Gift Card FAQs

If you want to offer gift cards to your customers, fill out our Gift Card Setup Form and a member of our team will follow up with you. If you have any questions about this process, please contact FareHarbor Support.

We can work with you to customize your options, such as:

• Suggested gift card amounts
• Custom instructions for gift card buyers and recipients
• “Buy now” buttons on your website

Once this process is complete, you’ll be ready to start selling gift cards to your customers!

Gift cards cannot be made redeemable for certain items only. However, FareHarbor also has gift certificate and gift card/voucher hybrid options that allow you to offer voucher-style gift items. These options can be applied toward a specific item or activity.

If you prefer this setup, get in touch with us to set up gift certificates on your Dashboard.

Yes, gift cards can be given an expiration time based on the gift card type configuration. You can:

1. Add an expiration when creating the gift card type (for example, 2 years after creation).
2. Assign the gift card type with the relevant expiration time when adding a new gift card.

Additional notes:

• Gift card expiration rules vary by country. You are responsible for checking your local regulations.
• If no expiration date is selected for the gift card type, the default is Never expires.
• You can see the status of each gift card on the Gift Cards page under the Status column. The status will show Active or Expired.
• The default expiry time is 11:59:59 PM local time (i.e. the configured time zone for your company).

Can I import gift cards in bulk?

Yes, it's possible to import existing gift cards in bulk as long as they are from the same gift card type. If a gift card type doesn't exist for the corresponding bulk import, you need to first create one.

To import a batch of gift cards for a specific gift card type:

1. Navigate to Settings > Gift Cards.
2. On the Gift Cards tab, select Add gift card.
3. Select the Advanced tab.
4. In the Import codes field, enter your gift card details separated by commas:
   • Value
   • Card number
   • Expiration date (optional, input in YYYY-MM-DD format)

   • Notes (optional, visible on the Card Settings tab when editing the gift card)

     Note: The optional fields (Expiration date and Notes) can be left blank in the import but have to remain comma-separated.

     Example bulk import of three gift cards:

     10, 123-456, 2027-03-01, repeat customer gift
     15, 789-101, , in lieu of a refund
     20, 098-765, 2027-05-01, 

     The example bulk import creates one gift card with all fields populated, one without an expiration date, and one without a note.

     

5. Select the gift card type via the Type field.

   Important note: Any expiration date included in the import overrides the expiration setting configured for the selected gift card type.

   For example:

   • You import a gift card on July 22, 2026, with an expiration date of 2027-07-22 (in one year).

   • You select a gift card type configured to expire five years after creation.

     The imported gift card will expire on July 22, 2027. The five-year expiration setting for the gift card type will not apply.

6. Click Create cards.

The default maximum limit for online gift card purchase per booking is 10,000 in your local currency. In case you need to change this maximum limit, please reach out to our Support team to request it. However, we strongly advise setting a max limit of up to the equivalent of $10,000 USD. Higher amounts can result in Stripe punitively disabling payments for your company.

Yes, you can customize gift card designs, as long as your user account has the necessary permissions. Refer to this help page for more information and detailed instructions.

Buying and selling gift cards

What does the process look like for my customers?

Watch a short video overview of how gift cards work on our Gift card overview page, under the “How it works” section.

Logged-in Dashboard users can easily enter a gift card purchase on behalf of a customer. To do this, follow the instructions for creating a normal booking, and be sure to note the following differences:

• Instead of choosing an activity to book, you’ll want to select the gift card option from your Bookings calendar (if you don’t see a gift card option, check to see if you have a separate custom calendar set up for gift cards, or if the gift card item is being filtered out on your current calendar).

  

  The customer won’t actually see the date you are choosing. However, it’s generally recommended to select the availability for the same day, week, or month that the customer buys the gift card. This allows you to run reports on when gift cards were purchased.

• Always enter an email address and send a confirmation email when creating a gift card order for a customer. If the customer doesn’t receive a confirmation email, they won’t be able to view and send the card to the recipient.

  

If you have gift cards set up but don’t see the option to select them from your Dashboard, try the following:

1. From the Bookings section, check the custom calendars menu to see if you have a separate calendar set up for gift cards. If so, select this option and proceed to create a gift card order from your Dashboard.

   

2. If you don’t have a custom calendar for gift cards, you may need to adjust your calendar filters to show gift cards. From the Bookings section, open the Filter menu, click Items, and look for your Gift Card item. Once selected, you should see the gift card option appear on your calendar.

