TikTok Has Mixed Feelings About Tipping With Gift Cards

When you have no idea how to thank someone or what to get them for a holiday, a gift card is a great fall-back plan. It's also a nice way to support local businesses because even if the person doesn't use the gift card, the business still gets the money. Plus, though gift cards at times have a reputation for being an impersonal or low-effort present, Washington's Top News explains ways to personalize them by adding a handwritten note and making sure that the person will find the gift card useful and convenient.

On that note, while Amazon gift cards from your distant relatives might not feel like an exciting gift, they are often appreciated nonetheless because they allow you to buy pretty much anything you could want. According to Business of Apps, Amazon has more than 200 million Prime subscribers, so there is no question that the service is widely used. That's presumably why one restaurant customer recently left their server an Amazon gift card in place of a tip, which has TikTok viewers offering mixed commentary.

Tipping can be a hotly debated topic, especially during the pandemic amid widespread hospitality worker shortages. The conversation stemming from a video by TikTok user @kaittwest is no exception. In it, she and her dining partner are shown leaving a $25 Amazon gift card as a tip for their server at a restaurant. Some commenters supported the move. "Amazon gift card is as good as cash," commented @TrentonHeard. Hospitality workers like @the_ggs chimed in, "As a waitress I would love it ! Lol $25 that's more than 20% too." Another positive aspect of this tipping strategy that a couple of commenters pointed out is that an Amazon gift card is tax-free.

On the other side of the argument, many users questioned if the gift card actually had the full $25 balance on it. "Checks Balance....$1.85," said @babypepino, while another TikTok user said, "Gift card has $0.37 in it." It's unclear from the video whether or not the card had been used before. Another interesting point was from @CHEetos, who said, "Imagine the waitress or waiter is anti Amazon," which is not uncommon. The diner in the video may get points for resourcefulness, but whether the server was happy with this tip remains to be seen.