Gift Cards » Compare Gift Cards » Airline Gift Cards

To help consumers compare gift cards this holiday season, CreditCards.com, a Bankrate-owned website, surveyed gift cards from 63 major restaurants, retailers, airlines and other businesses. The study included eight "open-loop," or general-purpose, gift cards and 55 "closed-loop," or store, gift cards. CreditCards.com gathered data on nine different aspects that can affect the consumer, ranging from expiration dates and fees to e-gift card availability and free shipping.

For easy comparison, Bankrate.com grouped closed-loop gift cards, which can only be used at a particular merchant or group of merchants, into subcategories for retail, restaurant, airline and gas cards. Open-loop gift cards, which are issued by banks and carry a credit card brand such as Visa or American Express, were listed as general-purpose gift cards. These cards can usually be used anywhere that brand is accepted. To view the other card categories, click on the tabs.

• General
• Retail
• Restaurants
• Airlines
• Gas stations

2011 Gift Card Survey

• Expiration date?
• Dormancy or maintenance fees?
• Card and/or funds replaced after loss or theft?

• PIN?*
• Reloadable?
• E-card available

• Online balance check?
• Free shipping/delivery?**
• Purchase fees?

Airline gift cards										Other details
American Airlines
Frontier Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines										Only email version is available.
JetBlue Airways
Southwest Airlines
US Airways
* PIN defined as a cardholder-created security code needed to conduct a transaction involving a card, whether it's checking a balance, making a purchase or something else. It does not include PINs that are found on the back of a card. ** Free shipping/delivery is only for physical cards. Being able to send an e-card for free doesn't qualify. Source: Survey conducted by CreditCards.com from late September through early October 2011.