DEAR MISS MANNERS: When giving gift cards, should you remove the card from the packaging?
I have removed the tab that shows the amount, but the packaging has information related to expiration, etc.
GENTLE READER: Are you seriously proposing sending someone out shopping without knowing how much money there is to spend?
Miss Manners appreciates the gentility of concealing the price of a present from the recipient. That is why she discourages paying people, rather than taking the trouble to select something that might be appreciated.
But do not harbor the illusion that you have laundered the money by putting it into a gift card. You have merely restricted its use. And please do not set someone up to get to the checkout counter, only to be told that it is not enough for the purchase, or even that it is too much, but the remaining amount must be supplemented in order to make an additional purchase.