What’s the Difference between Gift Certificates and Gift Checks?

How are Gift Certificates and Gift Checks Different?

If you’re planning to share the gift of a turkey (or ham, groceries, pie or other festive foods) in your workplace this holiday season, it’s helpful to understand the differences between Gift Certificates and Gift Checks when choosing what’s best for employees and customers.

What is a Gift Certificate?

A gift certificate is a prepaid card, voucher, or coupon that can be exchanged for goods, services, or special experiences. It’s like giving someone the choice to pick what they want. Retailers, service providers, and companies like gThankYou!, distribute them as a promise that the recipient can get items or services up to a certain value. They’re commonly used in many places, from superstores and entertainment venues to small boutique shops, making them a flexible and thoughtful gift option.

gThankYou Turkey Gift Certificates, for example, allow recipients to choose any brand, size or preparation of whole turkey, like Butterball®, Norbest®, Smithfield® or any other brand, from most any grocery store of their liking, across the U.S.

gThankYou Gift Certificates are Manufacturer Coupons which can only be used for specific types or categories of items (such as a whole turkey, a ham or even more general, groceries), they do have an expiration date, and provide no cash or residual value (one-time use). They cannot be deposited in the bank, exchanged for cash, or used to buy any other type of merchandise. These restrictions are often desired by the gift giver. As such, gThankYou Gift Certificates cannot be used to purchase items like alcohol, tobacco or prescription drugs. They are for food items only and can be restrictive down to the type of food they can be used for, like a whole turkey, pie, or candy.

What is a Gift Check?

Gift Checks (like the Butterball® Gift Check program) are an option for organizations that want to align with ONE certain brand. However, as increasingly more organizations have disparate workforces, it can limit recipients’ ability to redeem their gift check, if specific to a brand (recipients must live close to a store that carries the brand).

Gift checks can, however, also allow recipients to spend the gift checks in any way that a common “check” can be used. This may be beneficial to some, but can also be a cause of concern for the “giver” if there aren’t stipulations involved (such as not for purchase of tobacco, alcohol or direct exchange for cash).

Some gift checks are not specifically aligned to a product line and can be redeemed at any bank or credit union that accepts them. That convenience cannot be ignored, but it does “present” differently than a specific food or holiday-themed gift.

In general, gift certificates are a more convenient option for gift giving, as they can typically be very flexible while maintaining the integrity of the gift type and intention, such as a Thanksgiving Turkey, Christmas Ham, or grocery food items. Whereas, gift checks may be a better option if there is concern about recipients being able to use a gift certificate before it expires or if complete flexibility is desired, like using the gift check in exchange for any product, even cash.

Why gThankYou is America’s Favorite Turkey Gift Certificate

gThankYou makes it convenient for everyone to enjoy a Thanksgiving turkey gift, without the hassle of buying, storing and distributing frozen birds. Recipients like it better, too — they choose the size and preparation of turkey that fits their family best, at the time that’s right for them.

• For any brand, any size and any preparation of whole turkey
• At virtually any major grocery chain store anywhere in the U.S.

And, you have the flexibility to choose the dollar amount of the Certificate that best meets your budget!

Have a large or distributed workplace? No worries, we can help with volume discounts and mailing and shipping options. Contact us today to customize your turkey gift-giving program – 888-484-1658 or info@gthankyou.com.

More ways gThankYou is America’s Favorite Turkey Gift Certificate:

FREE Customizable “Thank You” Gratitude Cards

All gThankYou purchases come with optional Gratitude Cards. Choose from dozens of Thanksgiving, Christmas and other holiday designs, personalize your message and even add a company logo – all for FREE! The wide variety of designs give you flexibility if you are giving the Certificates as a gift or incentive.

Personalization of Certificates – FREE!

gThankYou Gift Certificates can also be personalized at no extra cost! Customization of recipient and giver names on your gift certificate is always free. We can even add your organization’s logo here too!

Range of Dollar Values

You have the flexibility of selecting from a range of dollar amounts for Turkey and Turkey OR Ham Certificates ($10, $15, $20, $25 and $30).

Volume Discounts on Turkey Gifts

gThankYou offers volume discounts on turkey, ham and turkey or ham vouchers. Not sure if you qualify for a large-volume discount or want to learn more? Call us at 888-484-1658.

FAST Delivery – Same-Day Shipping

Need your employee turkey gift — tomorrow? No problem! Virtually all gThankYou orders ship the same day they come in.

Customized Ordering and Fulfillment for Large and Distributed Workplaces

Have a large workplace or many locations? We can help with customized ordering and fulfillment options. Give us a call at 888-484-1658 to discuss.

Great Customer Service

When you call gThankYou at 888-484-1658, we answer the phones personally! And, we keep long customer service hours year-round: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m Monday-Saturday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays. Spanish language assistance is offered during normal business hours during the holiday season.

Check out our page “How to Redeem gThankYou Certificates” and see our downloadable Recipient Letters in English and Spanish — perfect to distribute to recipients, share with managers and post in work rooms.

The Gift of Food ALWAYS Delivers! 

Learn More About gThankYou Certificates of Gratitude

• Check out our Home Page
• See all our Gift Certificate Choices
• Watch our ‘About Us’ Video
• See what customers say in our Case Studies
• Look at our FAQ
• See our FREE customizable Gratitude cards
• Reach us at 888-484-1658 or via info@gthankyou.com

Customer Service Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash