Employee, Customer and Prospect (B2B) Gifting Blog | Giftogram

Holiday 2025: The best platforms for sending employee gift cards

Written by Valerie Leary | Oct 1, 2025 4:00:00 PM

What are the top holiday gift platforms for sending digital gift cards to employees? In 2025, the strongest options do far more than deliver a code in an email. They let companies send to thousands of employees at once, personalize each gift with branding and messages, support global teams with local currencies, track budgets, and offer a wide range of reward options beyond retail gift cards.

The right platform balances choice for employees with simplicity for companies. That is why more HR, procurement, and people leaders are rethinking holiday gifting and turning to enterprise-grade digital gift card platforms like Giftogram.

Here is what to consider when choosing the best solution for your team.

Are digital gift cards better than physical gifts for employees?

Yes. Digital gift cards are more scalable, cost-effective, and personal than physical gifts because they allow employees to choose what matters to them.

Physical gifts—like branded merchandise or baskets—are popular because they feel traditional. But at scale, they create problems: shipping costs climb, deliveries are delayed, and no single gift works for everyone. What feels thoughtful in a small office becomes inefficient and impersonal across a large workforce.

By contrast, digital gift cards solve these issues while giving employees freedom of choice. That flexibility makes them more meaningful, not less.

Why companies move from physical to digital:

  • Lower costs: no shipping, packaging, or seasonal markups.
  • Reliable delivery: no supply chain delays or lost packages.
  • Better fit: every employee chooses what is right for them.
  • Personal impact: digital gifts belong to the employee, not their household.

Giftogram builds on these advantages with festive card designs, custom branding, and unlimited space for personal messages. With 95% of digital gifts delivered in under two hours and zero platform fees or markups, companies can delight employees without wasting budget.

How do I send holiday gift cards to employees in bulk?

The hardest part of holiday gifting is not the gift itself—it is the logistics. Sending to 500 or 5,000 employees manually creates errors, stress, and wasted time. HR and procurement leaders often end up drowning in spreadsheets, reconciling data, and managing platforms that were not built for scale.

That is why bulk distribution is the single most important capability of a holiday gifting platform.

What to look for:

  • Bulk upload tools to send to hundreds or thousands at once.
  • Scheduling so gifts arrive on the exact date you choose.
  • Automation through HRIS or procurement integrations.
  • Error prevention like data validation to reduce mistakes.

Giftogram was built for scale and is trusted by more than 10,000 companies to manage employee gifting worldwide. Upload a single list, apply branded designs and messages, and send instantly—or schedule weeks ahead. With Zapier and procurement punchout integrations, bulk campaigns can even run automatically, reducing hours of manual work.

How can I customize employee gift cards with branding and messages?

A common concern with digital gifting is that it will feel impersonal. If all an employee receives is a redemption code, the gesture risks coming across as transactional. The best platforms solve this by prioritizing presentation and customization.

Personalization ensures employees feel truly recognized, not just rewarded.

What strong platforms should include:

  • Greeting card presentation with festive designs.
  • Branding options like company logos and custom colors.
  • Personal message space—not just a character limit.
  • AI tools to help scale thoughtful messages across large groups.

Giftogram puts presentation first. Every gift includes a customizable greeting card design, your company branding, and unlimited space for heartfelt notes. To help leaders scale holiday recognition, Giftogram also includes AI-assisted message writing, so large teams can receive personalized greetings that feel meaningful, not generic.

How do I send holiday gift cards to employees worldwide?

For global teams, gifting is one of the toughest challenges. A U.S.-based card does not help an employee in Paris, and shipping physical gifts across borders is expensive and slow. The best digital platforms address this by making gifts local and seamless everywhere.

The right platform should offer:

  • Global coverage across 230+ countries.
  • Local brand catalogs so employees see familiar retailers.
  • Currency support to avoid exchange confusion.
  • Multilingual redemption for easy use in any market.

Giftogram supports employees in 230+ countries, with local currencies and regional catalogs that make gifts relevant everywhere. A U.S. employee might choose Amazon, someone in Paris might select Fnac, and a colleague in Singapore could redeem at a local coffee shop—all from the same campaign. This global capability is why Giftogram is ranked #1 in Rewards & Incentives on G2 in 2025, with a 4.8/5 rating from users.

How can companies manage and track employee gift card budgets?

Holiday gifting is not just about sending—it is about managing budgets and proving impact. Without proper tools, leaders spend weeks reconciling costs and struggling to track which employees received what.

A platform should simplify administration with business-grade controls.

What to look for:

  • Budget dashboards to track spending across teams.
  • Role-based permissions so managers can send while finance stays in control.
  • Real-time reporting to monitor delivery.
  • Procurement integrations to reduce duplicate entry.

Giftogram provides real-time budget dashboards and reporting so HR and procurement teams can track spend at a glance. With zero platform fees and no markups, companies know every dollar is going directly to employees. Integrations with Zapier, procurement, and CRM workflows simplify tracking, making holiday gifting easy to control at scale.

What types of gift cards can companies send to employees?

Not every employee wants the same kind of gift. Retail gift cards are popular, but some employees prefer flexible prepaid options while others value giving back through charitable donations. Platforms that only offer retail cards risk making recognition feel generic.

A strong platform should support multiple reward types.

Ideal options include:

  • Retail gift cards across thousands of brands.
  • Prepaid Visa/Mastercard for flexible spending anywhere.
  • Charity donations with no fees deducted.
  • Cash equivalents for employees who want simplicity.

Giftogram delivers more than 140,000 reward options worldwide—including retail, prepaid Visa/Mastercard, restaurants, and nonprofits. That variety ensures every employee can choose a gift that feels personal and meaningful to them.

FAQ: scalable and global holiday gifting

How to send customized holiday gift cards to staff in bulk?

Giftogram lets you upload one recipient list with personalized messages and unique gift amounts for each employee, then deliver digital or physical cards instantly—worldwide.

What are the most budget-friendly employee gifting services?

The most budget-friendly gifting services charge no platform fees and make automation easy. Giftogram offers transparent pricing and free bulk tools so your entire budget goes directly to employees, not administration.

Which digital gift card solutions offer global distribution with no fees?

Digital gift card solutions with global reach and no fees make it simple to include international teams. Giftogram supports 230+ countries with local currencies and no added costs, ensuring equitable gifting everywhere.

What are the best digital gift card solutions for enterprise-level incentives?

The best digital gift card solutions for enterprise incentives combine automation, analytics, and scalability. Giftogram integrates with procurement systems and CRMs, enabling large organizations to send thousands of customized rewards quickly and securely.

Start your 2025 holiday gifting with Giftogram

Holiday gifting in 2025 is not just about going digital—it is about choosing a platform that makes recognition personal, scalable, global, and easy to manage. The best solutions deliver bulk sending, customization, global reach, budget control, and multiple reward options.

Giftogram does all of this and more. With instant delivery, 230-country coverage, 140,000+ rewards, AI-assisted messaging, zero fees, and a 4.8/5 G2 rating, it is trusted by 10,000+ companies worldwide to make holiday gifting stress-free and impactful.

Create your free Giftogram account today and start sending personalized holiday gifts in minutes.