   

If neither of these solutions work, get in touch with FareHarbor Support and we can help you troubleshoot further.

To ensure your sales are reported correctly, we recommend getting in touch with FareHarbor Support to discuss the best options for selling complimentary gift cards through your Dashboard. There are several options available, depending on your setup.

Watch a short video overview of how gift cards work on our Gift card overview page, under the “Redeeming gift cards online” section.

Note: A customer cannot use a gift card to purchase another gift card. This prevents customers from buying discounted gift cards and then using them to purchase regular priced gift cards. If you have any questions, please contact us at FareHarbor Support.

If the price of an activity is completely covered by a gift card but the tax is not, the customer will still need to pay the remaining tax amount.

For example: A customer has a gift card for $100 and uses it on an activity that is $100 plus $10 in tax (total = $110). In this case, the customer owes $10.

To redeem a gift card while making a direct booking in your Dashboard, follow these steps.

Note: You’ll need to have permission to redeem gift cards in your Dashboard. If you do not see the option to redeem a gift card, get in touch with us to update your permissions.

To view a list of all your gift cards and their remaining amounts, go to the Settings section of your Dashboard and select Gift Cards from the menu. This will take you to a list of all gift cards generated in your Dashboard.

From here, click the column name Remaining Value to sort gift cards by their remaining value, or use the Find menu to search for a specific gift card by number.

Tip: If you want to change the number of gift cards shown on the page, click on the gear icon and change the number in the # per page box.

For purchases made on your Gift Card item, you can use the Add or remove customers button to change the number of gift cards on an order. This will rebook the order and update the number of gift cards accordingly.

Note: Removing a gift card from an order will not deactivate the gift card itself. If you need to deactivate a gift card, first adjust its value to $0, then delete the gift card.

To add or remove gift cards on an existing gift card purchase:

1. Find and open the original booking.
2. Click the Add or remove customers button (located under Booking actions).
3. Check the box next to Send rebooked email. You can also send an email after creating the order using the Send email action. Always remember to do this; otherwise the customer won’t receive their updated gift card information.
4. Adjust the number of gift cards appropriately (if adding one or more cards, remember to choose the amount to put on each new card).
5. Optional: Enter the customer’s name and email address in the Recipient Info section (if left blank, it will automatically use the customer’s existing information).
6. Click Rebook now.
7. On the new order, add or refund payment as necessary.

Note: When using the Add or remove customers button, payment is not automatically adjusted. You will need to add a payment for any additional gift cards that are being purchased or issue a refund for any removed gift cards. 

You can use gift cards to give a customer credit for the value of a cancelled booking. This can come in handy if a trip gets cancelled unexpectedly and you want to give the customer a credit they can redeem for a future trip. Learn how to give credit using gift cards.

Cancelling and refunding a gift card

If you wish to issue a full refund for a gift card, you can use either the Refund or Cancel booking actions on the customer’s booking.

While issuing the refund, you will see an option to cancel the gift card(s) associated with the booking. This will automatically reduce the gift card’s value to $0.00 and it will no longer be redeemable.

Partial refunds

If you want to issue a partial refund (for instance, if a customer accidentally bought a $200 gift card when they meant to purchase a $100 gift card), you can do this using the Refund button on the booking overview. Select the Partial refund option and enter the amount you’d like to refund.

Once you’ve refunded the customer, find the gift card in the Gift Cards section of the booking, and click on it to go to the gift card’s settings and adjust its value appropriately.

To refund a payment made with a gift card, follow the normal refund process for the gift card payment.

The refunded amount will automatically be returned to the gift card that was used to make the payment.

If you have permission to manage gift cards—and if the gift card in question already has a recipient on it—you can change the name and email of the recipient by following these steps:

1. Go to Settings and select Gift Cards.
2. Find the gift card whose recipient you want to update (if needed, you can search using the Find option), then click Edit.
3. Go to the Card Settings tab.

4. Click Edit next to the recipient’s name to go to their contact page.

   

5. Click Edit contact, make your changes, then click Save.
6. Optional: Resend the gift card to the recipient by closing the contact page, going to the Gift Card tab, and clicking Email or print. Click the Email button to add a message and send.

Yes, you can use a Gift Cards advanced report to run reports on gift cards to look at your outstanding gift card balances, who issues the most gift cards at your business, and more.