In reply to Marty.

For some reason, people feel cash is impersonal while gift cards are not. People in my family still buy gift cards after watching hundreds of dollars lost when gift cards became useless after the business that accepted them closed. When I feel the need to make a cash gift personal, I include a note that the cash is a "gift card for X". If the recipient doesn't use it for "X", I don't care and the money isn't lost.