Last-Minute Shopping? Amazon, Starbucks, REI Rank Among Best for Gift Card Value

If you’re last-minute gift-shopping — and chances are you are — you’re probably considering a gift card.

The National Retail Federation says 157 million people plan to shop on Super Saturday — the last Saturday before Christmas. An estimated 26% of shoppers have already bought gift cards.

“As with last year, over half of consumers expect they will complete their shopping in the week leading up to the Christmas holiday.” says Prosper Insights & Analytics Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist.

Turns out that no fewer than five Seattle companies have the best gift cards, according to a study by personal finance website WalletHub. Sure, it may seem kinda lazy, but I know my 15-year-old would much prefer a Subway or Chipotle gift card over, say, socks or a T-shirt (he would actually eat at Chipotle every day if I let him, but that’s another story).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Amazon has the top-rated gift card and the second most popular behind Visa. The report is based on factors including company and purchase popularity, discounts and shipping fees. The average buyer discount is 5%.

Starbucks ranks No. 5, REI No. 8, and Costco No. 15. Nordstrom comes in at No. 24. Ironically, the most popular gift card, Visa, carries a hefty $6.90 fee on average to buy, far and away the most of any of the 50 included in the survey.

The National Retail Federation predicts that overall holiday spending this year will reach $989 billion, up as much as 3.5 % from last year.