American Express Gift Card
My boss is getting her son's teacher an American Express Gift Card as a present.
Now, I can understand giving somebody a gift certificate at a specific store - I don't think they make very thoughtful presents, but at least you're relating somewhat to their interests, and (unless you were way off-base) know that the receiver will be able to use it.
But this thing seems to be entirely for people who don't want to try to relate to the gifted at all; they'll just be able to say, look, I've given a gift that is not as crass as cash, but is just as versatile!
(Except: you can't tell how much money you have left on it, you can't buy anything with it at places that don't take AmEx, it actually loses value (at a rate of $2/year) after 1 year, you're effectively giving Amex an interest-free loan until that card gets used, and you'll probably shove it in a drawer and forget about it anyway.)
Boo!
Whenever I can't think of a gift to give somebody, I give them Neodymium Magnets. 'Cause everybody needs magnets.
Update: My boss just got back from lunch. It turns out that she was prompted by my “what's the advantage over cash” questioning to not go with the card and to give cash instead!
Now, I can understand giving somebody a gift certificate at a specific store - I don't think they make very thoughtful presents, but at least you're relating somewhat to their interests, and (unless you were way off-base) know that the receiver will be able to use it.
But this thing seems to be entirely for people who don't want to try to relate to the gifted at all; they'll just be able to say, look, I've given a gift that is not as crass as cash, but is just as versatile!
(Except: you can't tell how much money you have left on it, you can't buy anything with it at places that don't take AmEx, it actually loses value (at a rate of $2/year) after 1 year, you're effectively giving Amex an interest-free loan until that card gets used, and you'll probably shove it in a drawer and forget about it anyway.)
Boo!
Whenever I can't think of a gift to give somebody, I give them Neodymium Magnets. 'Cause everybody needs magnets.
Update: My boss just got back from lunch. It turns out that she was prompted by my “what's the advantage over cash” questioning to not go with the card and to give cash instead!