Giftly Gift Cards: Everything You Need to Know

Giftly is a different yet familiar way to send gifts. It blends the thoughtfulness of a gift card with the flexibility of money. Whether you're gifting for a specific occasion or want to send a "just because" gift, this technology gives you the power to make it personal while keeping things incredibly flexible. Additionally, Giftly is available via a mobile-friendly website, allowing you to send and redeem a Giftly from a computer, pad, or mobile device. I'll share my experiences giving and receiving Giftly gift cards in the post below.

This review is not a sponsored post; the insights shared reflect my real-life experience.

Giftly Gift Card Review

The Giftly gift card experience is refreshingly simple and flexible, designed with the giver and recipient in mind. What sets Giftly apart is the ability to suggest where and how the recipient might use the gift while still allowing them complete freedom to spend the funds as they wish--without fees, expiration dates, or any other "gotchas" that sometimes come with gift cards.

Giftly is an excellent choice when you want to send a personalized gift without being overly restrictive. From customizing the design to selecting the delivery method and even scheduling the delivery time, Giftly makes the entire process straightforward and user-friendly. Let's dive into the details to see why Giftly is an excellent option for your next gift-giving occasion.

Ease of Use (From Purchase to Redemption)

Giftly offers a seamless process from start to finish. First, you pick a design from several choices. These designs are simple, with a ribbon of color in two different formations, leaving room to customize the rest of the card image with thousands of stock photo options. Unfortunately, you can't add your own photo, but the variety of stock images allows for lots of creativity.

Fun to Design and Easy to Send

For instance, I sent a Giftly for my daughter and her family to visit a new taqueria in town. In designing the gift card, I picked a photo of a taco similar to the style of this particular restaurant, selected matching colors, and added the tagline "Let's TACO bout it." Then, I chose one of the free greeting card choices and added a personal note, explaining she could use the gift funds however she wanted, but I definitely recommended The Smoked Taco. To get the Giftly there quickly, I selected the TEXT method with INSTANT delivery.

Please note, I could have purchased a gift card directly from The Smoked Taco, but I wanted to give my daughter full flexibility to use the funds however she wished--or to split it between The Smoked Taco and another place she preferred.

Before I could send her a "heads-up" text to expect a digital gift card, I found a "thank you" reply in my inbox. She had only temporarily been wary of the first text she got because it appeared like a random text before the actual Giftly arrived. The message on the Giftly text, however, eased her mind.

Even Easier to Spend

Next, I met my daughter and her family at the restaurant to witness the recipient experience. Before her arrival, she easily understood that to access the Giftly funds, she needed to choose a payment method. The options are:

• Credit to a checking account in 2-3 days
• Credit to a PayPal account in 4-5 days
• Physical Visa gift card delivered by mail in 10-14 days 

She selected PayPal because she didn't want to dig around for her checking account and routing numbers, nor did she see any benefit in waiting for a physical gift card. Though she had to front the money for our Smoked Taco lunch, she knew the money to cover the meal would arrive soon. And since the total expense of the meal was less than the Giftly, she had money left over to spend however she wanted. 

That's a Bonus! You can easily split a Giftly gift card across several transactions without any effort.

How to Send a Giftly Gift Card

Giftly allows for extensive personalization in the gift-giving process. The first step is to pick a dollar amount--any amount from $5 to $1000. You can pick a design that includes stock photography and customize the wording on your gift card. While you can suggest specific stores or restaurants, these are only recommendations, giving the recipient the freedom to decide how to use the gift.

You can craft a themed gift like I did with the taco experience, celebrate a special occasion with a "Happy Birthday" theme, or tailor it to any sentiment or event you wish. After creating the gift card, you can start customizing the digital or physical greeting card that comes with it. A few design options are free, while others cost $1 each.

The next step is to decide how you want to deliver the gift. Giftly offers a variety of delivery options, ensuring that you can tailor the gift-giving experience to suit your timeline and the recipient's preferences. Here are the four gifting formats currently available:

1. Text Message: Send a digital gift card and greeting card to your recipient's phone via text message.
2. Email: Send a digital gift card and greeting card to your recipient's email inbox.
3. Printable Greeting Card: Buy a printable Giftly to print, fold, and hand-deliver to the recipient.
4. Physical Gift Card: For an extra $5, mail a physical gift card printed in a full-color greeting card via USPS standard First-Class mail. Faster delivery with tracking is available for an additional fee.

Additionally, when sending a digital Giftly, you can schedule delivery for a specific date. That means you can create gift cards at your convenience and still have them delivered on special days.

For comparison of the two printed options, pictured below is the Printable Greeting Card (download and print at home) and the Printed Greeting Card. The print quality of the professionally printed gift card is superior to the printable (on my home printer, at least), and the colors are a little different. But, the printable option is an excellent choice when you're short on time, can't wait for the physical card to arrive in the mail, don't want to pay for shipping, or would rather not send a digital gift card.

I really do like the range of Giftly delivery methods.

How to Redeem a Giftly Gift Card

This gift truly shines when it comes to the redemption experience. The recipient will go to giftly.com and enter the Giftly code. Once accepted, they'll see the personal message and dollar value of the gift card. They'll also be prompted to quickly send a digital thank you note. Then, they'll decide how to receive the funds. As mentioned earlier, the choices are as follows:

• Credit payment deposited to a checking account in 2-3 days
• Credit sent to a PayPal account in 4-5 days
• Physical Visa gift card delivered by mail in 10-14 days.

If the recipient opts for one of the account transfers, every dollar is sent directly to the chosen account. This option means no more gift cards sitting unused in a sock drawer, no non-use fees, or other common gift card wastes. Even if the recipient does nothing more than transfer the funds to a checking account, the gift card gets fully redeemed. I love that.

Why Not Just Send Venmo?

