Gift Card Discount
Find the effective discount when gift cards are sold under face value.
About Gift Card Discount
Buying a card for less than its face value creates savings equal to the difference, expressed as a discount on the card. Resold and promo gift cards commonly sell under face value, so the effective discount tells you if the purchase is worth it.
Formula
Gift Card Discount
Discount = (face value - price paid) / face value x 100
- face value
- Value the card is usable for at the store
Worked example
With the default values below, Gift Card Discount returns Money Saved of $15.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Face value
- 100
- Price paid
- 85
Results
- Money Saved
- $15.00
- Discount
- 15.0%
- Extra Value
- 17.6%
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Gift Card Discount
- 3Money Saved= 15.00
- 4Discount= 15.0
- 5Extra Value= 17.6
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 2 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Gift Card Discount calculated?
Discount = (face value - price paid) / face value x 100 Buying a card for less than its face value creates savings equal to the difference, expressed as a discount on the card.
Why does Gift Card Discount matter?
Resold and promo gift cards commonly sell under face value, so the effective discount tells you if the purchase is worth it.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 2 inputs: Face value, Price paid. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.