The best place to buy gift cards depends on what you need. A store’s gift card rack is best when you want a card in your hand today, Costco when you want a discount, the brand’s own website or Amazon when you want instant email delivery, a crypto gift card site like Bitrefill when you pay with crypto, and a business platform like Giftronaut when you send gift cards to a whole team or customer list.
Asking for the best place to buy gift cards is a bit like asking for the best place to buy coffee. A gas station is the right answer at 6 a.m. on a road trip. It’s the wrong answer for a 40-person all-hands meeting.
Gift cards work the same way. Plenty of people buy them, too: in a May 2023 survey of 1,007 U.S. consumers by TSG and Bank of America, 76% said they had bought a gift card in the past year, and 40% of the cards bought were digital. So the real question isn’t whether to buy one. It’s where, for the situation you’re in right now.
Below, we compare six places by what each does well, how you receive the card and the catch you should know before you pay.
Where is the best place to buy gift cards? A side-by-side comparison
Pick the row that matches your situation. Each place solves one problem well and comes with a limit worth knowing.
| Where to buy | Best for | How you get the card | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| A store rack, such as Target | A card in your hand today | Physical card at the register; eGift cards on Target.com | Visa, Mastercard and Amex cards carry a fee from $4, with a limit of 5 per guest per day |
| Costco | Discounted cards | Ordered on Costco.com | You choose from Costco’s list, not every brand |
| The brand’s own website | One specific store, app or restaurant | Depends on the brand | The card works only with that brand |
| Amazon | Fast delivery by email or text | Email, text, Print at Home or mail | A cap of $10,000 per customer per day |
| Bitrefill | Paying with crypto | Online, paid in cryptocurrency | No card issuer to dispute a payment with |
| Giftronaut | Sending to a team, clients or survey respondents | A reward email; each recipient picks their brand | A pre-funded account, and cards are country-specific |
When should you buy a gift card in a store?
When you need a physical card today. A retailer’s gift card rack is the quickest route: Target, for example, sells specialty gift cards for gaming, music and restaurants, such as Xbox and Olive Garden, in store and on Target.com. If CVS is closer, our guide to whether CVS sells gift cards covers what you’ll find there.
The catch is the fee on prepaid network cards. At Target, Visa, Mastercard and American Express gift cards carry a purchase fee that “starts at $4 and increases with the amount of the gift card purchased.” Target also limits these cards to 5 per guest per day and says they’re not offered in bulk.
Say you pick up three $50 Visa gift cards for a birthday, a teacher and a neighbor. Even at the lowest fee, that’s at least $12 on top of $150, so you pay 8% more before anyone spends a cent. If the recipient has a favorite store, a card for that one brand may suit them better anyway. And if you’re buying prepaid cards for a team, our guide to where to buy prepaid gift cards with no fees covers the options.
Before you pay, check the card itself. The FTC warns that scammers tamper with gift cards, sometimes in batches (December 2024):
- Look for tampering. If the back looks scratched or a sticker is missing, tell a cashier or manager and choose a card from a different store.
- Pay by credit card if you can. The FTC notes that credit cards give you the most protection, including the option to file a chargeback if something goes wrong. Here are the best ways to buy gift cards with a credit card.
- Keep the receipt. Keep copies of the card and the store receipt, because the card number and receipt help you report a card that doesn’t work.
One more detail from Target: physical prepaid and specialty cards bought in store “may have a delayed activation period,” so don’t buy one five minutes before the party and expect it to work right away.
Are gift cards cheaper at Costco?
For a short list of brands, yes. Costco’s Gift Cards and Tickets page promotes discount gift cards, with restaurant cards priced from $25 to $200, plus gaming, entertainment, lifestyle and health and wellness cards, movie tickets and its own Costco Shop Card.
The honest catch is selection. You’re choosing from the brands Costco carries, so a discount only helps if the recipient actually likes that steakhouse or arcade. Costco also doesn’t list one discount rate on that page, so compare the price with the face value on each listing before you decide it’s a deal.
Where can you buy a gift card online and send it instantly?
From the brand’s own website, or from Amazon. Buying straight from the brand is the simplest way to follow the FTC’s advice to “stick to stores you know and trust,” and you get the card the brand itself issues.
Amazon sells its own gift cards as email, text message, Print at Home, Anytime, Reload or mail cards. A few limits are worth knowing if you buy more than a handful:
- You can order up to 250 physical Amazon gift cards in one order.
- Gift card purchases are capped at $10,000 per customer per day.
- After you place the order, you can’t change the type of gift card you selected.
For more sites that sell gift cards online, see our list of the top websites to buy gift cards online.
What should you avoid? Online auction sites. The FTC’s gift card guidance (July 2023) says to avoid them “because the gift cards may be fake or stolen.” A deal from a stranger that looks too good usually is.
Can you buy gift cards with crypto?
