How Customers Redeem a Gift Card

How it works

Redeeming A Gift Card At Checkout

A recipient gets an email with their gift card code and a QR code they can scan. Here's what happens when they use it.

1

Customer Copies The Gift Card Code

From the email, or by scanning the QR code, they grab the code tied to their card.

2

They Enter It At Checkout

On any supported checkout, forms, funnels, payment links, invoices, your store, or calendars, they paste the code into the gift card field and select Apply.

3

The Balance Applies Automatically

The system checks the code and applies whatever balance is available toward the order.

4

They Complete The Order

If there's a remaining amount due, checkout collects an additional payment method for the rest. Otherwise, they're done.

The two outcomes

Redemption Rules

What happens next depends on whether the balance covers the full order.

✅

Balance Covers The Order

If the gift card balance is equal to or more than a one-time order total, no extra payment is needed at all.

➕

Balance Doesn't Cover It All

If the order total is more than the balance, or it includes a subscription, checkout captures an additional payment method for the remaining amount.

🧾

It Shows As A Separate Line Item

The transaction details always show the gift card amount used as its own line, separate from any other payment method.

Worth knowing

Checking A Balance & Provider Support

Tap any term to expand it.

There's no separate balance-check link yet. For now, the best way to see what's left is to enter the gift card at any supported checkout, the balance will display automatically.

Stripe, NMI, Authorize.net, and Square fully support gift card redemption.

PayPal, Adyen, and custom providers support redemption only when the gift card balance fully covers a one-time order, they can't apply to recurring or subscription products.

If a customer tries to apply a gift card with no remaining balance, they'll see a message letting them know it can't be used for that transaction.

Help me do it

Things To Do

Finish these before moving to the next lesson. They only take a few minutes.

0 of 3 done

Test redeeming a gift card code on one of your own checkouts

Confirm which payment provider you're using and whether it has full or limited gift card support

Check a transaction's details to see how the gift card line item displays

⚡ Tips

There's no dedicated balance-check page yet, applying the code at checkout is currently the best way to see what's left.
If your customers use subscriptions, double check that your payment provider has full support, not just limited support, for gift card redemption.
Let customers know up front that a gift card only covers part of an order if the balance is lower, and that they'll need another payment method for the rest.
More redemption features are planned, including order-level validity dates and more fine-grained redemption controls.

Check yourself

Quick Knowledge Check

Answer a few quick questions to lock in what you just learned.

0 of 4 answered

If a gift card's balance is more than a one-time order's total, what happens?

Which payment providers only support gift cards when the balance fully covers a one-time order?

Right now, the best way to check a gift card's remaining balance is to ____.

How does a gift card amount show up in the transaction details?

Help me apply it

Try This With Your Favorite AI

Copy a prompt below and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or whatever AI tool you use. Fill in the bracketed details and it'll help you write your own version for your business.

❓ A Simple Redemption FAQ For My Customers

You are helping me write a short FAQ for customers about redeeming my gift cards. My context: - My business type: [describe briefly] - Whether my gift cards expire: [describe] - Where customers can use the gift card, website, store, booking, or other: [list them] Give me: - 4 short FAQ questions and answers, written in plain, friendly language - One line explaining what happens if the gift card doesn't cover the full order Finish by asking me: "Want this formatted to add to my website's help page?"

🔧 Checking My Payment Provider Support

You are helping me understand my current payment provider's gift card redemption support. My context: - My connected payment provider: [name it] - Whether I sell subscriptions, one-time products, or both: [describe] Give me: - Whether my situation calls for full or limited gift card redemption support, based on what I described - One thing to double check before relying on gift cards for subscription-based sales Finish by asking me: "Want help explaining this to a team member who handles customer payments?"