If you’re on the hunt for the perfect gift and you’re feeling stumped, gift cards are always a good go-to. But even choosing those can get overwhelming — there are so many choices! To make the decision a little easier, WalletHub analyzed gift cards from the 50 most popular retailers in the U.S. and scored them on a 100-point scale, assessing such things as average buyer discount, resale value, retailer rating, and shipping or purchase fees.
We’ve highlighted the top five overall best gift cards below, including a bit more on the breakdown.
1. Starbucks Gift Card
There are plenty of people who don’t think twice about spending $10 a day on their morning caffeine jolt at Starbies, but even those people would love to receive a gift card to give their bank account a break. And for folks who like to save money and enjoy coffee at home, these gift cards could serve as a nice treat.
2. Sephora Gift Card
Gifting beauty products can be fickle. Most people have specific products they like to use and if they do venture beyond their norm, it’s often after some of their own recon. Instead of taking the risk, grab a gift card to Sephora.
3. Target Gift Card
Target is one of those universal places that just about anyone could go and spend way more money than they planned to. Cushion that blow for the ones you love and grab them a gift card.
4. Disney Gift Card
This thing is basically the might morphing Power Ranger of gift cards. You can apply a Disney gift card to purchases at Disney stores, toward admission to Disney theme parks, at Disney resorts, on Disney cruises, and even toward a Disney+ subscription. The list goes on.
5. Chick-fil-A Gift Card
It’s always a good day for Chick-fil-A … unless of course it’s Sunday. Gift cards to this fast-food joint are usually a pretty sage bet.
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6. Most Popular Gift Cards
Now that we’ve got the five best overall out of the way, here are the five most popular gift cards among purchasers:
- Visa Gift Card
- Amazon Gift Card
- Target Gift Card
- Starbucks Gift Card
- Disney Gift Card
It’s no surprise that Visa and Amazon take the cake for the popularity contest since those gift cards open up a much more winding road of purchase possibilities.
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7. Gift Cards with the Biggest Buyer Discount
Some gift cards become all the more enticing when they offer buyer discounts, so you can spend less to get the person you’re gifting more. These gift cards offer the biggest buyer discounts:
- SONIC Gift Card (16.00% discount)
- Fandango Gift Card (11.41% discount)
- Applebee’s Gift Card (8.25% discount)
- Subway Gift Card (7.63% discount)
- Old Navy Gift Card (7.49% discount)
Related: Gift Card Mistakes to Avoid
