save a lot of money over cash. It seems like having a stash of them for emergencies would be a great way to use them. A lot of times I get gift cards as giveaways or for buying something that I would already buy, so they are just an added bonus. I think this is a great idea.

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 01:55:25 +0000

Normally I like Jennifer’s writing, but this one really didn’t impress me. I would rather just put an extra $100.00 in the emergency box so as not to limit my choices to one pizza parlor, gas station or store if I am in the process of recovering from some type of natural disaster.

By: dean

dean — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 17:50:15 +0000

I know that credit card style gift cards from Visa and MasterCard usually have fees and can expire, but is this common with store gift cards which are mentioned in the article? I don’t know of any store gift card that I have it comes with the fee or an expiration date.

By: Bben

Bben — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 10:27:19 +0000

Gift cards expire, cash doesn’t. A dirty little secret about some gift cards is that if you don’t use them, there is a ‘fee’ – sometimes a monthly fee that reduces the value to zero withing a few months.

Also, What if you do need something and the local stores still do not have power? They will be unable to process your gift card, however most will still be able to process cash. Note that some stores are so dependent on their heavily automated system that they will closed down rather than sell without the electronics working.

I once worked as a clerk in a small locally owned convenience store. We had a regional power loss, and my store was the only one that would sell anything because I knew how to make change and calculate tax without an electronic cash register. The bigger corporate store across the street locked their doors because they didn’t know how to function without electricity.

By: greenday

greenday — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 06:14:12 +0000

Do gift cards expire? I could see myself putting a gift card into my emergency kit and then not look at it for several years. If gift cards expire, then I would lose all that money. I guess this might work for somebody who checks their kit on a regular basis, but for me I just put it together and put it to the side so I’m not sure how well gift cards would work for me.

By: michael

michael — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 06:07:06 +0000

I have an emergency credit card for just this reason. I don’t use credit card for anything and it has a several thousand dollar credit limit on it. It doesn’t have a yearly fee so it doesn’t cost anything for me to keep it, but it has the advantage that it can be used anywhere and not just at a particular store like gift cards.