Best Gift Card Values for Christmas 2016

If you have no idea what gift to give a boss, or maybe a teenager typically glued to their cell phone, a gift card can be a great present that lets the recipient spend the card's value on what they want. But gift cards come in all sorts of options, from restaurant chains, to department stores, to Visa cards loaded with money to movie tickets and more.

The top 5 most popular gift cards given by American shoppers are: Amazon Gift Card, Visa Gift Card, iTunes Gift Card, American Express Gift Card and Walmart Gift Card, according to the personal finance website NerdWallet. But those aren't always the best cards in terms of average discount offered, resale value, the retailer appeal and shipping fees.

Cards with the best value using those criteria are for Target, Netflix, Walmart, Amazon and Best Buy, the site says.

While some folks prefer an actual present, gift cards are easier and cheaper send across the country. This holiday season, 73 percent of consumers said that they will buy a gift card this holiday season. Most consumers purchase two gift cards during the holidays, according to CardCash.com. And an gift card from the past five years is most likely still good, if you come across cards months after the holiday.

Gift cards are most popular with younger consumers, growing at an annual rate of 6 percent, but the real boom in the market is digital gift cards, which are being purchased at an increase of 200 percent this year, the website says.

Of course, if the recipient doesn't use the gift card, it's money down the drain. So how do you choose the best gift card? NerdWallet has these tips:

Look For A Discount. The best gift cards can be bought for less than face value.

Avoid Card-Network Gift Cards. Gift cards from Visa, MasterCard and Discover seem like a good deal since they can be used anywhere, but they’re inferior to cash because the cards make money from fees. There’s generally a fee of at least $3.95 when you purchase such a gift card, followed by a $2.50 monthly inactivity fee if the card isn’t used for 12 consecutive months.

Don’t Confuse Gift Cards & Prepaid Cards. Despite often being displayed next to each other in stores, gift cards and prepaid cards are very different animals. Gift cards are designed to be used only until the original balance is gone. Prepaid cards, on the other hand, are reloadable and designed to serve the same purpose as a checking account with a debit card; and prepaid cards come with multiple fees.

Resale Is An Option. If you don’t use or like a particular gift card, you can sell it on a gift card exchange or simply swap gift cards with a friend or family member.

Tell us: What is the worst Christmas present you ever received? Share your ideas in comments below.

If you have actual gifts you want to exchange, there are ways to change out gifts at the store even if you don't have a receipt, although a receipt makes the gift-return process much easier. A warning: Don’t open the packaging for music, movies, video games or computer software if there’s a chance you will return it. Once it’s out of the packaging, the best you can hope for is an exchange for a similar item in the store.

Patch has checked the return policies of some of the country’s biggest retailers in case you find a present from Santa you’d rather swap out. Here’s hoping you can avoid the long lines at customer service on Dec. 26.

Return policies vary widely among national retailers, from practically no limits at Nordstrom and Kohl’s, to stringent rules that allow only unopened DVDs and computer software to be returned at Best Buy, Toys R Us and other businesses.

Many shopping outlines extend their deadline for returns for the holiday season, including Amazon’s holiday policy, which gives you until Jan. 31 to return gifts that were purchased between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31. Among the stores known for their generous return policies are L.L. Bean, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Zappos, the online shoe and clothing seller, says Time.