American Express Gift Card

Bank- and credit card company-issued gift cards (called open-loop cards) generally receive fewer positive reviews than retailer cards because they're more likely to charge maintenance, dormancy and purchase fees, among other reasons. However, they are often still more appealing than a retailer card, as they're accepted anywhere the issuing credit card company is accepted. Among these open-loop gift cards, American Express offers the most flexibility.

According to CreditCards.com, American Express is the only open-loop card to offer electronic delivery, and their cards do not expire or charge dormancy or maintenance fees. Another surveyor, ScripSmart.com, rates the "consumer friendliness" of gift cards with a score between 0 and 100. No bank card scores as well as top retailer cards, but American Express does the best in its category with 83 points for its eGift Card (the plastic card scores only 72). Both sites point out downsides of the card, including a $2.95 purchase fee and the card's "valid thru" date (while the value doesn't expire, the user must request the remaining value be transferred to a new card after the "valid thru" date).

Despite thorough tallies of American Express and other bank card's objective pros and cons, high-quality user reviews of open-loop gift cards are not available.