Gift vouchers are a common present over the Christmas period but money guru Martin Lewis has explained why they may not be the best idea and has even offered an alternative
Choosing what to buy loved ones or friends for Christmas can often be tricky.
Whether it be clothes, a bottle of alcohol or cash, there’s always the worry that they won’t like what you have gifted them. In some instances, it’s the easy option to go and buy a voucher. Restaurants, clothing stores and even experience days, there appears to be a voucher for every type of person.
But, according to Martin Lewis, buying vouchers this Christmas should be avoided. The money guru admitted he is “not a fan” of vouchers during his Martin Lewis Money Show Christmas special.
In the episode, which aired on ITV on November 19, Mr Lewis had his say on vouchers. He admitted: “As for gift vouchers, I’m not a fan. Two reasons; one, they have use-by dates people don’t know about which means they’re not valid. Two, if the company goes bust they are worthless. So obviously Amazon is very unlikely to go bust but if you know a local restaurant if you’re giving gift vouchers there is a real risk with that.
“The best form of gift voucher for me is about this big, it’s flappy it’s foldy, it’s got a picture of the Queen or soon to be the King on it and it’s cash, because it’s flexible everywhere you can use it everywhere and people will take it. I’m not a fan of gift vouchers unless it’s a big firm that isn’t going to go bust and you tell people when the use-by date is.”
Mr Lewis has also previously spoken about gift vouchers on The Martin Lewis podcast. He said: “For some reason our British sensibilities struggle with giving cash, with many finding gift vouchers more socially acceptable. But there are bigger buts on gift vouchers than a troupe of baboons.”
The money guru continued: “First of all, if the store goes bust, I’ll be very plain on this, gift vouchers usually become worthless. So think very carefully about the likely financial strength of any retailer you’re buying for. Now let’s be honest if you buy an Amazon gift voucher, it probably ain’t going bust any time soon, nor is Selfridges, but there are many retailers especially high street retailers and we’ve seen this lots of times. The second thing to be aware of with gift vouchers is that many have expiry dates which you might not be aware of so they only last a couple of years.
“Now even if you’re getting to that point what you can do is go in and buy the cheapest thing you possibly can if you’re near the expiry date and then you’ll get another gift voucher that has a much longer expiry date on the back. But if in doubt cash, or money in the bank is the ultimate gift voucher. It’s totally flexible and you can use it anywhere.”
