Gift card deals on Black Friday: what to check
In November many stores hand out a gift card with a purchase or sell cards with bonus value. They are worth less than they look: the money only works at that store, and the bonus part can expire soon.
Reviewed
A card "with purchase" is not a discount
"Spend 100 USD, get a 20 USD gift card" is not 20% off. You pay 100 today. The 20 only counts if you shop at the same store again, before whatever expiry date the card carries.
To compare, check whether the product costs the same at another store without the card. If it does, the card is a coupon for your next purchase, not a markdown. If another store has it 20 USD cheaper, that is the better deal, even with nothing attached.
The same goes for "pay 50, get 60" cards: the extra value is usually a separate promotional card with its own dates.
What the US rule says
The federal rule (Regulation E, 12 CFR 1005.20) says the money on a gift card you buy cannot expire sooner than five years after the card was issued or last loaded. An inactivity fee is allowed only after a year with no use, at most one a month, and only if the card says so.
Promotional cards, the ones you get free for buying something, are outside that five-year rule. They must say on the front that they are promotional and when they expire. Check that date before you count on the money.
That is the federal floor, and some states give more protection. No rule gets your balance back if the store closes.
What barato.si does with them
barato.si leaves offers that advertise a gift card out of its index, whether it is the card alone or a product "with a gift card". A card's value has no history to compare against, and adding it to the discount would make the cut look deeper. The one exception is a product whose price is already a possible error.
And a rule for the whole year: nobody legitimate asks you to pay a debt, a tax or a prize fee with gift cards. If someone does, it is a scam.