Stage 1 — the request
You send a name and an email address. That is genuinely all that is needed to start, and any site asking for more at this stage should make you suspicious.
What the name is for: it goes on the order so that the confirmation email can address you properly and so that two people with similar addresses do not get mixed up. It is not used to build a marketing profile.
Time: seconds.
Stage 2 — confirmation
A confirmation email goes out with an order number. This email is doing more work than it looks:
- It proves the address you typed actually works. A surprising share of requests contain a typo, and the confirmation is how that gets caught.
- It gives you a reference to quote if you need to chase anything.
- It gives you a reply address staffed by a person.
If this email does not arrive, the address was wrong or the message was filtered. See why gift code emails go to spam.
Time: usually under a minute.
Stage 3 — sorting out the details
This is the part that varies. Which brand, which value, which currency, which country the code needs to work in — most requests need at least one of these clarified, because a code bought for the wrong region is worthless and non-refundable.
A country mismatch is the single most common reason a code fails to redeem. Getting it right here takes one email and saves a lot of trouble later.
Time: as long as the reply takes, both ways.
Stage 4 — the code is checked
Before anything is sent, the code is confirmed as unused. This matters more than it sounds. A code that has already been redeemed is indistinguishable from a working one until the moment someone tries to use it.
Time: minutes.
Stage 5 — delivery
The code arrives by email, at the same address you used to ask. Read it as soon as it arrives, and redeem it to an account if you can. An unredeemed code sitting in an inbox is a bearer instrument.
Time: minutes.
Where the chain actually breaks
In order of how often it happens:
- A typo in the email address. Nothing can be delivered and nobody can tell you, because the address does not exist.
- Spam filtering. The message is delivered but you never see it.
- Region mismatch. The code arrives and then will not redeem.
- The recipient redeems into the wrong account. Usually a personal account instead of a family one, or the wrong regional storefront.
Three of those four are fixed before delivery by confirming the details, which is exactly why the confirmation step exists.
Ready to start?
The request form takes two fields. If you would rather ask a question first, the address is at the bottom of every page.