I was behind a women at check out counter, she purchased about $400 worth of starbuck gift cards and charged them on her credit card. So the credit card company already made money even though starbuck had not.
gift card creats diff kind of problem; " As to the Microsoft's current Xbox shortage, Bell explained the holiday gift-buying season left Xbox supplies for January already tighter than expected. Then there was a new rush of buying by people cashing in gift cards they received during the holidays. Xbox console supplies quickly dried up, and Microsoft's retail partners ran out." -Smart Money
Long Time no speak ByLo! Yes it is a nation to fear, not so much the gift cards and the credit cards but the mortgage debt as a percentage of household wealth I think ticked over 100% in the middle of the mania. That's unheard of in modern number crunching and can't end well. Still the wack a mole concept is working for now... ~ stoney