When do gift cards sell best?

The holiday season is peak, especially the final days before Christmas for digital cards. January then brings redemption traffic and additional spend.

Do bonus-card promotions work?

Yes. Offering a bonus card with a purchase lifts immediate sales and brings the recipient back to redeem, increasing future visits and spend.

Gift Cards & Loyalty

The 6-Week Holiday Gift Card Revenue Playbook

The holidays are gift card prime time. This six-week plan captures every dollar of it.

Armour Payments Editorial Team•September 23, 2026•1 min read•Reviewed by Armour Payments Product Team

The short answer

Maximize holiday gift card revenue with a six-week plan: build displays and promote early, push digital cards for last-minute gifters, run bonus-card offers, then capture post-holiday redemption with January promotions that bring recipients in to spend.

Weeks 1-2: Set the stage

Build a prominent checkout display, add a gift card banner to your website, and brief staff to mention cards. Starting early captures shoppers who plan ahead and primes everyone for the rush.

Weeks 3-4: Promote and incentivize

Run a bonus-card offer ("spend $50, get a $10 bonus card") to boost volume. Promote across email and social. Bonus offers lift sales now and bring the bonus-card holder back later, a double win.

Weeks 5-6: Capture last-minute gifters

Push digital gift cards hard in the final days, they deliver instantly when physical shipping is impossible. December 23-24 is peak eGift demand.

January: Redemption season

Recipients arrive in January with cards to spend, and usually spend beyond the balance. Promote to bring them in. This redemption uplift is why the breakage and spend effect makes gift cards so profitable. See pricing or book a demo.