Most Americans Prefer General-Purpose Gift Cards, But They Tend to Charge More Fees

NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Only one in nine brand-specific gift cards charge purchase fees, versus 100% of general-purpose gift cards, according to new research released today by Bankrate.com (NYSE: RATE). Of the 55 widely-held brand-specific cards that include retailers, restaurants, airlines and gas stations, only three charge a purchase fee to all customers, and three others charge a purchase fee in some instances. That contrasts sharply with the seven general-purpose cards with an American Express, Discover, MasterCard or Visa logo, all of which charge purchase fees.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130805/FL58072LOGO )

Gift cards have been the most popular gift choice for the past five years, according to the National Retail Federation. Bankrate found that just over half of Americans (53%) prefer general-purpose gift cards. Two-thirds of people who make more than $75,000 a year prefer general-purpose gift cards.

"While most Americans prefer to receive general-purpose gift cards because they can be used almost anywhere, they should be aware of the fees these cards charge both purchasers and recipients," said Janna Herron, credit card analyst, Bankrate.com. "For example, all of the general-purpose cards that we surveyed charge the purchaser up to $6.95, and 71% charge dormancy or maintenance fees to the recipient. None of the brand-specific cards charge dormancy or maintenance fees."

Additional Findings

• Almost two in three Americans have given a gift card, and more than three in four have received one.
• The most common value of gift cards, both given and received, is between $25 and $50.
• People over 65 and those between 18 and 29 years old are the least likely to give a gift card.
• As income level increases, Americans are more likely to give and receive gift cards.
• 53% of the gift cards that Bankrate.com surveyed can be reloaded, up slightly from 51% last year.
• 56% can be delivered electronically, in line with each of the past two years.
• 69% of gift card issuers will replace the card and/or funds in the event of loss or theft.

The full survey is available here:

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/compare-gift-cards.aspx

Click here to tweet about this:

http://clicktotweet.com/3JmTj

Methodology:

Bankrate.com and its sister site CreditCards.com surveyed 62 widely-held gift cards in early November 2013.

In addition, Bankrate.com commissioned Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI) to survey consumers regarding their gift card habits. PSRAI obtained telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,001 adults living in the continental United States. Interviews were conducted by landline (500) and cell phone (501, including 246 without a landline phone) in English by Princeton Data Source from October 17-20, 2013. Statistical results are weighted to correct known demographic discrepancies. The margin of sampling error for the complete set of weighted data is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

About Bankrate, Inc.

Bankrate is a leading publisher, aggregator, and distributor of personal finance content on the Internet. Bankrate provides consumers with proprietary, fully researched, comprehensive, independent and objective personal finance editorial content across multiple vertical categories including mortgages, deposits, insurance, credit cards, and other categories, such as retirement, automobile loans, and taxes. The Bankrate network includes Bankrate.com, our flagship website, and other owned and operated personal finance websites, including CreditCards.com, Interest.com, Bankaholic.com, Mortgage-calc.com, CreditCardGuide.com, Nationwide Card Services, InsuranceQuotes.com, CarInsuranceQuotes.com, InsureMe, Bankrate.com.cn, CreditCards.ca, NetQuote.com, and CD.com. Bankrate aggregates rate information from over 4,800 institutions on more than 300 financial products. With coverage of nearly 600 local markets in all 50 U.S. states, Bankrate generates over 172,000 distinct rate tables capturing on average over three million pieces of information daily. Bankrate develops and provides web services to over 80 co-branded websites with online partners, including some of the most trusted and frequently visited personal finance sites on the Internet such as Yahoo!, AOL, CNBC, and Bloomberg. In addition, Bankrate licenses editorial content to over 500 newspapers on a daily basis including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe.

For more information:

Caroline Farhat
Publicist
Bankrate, Inc.
[email protected]
(917) 368-8638

SOURCE Bankrate, Inc.