Trader Joe’s is the favorite grocery store for many people. This makes sense, really. Trader Joe’s sells amazing products at affordable prices. If you know somebody that likes Trader Joe’s, you may be considering getting them a gift card. But, does Trader Joe’s have gift cards/certificates?
Trader Joe’s does have gift cards. You can only purchase them from their physical stores. You can only spend them in their stores. You can purchase gift cards in increments of $5. The minimum gift card value is $5, and the maximum is $100.
On this page, we’ll tell you a little more about Trader Joe’s and its gift card selection.
Trader Joe’s: An Introduction
Trader Joe’s is an American grocery store chain with over 550 locations in the US, with more being introduced on a regular basis.
Trader Joe’s may be a major store, but it has often marketed itself as a ‘community’ store. If you head into one, it has a feel of a traditional marketplace. There are hand painted signs, attentive staff, and a treasure trove of products.
Trader Joe’s philosophy is to sell high-quality products at low prices. All of their products are own-brand, and Trader Joe’s often sources many of them directly from the manufacturer.
This helps to keep the price down. Where possible, Trader Joe’s avoids artificial flavoring, high fructose syrup, and tries to conform to special dietary needs. This includes a range of Kosher products.
Because Trader Joe’s is a smaller grocery store, it doesn’t stock a huge number of products. It is missing a few essentials, and you rarely have more than one choice for the products that they do stock.
However, Trader Joe’s thrives on selling unique products, and there are things and flavors here that you would struggle to find elsewhere.
Gift Cards and Certificates: An Overview
Gift cards are an incredibly popular gift. We know that some people think that gift cards indicate that you didn’t really think to get a ‘proper’ gift, but gift cards can be a proper gift. If you buy them properly, at least.
Take Trader Joe’s gift cards, for instance. If you know somebody that shops at Trader Joe’s regularly, then they would probably love a gift card. It is a thoughtful gift. Sure, it is an easy product to buy, but it shows that you care about the person that you hand it to.
You can even buy Trader Joe’s gift cards for yourself. A lot of people do this. They pick up some gift cards and put their grocery store budget on it. This way, they never spend more cash than they need to. It also means that they never spend cash that they need to be reserved for groceries.
Does Trader Joe’s Offer Gift Cards/Certificates?
Trader Joe’s does sell gift cards, but only in their stores. You cannot purchase them online, nor can you purchase them from any other place that sells gift cards.
If you are not purchasing your gift cards directly from Trader Joe’s, then they probably aren’t real gift cards or, if they are, there is no way to verify how much cash is actually left on the gift cards.
Trader Joe’s only offers physical gift cards. It doesn’t print them out. There is no such thing as a digital gift card with Trader Joe’s.
You get a real, physical card loaded up with cash. Because of this, they make a great gift (as we mentioned in a previous section).
Trader Joe’s should always have gift cards in stock. Although, you may find that during the height of the holiday season e.g. around Christmas, you may find that they do not have stock in some of their stores.
This is rare because Trader Joe’s gets daily restocks, but it is worth bearing in mind. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell whether Trader Joe’s will have gift cards at a specific location until you are there. Ask one of their staff. 99% of the time, there will be gift cards on offer.
As we said, if you are not buying gift cards directly from Trader Joe’s then you have no way to verify them. We know that there are some people that will resell Trader Joe’s gift cards through places like eBay and gift card selling websites.
However, because Trader Joe’s gift cards are not labeled with how much is on them, nor is there a way to check how much cash is left on the card without going to Trader Joe’s, it is highly recommended that you do not purchase them.
Understanding Trader Joe’s Gift Card/Certificate Offerings
You are free to choose the value of your Trader Joe’s gift card. It can be anywhere between $5 and $100, in multiples of $5. You can buy as many gift cards as you want, but no single gift card can be valued over $100.
As we said, the only way that you can purchase Trader Joe’s gift cards is in-store. You cannot purchase them anywhere else. If somebody other than Trader Joe’s claims that they can sell you gift cards for Trader Joe’s, then you should be dubious.
This is especially true online since Trader Joe’s does not sell gift cards online, nor does it sell digital gift cards.
Gift Card/Certificate Redemption at Trader Joe’s
If you have a gift card, you can use it to pay for your groceries at Trader Joe’s. You don’t have to do anything special. Hand the gift card over to the Trader Joe’s staff member ringing you up and they’ll swipe it. You don’t have to spend the full value of the gift card at once.
If there is anything left over on the card, you can use it for your future grocery shopping. If you wish to know how much is left on your gift card, you can always ask the person serving you. They can scan it.
There do not seem to be any restrictions on what you can spend your gift card on. In the eyes of Trader Joe’s, a gift card is going to be as good as any other payment method that you would use in the store. In fact, in their system, it appears as if it is a normal payment method.
So, you can use the gift card to purchase alcohol (assuming you are over 21), something that other stores may not let you do.
Remember, Trader Joe’s does not sell anything online. The only way that you can use a Trader Joe’s gift card is in the store. You cannot exchange the gift card for cash.
There also does not seem to be an expiry date on Trader Joe’s gift cards. Although, we do encourage you to spend them as quickly as possible.
Special Occasions and Customized Gift Cars/Certificates
While Trader Joe’s does offer various gift card designs on occasion, they only ever keep one in stock. You cannot get customized gift cards for special occasions here.
This makes a lot of sense, really. You have to remember that Trader Joe’s is a store that has a philosophy of only giving 1-2 variations of a product. It helps to keep the cost down. There seems to be no sense in them stocking a ton of different gift cards.
If you want to personalize the gift card, you should buy a greeting card at the same time. Put the gift card in that.
Consumer Experiences and Feedback
There doesn’t seem to be a huge amount of negativity about Trader Joe’s gift cards. Most people love them as they are so easy to use. The only real complaints seem to be how difficult they can be to get hold of. Some people wish they could purchase them online.
However, this doesn’t seem to be something that Trader Joe’s will ever offer. Trader Joe’s has very thin profit margins on their products, and if it sold gift cards through other companies, it would be cutting deep into its profits.
Final Thoughts
Trader Joe’s does sell gift cards. However, you can only purchase them in-store. You cannot purchase them online, nor can you purchase them from companies that aren’t Trader Joe’s.
Once you have your gift card, you can use it just like any other payment method in-store. There are no restrictions.