Puerto Rico is the perfect place for many companies to choose as a “bleisure trip”. Employees can fully relax at the beautiful beaches, spas, and resorts it offers while working during the morning. Along with these accommodations, it is common for companies also to gift their worker’s gift cards.
Best Puerto Rican Gift Ideas to Buy With Gift Cards
Knowing what gift cards are and the many types available is the first step to address before acquiring one. Buying these can be an excellent option to gift your employees during a corporate trip, allowing them to spend it on anything they want.
This not only permits an employee to get the purchase they desire but also frees the company from thinking about the gift for each worker.
These are some of the most renowned gift card ideas that can be found to buy amazing gifts in Puerto Rico:
Online eCertificate Cards
Online eCertificates are excellent gift cards for any employee, especially during events and custom celebrations. These come in different prices, such as $25, $50, and $100, and are purchased online through email. After that, the purchaser can print it if necessary.
Caribbean Trading offers many products, from gourmet food to house décor, clothes, and even bathing products that can be bought with these cards.
Company Stores Gift Cards
A Company Store gift card can be the most suitable gift for anyone to give to someone visiting Puerto Rico. Especially when you want to show your employees how much you care about their work.
Since they are redeemable in any of the Puerto Rican stores of Caribbean Trading, any visitor can get them. Of course, an option to redeem it online is also available.
Trip Indulgences
Those who acquire Puerto Rico gift cards can buy many products from the store, including those indulgences for corporate employees that can come in handy.
When guests arrive, many will start looking to acquire things that will ease their stay. Gift cards can buy many Caribbean Trading Corporate packs for the beach, snacks, spa time, and luxury.
These include towels, sunscreen, beach bags, hats, many skincare products to spoil your employees, local snacks and drinks, and many more.
Home Comforts
Caribbean Trading is known for having in sale many home comfort products that aim to bring the freshness and wellness of the Caribbean to your house. In addition, employees can use their gift cards to bring with them many things that will remind their trip forever.
Among the most picked comforts, tropical air fresheners, fragrance oils, room sprays, wax melts, and candles stand out. These products can be placed anywhere and include various prices, adjusting to the buyers’ card capability.
What Are Gift Cards?
Gift cards are prepaid debit cards that can contain a specific amount of money available to purchase specifically in a distinctive store or place. These are commonly designed for merchants, retailers, and sometimes for ATMs.
It’s important to distinguish that gift cards are not the same as prepaid cards. While both can be used to purchase things online or in-store, gift cards are better for those who want to give them away. On the other hand, prepaid cards are better for everyday spending and keeping it for yourself.
How Do They Work?
These prepaid debit credit cards have a certain amount of cash that usually comes in two different types of cards: open loop and closed loops. These are designed to be used online or as a person, with no real difference.
Commonly, cards usually have a minimum and maximum loading amount. For example, most have a minimum of $10 and a maximum of $500; others offer a discount or a “portion” of payment for certain purchases with debit, credit, or cash.
Since there’s always a risk of loss or stealing, most cards are registered online with certain procedures that allow their balance to be tracked and frozen in case it is lost. This makes them even safer than cash in some cases.
Closed-Loop Gift Cards
Gift cards known as closed-loop cards are often found in many stores that allow the cardholder to purchase anything from that shop. These are a single-use for most merchants, within the real store or its website.
When it comes to gift cards for companies that use them in many different stores, they are accepted almost anywhere. Many corporations and their affiliates usually interchange their gift cards between retail stores.
These types also do not require any sort of activation and do not have any of their processor logos. Instead, most of them usually have the store’s logo, but only for advertising.
Another important thing to remark about closed-loop cards is that they’re not reloadable. Once its entire balance is spent, they have no real use anymore. Most of them also have an expiration date set, since they’re supposed to be used within a specific time frame.
Open-Loop Gift Cards
An open-loop gift card offers relative to cash or a credit card that can be used almost anywhere where it’s accepted in real life or online. These cards are usually tied to many famous processors such as American Express, Visa, MasterCard, or Discover.
Their main advantage is the possibility to serve as any standard prepaid card since they’re usually reloadable. In addition, funds can be added by the user, making it especially good for a corporate trip, where employees can use these cards for shopping.
Digital Gift Cards
Merchants offer their clients gift cards because it is a great incentive to encourage them to keep spending money virtually. While their physical counterpart is 75% more popular, digital cards are great for use as a bonus or loyalty program between corporate employees.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Buying Gift Cards?
Using a gift card can provide certain advantages when it comes to buying, as well as some cons that make it less effective than other cards or money.
- Gift cards are an amazing replacement for payment methods if you do not want to use cash or a credit card. It’s also great to gift employees for a corporate trip, allowing them to buy whatever they want.
- They can also be gifts for certain events and special occasions, such as weddings, birthdays, and many more.
- A card is also known for controlling spending since it does not count for bank overdrafts. It’s also very convenient and easy to use.
Remembering to choose open-loop gift cards over closed-loop ones is very important for those looking to gift cards to their employees instead of thinking about what to gift. Closed-loop ones limit the possibilities of stores available to choose where to buy.
Regarding cons, a gift card can’t fully replace a credit or debit card in some aspects. These are some of the disadvantages:
- Depending on the gift card, some purchases might not cover the entire amount, leaving some remaining amount there. If it’s not used, this gets wasted.
- Sometimes, gift cards require doing purchases or paying to reload fees to add an amount of money to the card.
- Closed-loop cards can severely limit the users’ buying potential since not every store accepts them.
- If a gift card is lost or stolen, it can become a huge headache to recover it back without a register or established code.
- Depending on the card, a fee can be charged if it’s not used within a specific frame of time set by the store.
How to Avoid Scams
Since they’re a very used method that millions of people employ worldwide, thieves and scammers have ways to breach the cards’ defenses. More than $148 million were lost last year in gift card scams.
Most of these scams revolve around the thieves asking the victim to purchase a gift card as a form of payment, and then providing the card number. Unfortunately, most victims think this is a legitimate payment.
Another known method is based on tampering with the cards, on getting their gift card number. This is made to wait for a customer to pay or load with it, redirecting the funds to the scammer, who can use such money instead.
Conclusion
Puerto Rico gift cards are everyone’s greatest friend for companies that want to allow their employees to choose their gifts avoiding giving a gift that won’t be used. It also allows saves your company a lot of time planning and thinking about which gifts can be good candidates for your workers.
Many stores across the island accept these cards, especially Caribbean Trading stores. A lot of products can be found in order to consume or bring back home always to remember the amazing business trip.