The best way to send a gift card with a message depends on who chooses the shop and how much you want to say. If you’ve already bought the card and want a proper letter around it, wrap it in an envelope that opens on the day. If you’d rather they choose the shop, a multi-brand card from Prezzee (UK) or Givingli (US) does that. If several of you are chipping in, Thankbox collects the money. And if a line is enough, the shop’s own email is free.
Stampgoose is ours, so take that into account. For several of these jobs another service is the better choice, and we say which.
At a glance
| The gift card | What goes with it | Timing | What it costs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stampgoose | Any shop’s: you buy it, then add its code, PIN or link, or the voucher as a picture or PDF | A letter, photo postcards and a video, up to ten pieces | Now, or sealed until a date and time, with a countdown | $3.99 for the envelope, $6.49 with a video, paid once |
| Prezzee (UK) | Its own catalogue; the Smart eGift Card swaps for 200+ brands | A note, a photo or a video, on a design | Scheduled to a date, and an hour on the web | The card’s value; no fees stated |
| Moonpig | UK: experience eGifts in a free eCard, or a gift card with a card; US: printed inside a posted card | The card, your message, photos on an eCard | Sent on a date you choose | The gift’s value, plus a paper card if you choose one |
| Givingli (US) | Its own catalogue; Givingli Cash swaps for 300+ brands | A card, a message, stickers, drawings and photos | Scheduled to a date and time | No fees stated on Cash |
| OpenWhen (openwhen.cards) | Any shop’s, attached as a PDF or image | A letter; photos, voice and a song with Premium | Locked until a date, with an optional question | Letters free; a gift needs a one-off Premium upgrade |
| Thankbox | The group’s money, which they spend at more than 1,000 retailers | Everyone’s messages, photos, videos and voice notes | Scheduled to a date and time | $5.99 or $9.99, and a fee on each contribution |
| The shop’s own email | That shop’s | A short message, sometimes 160 characters | Often a date and time you pick | The card’s value |
Prices and features are each service’s own, as their pages showed them on 25 October 2026. Check them again before you buy.
What to look for
- Which shops. Some sell from their own catalogue; others let you use a card from anywhere. If they love one particular bookshop, you need the second kind.
- Room for words. A box of 160 characters is a label. A letter is a present in its own right.
- Timing. Most can send on a date. Fewer can arrive early and wait, sealed, until it’s time.
- What they need. An app, an account, a phone number in the right country or a passphrase (Stampgoose asks for one with every gift) is one more step between them and it.
Stampgoose: for a card you’ve chosen, with a letter around it
Their name goes on the envelope, and it travels as a link in a text, a WhatsApp or an email. Inside, in the order you set: your letter, photos as postcards, a video of you saying it, and the gift card, which stays wrapped until they pull the ribbon. Stampgoose sells no gift cards, so it works with any shop that can email you one. It can wait sealed until the birthday morning with a countdown, and a gift always takes a passphrase, so a forwarded link won’t open it. Neither of you needs an app or an account.
- Pick it if you know the shop and want the words to come first.
- Look elsewhere if you want the card bought in the same checkout, or a group to chip in.
Step by step, it’s in how to send a gift card online.
Prezzee: for letting them choose, in the UK
Prezzee sells the gift card itself. Its Smart eGift Card, from £5 to £500, swaps for any of 200-odd brands and lasts two years, and you can add a note, a photo or a video on a design. It arrives by email, or text too, on the date you schedule, and they tap to unwrap it. They’re asked to sign in or make an account to keep it.
- Pick it if you don’t know which shop, and buying and sending in one go suits you.
- Look elsewhere if the shop they love isn’t in its list, or you want to write a long letter.
Moonpig: for an experience day, or a card on paper
In the UK, Moonpig’s eGifts are experiences from Buyagift and Red Letter Days, over 300 of them, sent inside a free eCard on the day you choose. Its digital gift cards go with a paper card or an eCard as an activation link. In the US, the gift card can be printed inside a posted card as a QR code.
- Pick it if it’s an experience day, or the card has to land on the doormat.
- Look elsewhere if you’ve already bought the gift somewhere else.
Givingli: for a choose-your-own card, in the US
A card from a big library of artist designs, with a message, stickers, drawings and photos, and Givingli Cash from $10 that they swap for one of 300-odd brands. It goes by text or email on a date and time you set. It only works in the US, and they log in and verify a US phone number to redeem it.
- Pick it if you and they are both in the US and you want them to pick the brand.
- Look elsewhere if they live anywhere else.
OpenWhen: for a free sealed letter, with a riddle
From openwhen.cards (not the open-when letters app of a similar name): a letter that arrives as an envelope, locked until a date and, if you like, behind a question. It doesn’t sell gift cards: you attach your own as a PDF or image, and attaching one needs its one-off Premium upgrade, which also adds photos, voice and a song. No accounts. Its pages didn’t show the Premium price when we looked.
- Pick it if you want a time lock and a question lock, and you’re happy to attach the voucher as a file.
- Look elsewhere if you want the code to sit wrapped in the letter rather than arrive as a download.
Thankbox: for a group chipping in
A group card that collects money as well as messages. Everyone adds a note, a photo, a video or a voice clip and chips in; the recipient spends it at more than 1,000 retailers, or takes it as cash for a fee. The card is $5.99 or $9.99, and each contribution carries a small fee. It goes by email on a date and time you set, and they don’t need an account.
- Pick it if it’s a leaving present or a whip-round, and the amount comes from lots of people.
- Look elsewhere if it’s from you alone.
The shop’s own email: for a quick one
Many shops that sell e-gift cards will email one straight to them, often on a date and time you choose, with a short message: Liz Earle allows 160 characters, and John Lewis lets you schedule it to the minute. It costs nothing extra. It does arrive from the shop’s address and in the shop’s design, with your note in a box.
- Pick it if a line is enough, and it’s on time.
- Look elsewhere if you want it to feel like a present when it lands.
Which one to pick
- You’ve bought it, and you want to say why: Stampgoose.
- They should choose the shop: Prezzee in the UK, Givingli in the US.
- An experience day, with a card: Moonpig.
- A free letter with a time lock and a riddle: OpenWhen.
- Several people chipping in: Thankbox.
- One line, on time: the shop’s own email.
Where to find them: Prezzee, Moonpig, Givingli, OpenWhen (openwhen.cards) and Thankbox. Ours is the digital gift page.
Questions people ask
What is the best way to send a gift card with a message?
If you have bought the card and want to say why, wrap it in a letter that opens on the day, as Stampgoose does. If they should choose the shop, a multi-brand card: Prezzee in the UK, Givingli in the US. If a group is paying, Thankbox. If a line is enough, the shop’s own email.
Can I send a gift card I bought from any shop?
Yes, with a service that doesn’t sell the card itself. Stampgoose and OpenWhen both take a gift card you bought anywhere: Stampgoose keeps the code wrapped until they pull a ribbon, and OpenWhen attaches it as a file. Prezzee, Givingli and Moonpig sell from their own ranges.
Can a gift card arrive on a set date?
Most of these can send on a date you choose. Stampgoose and OpenWhen can also arrive early and stay locked until the moment; the others send on the day.
