I'm taking my friend out to dinner tonight for her birthday. She just so happened to pick a place that I have a $20.00 gift card for. It's an order at the counter and pay then sit down to be served place (Mandola's, for anyone in Austin) so she'll probably see me paying. Is it cheesy for me to use the gift card? The $20.00 won't cover the whole tab, and I could just pay for the whole meal and save my gift card. Would you find it "cheap" if a friend did that to you? (I wouldn't care at all, but I wouldn't care how someone paid if I was the recipient of the free meal!) Thanks for your opinions.
A little...but you can cut the "cheese" factor by saying something like
"wow! How nice of you to pick a place that I have a gift card for! I'm going to use it up because I don't know when I'll get back. Can't think of a better celebration to use it for..."
In other words, be upfront about it.
She picked the place, right? No problem.
Now, if someone on a DATE paid with a coupon or a gift card, that might be a little iffy, but still not off limits :)
Wouldn't bother me at all.
ETA: My SIL buys a ton of gift cards at her local grocery store because she gets cents off at the gas pump. SHE uses them as her money when she goes to restaurants, etc. I see it as genius. I wish our local stores did the same.
I'm sure your friend would not care AT ALL.
No. What is cheap about having a pre-paid card? Hubby and I buy them all the time, because often you get a "free bonus" card with it. For example:
Bonefish Grill/Outback, every Christmas, offers a "buy $100 in gift cards, get $20 gift card free". The first year we bought one. The caveat is that you only have like 6 weeks to use the "bonus". That wasn't a problem, and we found out that you can use more than one of them at a time, so THIS past year, we bought TWO of the $100 cards and received 2 $20 bonus cards.
We went out for his birthday (early February) with the $40 in bonus cards, plus a small amount out of the "regular" gift cards. Over the course of the rest of this year, we have spent most of the 2 regular cards. I think we have around $35 left on one of them. One day in a month or so, we'll decide we want to go out, and we'll use the balance.
"Gift cards" aren't JUST for giving as gifts. We buy them for ourselves when we are offered "bonus" cards with them, often. Ruby Tuesday's also does something like this: (buy $50 card get $15 bonus).
I can't imagine why anyone would think using what is really just a pre-paid card would be tacky or cheap. We buy them for ourselves all the time!
They are great deals! She'll just be glad you are picking up the tab for her meal! :)
Oh, I hope not, because I have done that!
I once had a $50 card and the restaurant closed before I could use it. Now I try to use gift cards ASAP, treating friends or not.
And how nice of you to take your friend out for her birthday. Have a great time!
I don't think it's cheesy at all.
I don't care. A friend took me out to lunch on Friday after I got laid off and she paid with gift cards. Didn't bother me at all.
I don't know at all why it would be cheesy. You could just tell her how lucky you are to have a friend that picked this place for her birthday and indulge in a special treat, too.
Cheesy? Only if you're a cheesy person who wouldn't do *anything* for her friend unless she could do it the most cheeseparing, miserly way!
But, of course, you're not. You're a loving friend who can say, "This is wonderful, because I was given a gift card to the very place you want to go. So we can have an even better time!"
Use the gift card. A friend wouldn't care:)
I would not be offended at all, and I can not imagine how petty someone would have to be to find that offensive.
Wouldn't care at all.
I would consider it the same as using money. Can't see how it could offend anyone.
no use the gift card...get rid of it when you can. otherwise these things just build up. She won't care.
I think it's a little cheesy, but not a major offense. If you think you'll use the gift card at another time, then I wouldn't use it tonight. But, if you want/need to use it soon, then go for it. It kind of depends on your friend's personality and how close you guys are as well. :-)
i would not care at all. but i am from the thinking that if the friend/date/parent/stranger is paying for anyones dinner they have no say in how it is getting paid. if you have a coupon use it, gift certificate, go for it. Found 5 dollars on the ground use it!
Recently my friend was thinking of breaking it off with her boyfriend because he is a cheap tipper. He pays for there dinners and gives two bucks every time. Sometimes its over the standerd 15% and some times way under. I think its none of her business as he is paying for the meal and tip. If it truly bothers her so much she should offer to pay the tip and keep the boyfriend(unless she was trying to find flaws in him then cut him loose)
Funny - at the Kroger's (grocery) here, you get points on your 'loyalty' card by buying gift cards - and they stock many restaurants, fix-it places, and their own store. And they even suggest in their ads to buy the cards and use them like cash ....
Not cheesy...In this economy, every little bit helps, right?!
I used store credit and coupons to get my son his birthday gifts yesterday...didn't cost me a penny...
I would appreciate your time spent with me as a friend, not the monetary value of the dinner, gift, etc. In fact, my friends and I have stopped doing gifts altogether. We just get together for the special days (birthdays, holidays, etc.) and enjoy each other's company. That's what it's all about anyway...
Not at all. If your friend thinks less of you for using it, then I would wonder what kind of friend she is. It's like you are sharing something of value with her. Now if she had given you the gift card, that would be a different story...
I wouldn't mind. My friends wouldn't mind, but some people might find it in poor taste. I wouldn't make a big deal about it or comment on it, hand them the gift card and your credit card together and be done with it. Also, if you are giving her a separate gift beside dinner, than I can't imagine anyone, even if the etiquette police friends could ever think anything bad of it.
i think its a little cheasy especially if the gift card was given as a gift to you.
If someone took me to dinner and paid with a GC I would not be offended but it does look a bit cheesy. I would assume that you couldn't afford (or it tightened your budget too much) to be treating me chose and feel guilty about picking a place out of your price range.
However, I would NEVER use a GC to treat someone for lunch/dinner, etc. I would save the GC for another use.
