What is the point in a gift voucher?

Vouchers are a pain, as the shops I try and avoid going to all year I now am forced to go to to spend the bloomin thing. Not that I'm ungrateful but 9 times out of ten the stuff there is too expensive for the value of the voucher to cover so I end up spending more in a shop I'd normally deem to dear to spend in anyway. Now I'm worried the shop will go bust before I spend it so I can't even put it off!

[Sir Trev]

Originally Posted by dizzyblonde

Do you know how many points I have to collect before Shell give me a sip of fuel....... I don't bother since I saw it on watchdog. I do use the nectar card though. It's slightly better being multi use.

Yes I saw that piece on Watchdog - it's what made me mention Shell. They are convenient so I continue to collect the points but I'm not rabid about it any more. I get a £10 gift card once every six months or so...

They allow people to pretend they've put thought into a present.
They give people a piece of mind that the receiver isn't just spending the cash on beer.
A number of people will forget to ever spend them.
It's cash up front for no goods surrendered. Imagine the bank interest on the money alone.

I think they serve a purpose. For instance my nan enjoys getting me something for christmas and birthdays so she gets me an itunes voucher because she knows I like music however she doesn't have the knowledge to shop online and well... HMV are closing!

[flymo]

Originally Posted by Stenno

They allow people to pretend they've put thought into a present.
They give people a piece of mind that the receiver isn't just spending the cash on beer.
A number of people will forget to ever spend them.
It's cash up front for no goods surrendered. Imagine the bank interest on the money alone.

I think they serve a purpose. For instance my nan enjoys getting me something for christmas and birthdays so she gets me an itunes voucher because she knows I like music however she doesn't have the knowledge to shop online and well... HMV are closing!

How about popping a tenner in a card and saying "Buy yourself some music with this"

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by dizzyblonde

Do you know how many points I have to collect before Shell give me a sip of fuel....... I don't bother since I saw it on watchdog. I do use the nectar card though. It's slightly better being multi use.

On the other hand using hundreds of litres a week of company fuel card.... er you might get a fiver or so from them occasionally...

Originally Posted by flymo

How about popping a tenner in a card and saying "Buy yourself some music with this"

*ahem*

Originally Posted by Stenno

They give people a piece of mind that the receiver isn't just spending the cash on beer.

[dizzyblonde]

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

On the other hand using hundreds of litres a week of company fuel card.... er you might get a fiver or so from them occasionally...

Yeah company fuel card might get a fiver, but I'm just a member of the public. I may use Shell being the nearest station, but even with my thirsty waggon, it would take months or years to even get anything back from collecting points

Originally Posted by dizzyblonde

Yeah company fuel card might get a fiver, but I'm just a member of the public. I may use Shell being the nearest station, but even with my thirsty waggon, it would take months or years to even get anything back from collecting points

Morrisons fuel card's the same. I got that when I first started filling up the SV, thought I'd start collecting points by the bucketload using a tank a week as I did then...until I realised filling up a car every week is going to collect a sight more points and it would take me aaaages to get any money off...

[dizzyblonde]

That's why I find nectar better. We both have a card for the same account. We use sainsburys or BP more often, as we've either passed one going to work or nipped in to shop, and fuelled up at the same time. Plus you can collect using eBay and many other places.

I've got a whole 15 quid for emergency on mine!

[Littlepeahead]

I sometimes make my own vouchers. This year my best mate got £75 cash for her birthday but a voucher with it to say that I would go to Westfield or another hideous shopping centre which I loathe in order to buy her lunch while she spent the money on lingerie. I printed this voucher onto a pair of size 22 knickers which we both got into at once at the party.

And Chris8886 got a voucher with a picture of a curry and rice on it saying next time he stayed at mine I'd take him out to the Nepalese place we like, feed him and buy the beers for his birthday.