Longtime listeners know that Clark has historically trashed gift cards. For many years, they were the fastest growing sales channel for retailers and restaurants.

But lately they've been seeing a decline in popularity. Experience shows that gift cards become worthless when restaurants and retail stores shut down. That's the risk of taking real U.S. money and turning it into an IOU.

Years ago, there were also junk fees on gift cards. That's no longer a problem after public outcry reversed this trend.

Today, retailers and restaurants remain desperate to sell gift cards because of "breakage," which refers to the amount that are never redeemed and therefore counted as pure profit.

There is now a new wave of gift cards with offers of bonuses. Costco Wholesale, for example, offers $100 gift cards at a price of $80. These can be a deal if you redeem them in a timely manner. But a straight-up dollar-for-dollar gift card is never a deal.