There aren’t limitations on what kinds of presents you can send, unlike competitors like Karma (which was recently acquired by Facebook and has a limited catalogue of items to choose from). You enter the app and can pick from a suggested selection of items from beer to a meal to a day in Paris. Then you can select a couple of places like restaurants, bars or giftly.com stores to redeem the gift at and then the monetary value of the gift. The new app from Giftly lets users send personalized, flexible "gift cards" using their iPhone or iPod Touch. Based on Yelp’s open API, Giftly allows you to choose among thousands of places all over the country, with all of those ratings and reviews at your fingertips. First, ensure the recipient checks their Messenger app for the gift card message.

An upcoming update from the company will let you scan a person's social network updates and location check-ins and suggest a bunch of retailers it knows they frequent. The demo pitch I got from the company included cafes and restaurants I had checked into on Foursquare during the previous week. I knew it was just a PR stunt, but my emotional brain was sending out "they really know me" signals anyway. With Giftly, your "gift cards" apply to multiple merchants and are actually repayment promises. These are important differentiators from store-branded gift cards. There is no way for a gift recipient to actually use a Giftly or GiftRocket card at the business the card was intended for.

Unlike typical gift cards sold in retail stores or over the internet, the Giftly and GiftRocket cards can’t be used at any business. Instead, the "gift cards" are mere suggestions to use the gift amount at a particular business. We received a $50 Visa gift card, and on two occasions at different restaurants, no one would accept it. Additionally, we got the Giftly customer phone number, but the phone never rings. I have called the company to explain why the gift card was not delivered to the proper person. It was my error for missing a number in the recipients email but...

San Francisco-based Giftly, which launched last month, is a new way to give gift certificates. The web-based company allows buyers to give gift certificates redeemable at up to three separate locations. No cards, paper scraps, or e-mails to keep track of. With Giftly, you can give a personal gift and support local businesses at the same time. To give a Giftly gift card, visit giftly.com and enter the location and the type of business, such as restaurant, clothing store, etc. Database for the highest rated businesses in the area to offer suggestions.

The amount of your tip is still your choice though. The sender could pick a venue and gift a friend a small sum to spend there. It used geo-location to unlock the giftcard when the recipient neared the venue.

The merchant will handle the return like any other Visa transaction and may put the funds back onto your card. When the friend uses the Giftly, they're asked to send a quick message of thanks and a photo of the purchase to the user. When using a prepaid card at a certain type of merchant, an additional charge is often automatically added to your total to ensure sufficient funds are available on your card. If you still have available funds on your card after the card has expired, you may request a new card with your remaining balance.