Thanks to a very kind individual, I was given an American Express Gift Card as thanks for some computing help I provided.  The individual got the gift card at a local retailer, but thanks to it being an American Express Gift Card it should be good -- as the little package says -- 'Instead of one place, it's good all over the place.'  But of course there should be an ASTERISK after that slogan and inside the quotes so it really reads all over the place.^*

What is the asterisk for?  Oh, that's there to remind you that it's good only where American Express Cards are accepted.  Except, uh, there needs to be another asterisk to go with that first one that tells you that the card is good wherever American Express Cards are accepted EXCEPT the following: Cannot be used for airlines, hotels, car rental, telecom merchants or ATMs.  Additional usage restrictions may apply.  Some of those additional restrictions include a recommendation not to use the card for purchasing gasoline, and also include reminders that if you use the card at a restaurant (as an example) the restaurant may pre-authorize a charge against the card for the original amount of the meal plus 20% which is pre-authorized to cover a potential gratuity.

By the time all is said and done you have to start asking the question just where the heck can you use the card at and how long it will take you to use the funds on the card, which oh, by the way, need to be used fairly quickly because if the card still has funds on it after the year it was purchased and activited there will be a $2 per month charge against the original funds as a monthly maintenance fee which will slowly but surely eat away whatever funds have been left on it.

I really do appreciate the gift and the thoughtfulness of the individual that gave it to me, so please don't think I am looking a gift horse in the mouth here.  Found money is always nice, and actually there are places where you can use the card, but I find it amusing that there are so many restrictions and suggestions about where to use and not use the card at that if the user isn't careful they'll pull the card out and go to pay for something only to be stuck finding alternate payment.