Gift Card Redemption

Gift Card Redemption is the process by which a customer applies a gift card code during checkout to use the card’s stored value toward their purchase. Redemption is the core moment of the gift card experience—it’s where the prepaid balance converts into an actual payment.

How redemption works

At checkout, the customer enters their gift card code into a dedicated input field (separate from the coupon/discount field, to avoid confusion). The system validates the code, checks the balance, and—if sufficient—applies the value as a payment. If the gift card doesn’t cover the full order total, the customer pays the remaining amount with another method (credit card, PayPal, etc.). If the gift card balance exceeds the total, only the needed amount is deducted and the rest stays on the card.

Redemption vs. coupon application

Although gift cards and coupons may look similar in the UI, they work differently. A coupon is a discount (percentage or fixed) that reduces the order total. A gift card is a payment method—it doesn’t change the product price; it changes how the order is paid. This distinction matters for accounting, taxes, and reporting. In WooCommerce, best-practice plugins handle gift cards as payment instruments, not as coupons—even though some older or simpler implementations do use the coupon mechanism under the hood.

UX best practices

• Provide a clearly labeled input field for gift card codes—separate from coupon codes.
• Show real-time feedback when a code is entered: valid/invalid, applied amount, and remaining balance.
• Allow multiple gift cards to be applied to a single order.
• Display the gift card contribution clearly in the order summary so customers see exactly how payment is split.