Redeem a gift card at checkout in Shopify
A gift card is spent at checkout like a payment method, not like a discount code. The customer enters the code, and the balance applies to the total value of the order, which can include taxes and shipping. If the balance covers the order, the customer clicks Complete order. If it falls short, the customer is prompted to choose an additional payment method for the rest.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 5 minutes read
The worked example
| Order | $70.00 products, $10.00 shipping, $9.10 tax |
| Order total | $89.10 |
| Gift card | $60.00 |
| Remaining to pay | $29.10 |
| Balance left on the card | $0.00 |
| Code entry | Discount code or gift card field |
Download the record: gift-card-redemption-log.csv (122 bytes).
A redemption log for the checkouts in this tutorial, with the order total, the gift card applied, and the amount paid by a second method. The gift card column sums to $110.00.
1Add the items and go to checkout
The customer adds items to their cart and goes to checkout as usual. In this tutorial the cart is $70.00 of products, with $10.00 shipping and $9.10 of tax, for an order total of $89.10.
2Enter the gift card code
When making a purchase in your store, your customer can redeem the value of a gift card by entering its unique code in the appropriate field at checkout. Gift card codes are not case-sensitive. The option to add a gift card for payment is displayed on checkout only when there are active gift cards in your Shopify store.
3Read what the checkout offers
When a customer redeems a gift card, the checkout displays one of two options. If the balance available on the gift card is greater than or equal to the order total, then the customer can click Complete order. If the balance is less than the order total, then the customer is prompted to choose an additional payment method for the balance before placing the order. This includes adding another gift card.
4Pay the rest with a second method
In this tutorial the $60.00 gift card leaves $29.10 to pay. The customer chooses a credit card for the remaining $29.10 and places the order. Gift card balances apply to the whole order total, including taxes and shipping, so the $9.10 of tax and the $10.00 of shipping are covered by the card first, not left for the second method.
5Check the balance after
After the order, the gift card balance is $0.00. If the balance had been more than the order total, the remaining balance would have stayed on the gift card for future use. In the second example in this tutorial, a $50.00 card on a $45.00 order leaves $5.00 on the card.
The arithmetic
The order total is the products plus shipping plus tax, and the gift card is applied to that total:
| Checkout | Order total | Gift card | Paid by card | Left on card |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C-201 | $89.10 | $60.00 | $29.10 | $0.00 |
| C-202 | $45.00 | $50.00 | $0.00 | $5.00 |
| Two checkouts together | $134.10 | $110.00 | $29.10 | $5.00 |
Checkout C-201 is $70.00 of products plus $10.00 shipping plus $9.10 tax, which is $89.10. The $60.00 gift card leaves $29.10 to pay by card. Checkout C-202 is a $45.00 order against a $50.00 card, which leaves $5.00 on the card. The two gift cards applied total $110.00.
Held at the counter
The gift card field only appears when cards are active. The option to add a gift card for payment is displayed on checkout only when there are active gift cards in your Shopify store. If a customer cannot find the field, check that the store has active gift cards at all.
Gift cards cannot cross stores. A gift card can be redeemed only at the store that issued it. A code from another Shopify store will not work at your checkout, even if the two stores look alike.
A gift card is not a discount code. Both go in the same Discount code or gift card field at checkout, and a gift card can be used together with a discount code, but they work differently: a discount code reduces the price, while a gift card pays part of the order total, including taxes and shipping.
Sources
- Redeeming and using gift cards — Shopify's help pages: the code entry, the two checkout options, the case-insensitive codes, and the rule that balances apply to taxes and shipping.