How to Choose a Gift Card in India

Start with the person, not the percentage

A dining voucher may suit a regular food-delivery customer, while a shopping card offers more choice for someone setting up a home. For travel, ask whether a trip is already planned. A high discount has little value if a card expires before it is useful.

Compare the real cost

For a hypothetical ₹1,000 card costing ₹920, the saving is ₹80, or 8% of face value. Add any applicable fees before comparing offers. Cashback paid later is different from an immediate price reduction. An “up to” offer may apply only to particular amounts or customers.

Seven checks before payment

1. Product: Is it stored value, a one-time voucher, or a coupon requiring a minimum spend?
2. Redemption: Which app, website or store accepts it?
3. Validity: Does expiry run from purchase, issue, activation or delivery?
4. Balance: Can unused value be spent later, and can another payment method cover a shortfall?
5. Exclusions: Are sale items, categories, locations or dates excluded?
6. Delivery: Is the stated timing compatible with the occasion?
7. Support: Who resolves non-delivery, failed redemption or cancellation?

For employee rewards

Collect preferences before selecting one brand for a whole team. Compare equal face values and a clear cost per recipient. Keep the recipient file restricted to the people distributing the gift. Do not ask employees to share redeemed codes back into a group chat.

Protect your gift

Treat the code like money. Do not use gift cards to pay an unfamiliar person claiming to be a bank, government official or urgent support agent. Open the brand’s official service directly rather than following a suspicious redemption link.