5 Store Gift Cards You Need to Avoid This Holiday Season

There's no holiday season white elephant quite like gift cards, those impersonal, rectangular pieces of plastic that quickly go obsolete. They're about as useful as a lump of coal. Of course, that's not going to stop them from populating stockings this year. Inexplicably, even though 25% of shoppers tell the National Retail Federation that gift cards are impersonal, some 62% of shoppers want a gift card. The pitfalls of this generic present-slash-slap in the face are numerous, and you are maybe just better off just giving cash, but if you're looking to avoid a totally lame-o gift, here are the five cards you want to steer clear of this holiday season.