Gift cards are bad when one is exchanging gifts, but can be really nice for out of the blue/thank you/etc things. Just make sure you know the person will use it. For example, don't give a Starbucks gift card to a Dunks drinker because it's "better coffee," the person drinks Dunks for a reason, and it's that Starbucks also tastes like a dirty asshole, so why would I pay slightly more for it?
Gift cards are bad when one is exchanging gifts, but can be really nice for out of the blue/thank you/etc things. Just make sure you know the person will use it. For example, don't give a Starbucks gift card to a Dunks drinker because it's "better coffee," the person drinks Dunks for a reason, and it's that Starbucks also tastes like a dirty asshole, so why would I pay slightly more for it?