Yes, on a crypto gift card site such as Bitrefill. Its payment help article (updated October 2025) lists Bitcoin on both the Bitcoin and Lightning networks, plus Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Solana, Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), among others.
It’s a good fit if you already hold crypto and want to spend it on everyday brands. Just remember the FTC’s credit card advice above: when you pay in crypto, there’s no card issuer to file a chargeback with, so double-check the brand, the country and the amount before you send.
How should a company buy gift cards for employees or clients?
Through a business gift card platform, once you’re past a handful of cards. Retail checkout wasn’t built for 200 recipients: Target sells only 5 network gift cards per guest per day and doesn’t offer them in bulk, and Amazon stops at $10,000 per customer per day.
Picture a team lead sending $25 thank-you cards to 150 employees. That’s $3,750, which fits under Amazon’s daily cap, but every one of those 150 people gets the same brand, whether they shop there or not. Our guide to buying Amazon gift cards in bulk covers when that works and when a Choice Card fits better.
Brand preference is the bigger problem. Amazon.com is the brand Giftronaut recipients pick most often, chosen 18,446 times, but the next four (the Visa Reward Virtual Account, Walmart, Starbucks and Target) were picked a combined 9,338 times (Giftronaut data, September 2026). Even within that top five, about one in three picks went to a brand other than Amazon. The same pattern shows up across all our sends: rewards where recipients choose their own brand account for 82% of Giftronaut recipients (Giftronaut data, September 2026).
How Giftronaut handles gift cards in bulk
That’s where we come in. Giftronaut is a gift card rewards platform for businesses, built for sending many gift cards at once.
- Let each recipient choose. With a Choice Card, recipients pick from 4,300+ brands across 225 countries. They select their country at redemption, so you don’t need to know where everyone lives, and they can split one reward across more than one brand.
- Send hundreds of cards in one order. Bulk gift cards go out from a spreadsheet upload, with your logo and message, either right away or on a scheduled date.
- Deliver by email. Each recipient gets a reward email, clicks the redemption link and confirms their email address with a one-time verification step. You can see what recipients see when they redeem.
- Pay for the rewards, not the platform. There are no platform fees, contracts or subscriptions. Funding by ACH or wire has no fee, and credit card deposits carry a 3% processing fee.
A few conditions apply. Your account has to be pre-funded before you place an order, with a minimum deposit of $100 (see how to fund your account). Giftronaut gift cards are country-specific, so an Amazon.co.uk card can’t be redeemed on Amazon.com. And once an order is fulfilled, it can’t be canceled or refunded, although a scheduled order can be canceled until it’s sent.
Match the place to the person you’re buying for
Back to that coffee. Nobody argues about whether the gas station or the café is better in general. You pick the one that fits the moment.
Gift cards are no different. Grab one from a store rack when it’s for tonight, check Costco when the brand fits and the price matters, buy from the brand or Amazon when you need it in an inbox within minutes, and use a business platform when the list of names runs into the dozens. If that last one sounds like your situation, try a sample Choice Card first and see exactly what your recipients will see.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which store is the best place to buy gift cards in person?
A retailer with a gift card rack is the fastest option when you need a card today. Target, for example, sells specialty cards for gaming, music and restaurants in store, but its Visa, Mastercard and American Express gift cards carry a purchase fee that starts at $4.
Can you get gift cards below face value at Costco?
Sometimes. Costco promotes discount gift cards on Costco.com, mostly for restaurants, entertainment, gaming and wellness brands, so compare each listing’s price with its face value and make sure the brand suits the recipient.
Where can I buy a gift card online with instant email delivery?
Buy from the brand’s own website or from Amazon, which sells gift cards by email, text message, Print at Home and mail. Amazon caps gift card purchases at $10,000 per customer per day.
What is the safest place to buy gift cards?
A store or website you know and trust, such as the brand itself or a major retailer. The FTC advises avoiding online auction sites because the cards may be fake or stolen, and suggests checking physical cards for scratches or missing stickers before you pay.
What is the best place to buy gift cards in bulk for a company?
A business gift card platform such as Giftronaut, which sends gift cards in bulk from a spreadsheet upload with no platform fees or contracts. A Choice Card lets each recipient pick from 4,300+ brands across 225 countries.
Do gift cards bought online expire?
It depends on the brand that issues the card. Most Giftronaut gift cards don’t carry an expiration date, and where a validity period applies, 12 months is the most common. Separately, a Giftronaut reward has a standard 180-day window to be redeemed, which is shorter if the sender chooses the Refund Option.
What does Giftronaut charge for bulk gift cards?
Giftronaut charges no platform fees, contracts or subscriptions. Deposits by ACH or wire have no fee and credit card deposits carry a 3% processing fee, while Payout Options carry a redemption fee of 4% (minimum $0.25) when the sender covers it or 6% (minimum $1) when the recipient does.