When I began exploring Giftly gift cards, I wondered, "Why would I choose Giftly over Venmo or another peer-to-peer payment method that's free?" However, the answer became clear as I tested the Giftly experience.

Venmo is fundamentally a transaction—it's about one person sending money to another, often for practical reasons like splitting bills, paying for a service, or reimbursing friends. As such, Venmo falls short when it comes to gifting; it doesn't convey the same thoughtfulness or emotional impact. For example, when you send money via Venmo, there's no indication of whether the recipient even noticed the payment, let alone felt celebrated.

Giftly, on the other hand, truly FEELS like a gift. As I designed several Giftly gift cards, I thought about the recipients' reactions—not only to the surprise and personalized design but also to the messages I included. Despite the recipients having the freedom to spend the money however they wish (much like Venmo), the giving and receiving experiences are vastly different. Giftly enhances the gifting process with comprehensive communication that is pleasant, informative, and visual—not just a text message.

In essence, Venmo handles transactions; Giftly creates connections. This distinction makes Giftly far more suitable for occasions that call for a personal touch, and I think it's worth the extra money and effort to ensure the gift feels thoughtful.

Buy Bulk Giftly Gift Cards

For anyone managing multiple gifts, whether you're a business rewarding employees or a grandparent showering love on grandchildren, Giftly offers a perfect solution.

Although I haven't personally tried the corporate Giftly experience, my history of receiving various employee rewards allows me to say this: team members often wish they could receive cash instead. How often have we received items like ill-fitting fleece jackets with a company logo, crystal vases we never use, or been treated to an expensive dinner that seemed more for the manager's benefit than the team's? With Giftly, you can convey the same appreciation, but recipients effectively receive cash, ensuring they're thrilled.

One of my favorite tools for personal use, especially when sending multiple gift cards, is the Giftly dashboard, where I can see the status of every gift I've sent. Imagine keeping track of gift cards for a dozen grandkids--making sure each got the one they wanted and, more importantly, redeemed it. Your purchase history on Giftly shows you each card, the accompanying thank you notes, and the redemption status. You can even send a reminder if the gift hasn't been used.

Additionally, don't overlook the convenience of scheduled delivery for digital gift cards. You can sit down, plan out your gifts for the upcoming months, purchase all your Giftlys in one go, and schedule each for delivery on the right day. It's efficient and thoughtful and ensures you don't miss special occasions.

Three Things Giftly Recipients Need to Know

1. Redeem on Giftly.com (Not in Stores): The recipient cannot go directly to a store or restaurant to redeem a Giftly, even if a merchant's name is on the gift card. That's just a suggestion. The recipient must redeem the Giftly gift card on giftly.com to select one of the payout options. 
2. Check Transfer Times: The funds do not transfer instantly. Depending on the payout selected, funds will be delivered anywhere from 2 days with a deposit to a bank account to more than a week if you opt for a physical Visa gift card. When I tested a Giftly as the recipient and selected a PayPal payout, I received a deposit a couple of hours later. That might not be the norm—holidays, for example, could cause delays. So, it is best to reference the posted timelines to ensure you get funds when expected.
3. Plan Ahead for Gifting: Timing is a crucial consideration for gift-giving. If you want to ensure that the recipient has the funds to treat themselves—whether it's dinner at a restaurant, groceries for the week, a new outfit, or gas money—send the gift card early. Since the funds don't transfer instantly, they might need a few extra days to get the payment unless they have the resources to pay upfront with their own money and wait for the Giftly transfer to reimburse them later.

Giftly Security Features

Unlike physical gift cards that can be tampered with in-store, Giftly's digital-first approach eliminates such risks. With online-only purchases, Giftly ensures that the typical vulnerabilities associated with physical gift cards, like exposure to tampering or theft, are not a concern. Customers enjoy peace of mind knowing their gifts are protected by stringent online security measures, making Giftly a trustworthy choice for digital gifting.

Giftly Customer Support

Giftly excels in customer support, from troubleshooting to providing communication at every transaction step.

After ordering my first Giftly gift card, I noticed that Google auto-populated the wrong name on my credit card details. Concerned that the transaction might get canceled, I emailed Giftly customer service. I got a response from a customer service representative in less than three hours, who answered the question to my complete satisfaction.

Not only that, I loved the back-and-forth communication from Giftly to me as the buyer. Giftly sent a notice when my gift card got sent, opened, and redeemed. Giftly also has the dashboard I mentioned earlier where you can check the status of all purchases, and you can even send a reminder if a recipient still needs to redeem your gift card. So good!

Thank You Feature

Giftly also prompts the recipient to send a thank you card. As a giver, I don't necessarily need a thank you, but I do want to know if the recipient received my gift. The digital 'thank you' effectively closes the loop, adding a perfect finish to the gifting experience.

As a mom, I always taught my kids to say "thank you" when receiving a gift, but expressing gratitude the old-fashioned way with a handwritten note felt like such a chore to them. Communication styles have evolved; Giftly addresses this beautifully. The prompt to send a thank you note happens as soon as the gift is received, ensuring it doesn't get forgotten, the giver knows the gift arrived, and a personal expression of thanks is shared immediately.

This extra feature is the type of innovation that makes digital gifting feel more like a traditional gift. I have to say that every step in the Giftly process feels intentional, and the "thank you" prompt is a perfect example of that.

Now let's get to the scoreCARD.

Below is the ScoreCARD that summarizes my evaluation of Giftly gift cards, focusing on their ease of use, security features, and customer support. While I keep the specific details of my evaluation criteria proprietary, the key strengths in each category are listed below. The overall rating is a percentage to show how well Giftly gift cards meets the standards I'd like to see in a robust gift card experience. 

This summary shows why a Giftly gift card is a gift card you can trust.