are delivered to mobile phones via email or SMS, and phone apps allow users to carry only their cell phone. Virtual gift cards are delivered via email to the recipient, the benefits being that they cannot be physically lost and that the consumer does not has to spend the additional time needed to buy a physical gift card in a brick and mortar store making it more convenient. Gift cards of this type can also be purchased quicker, which is especially attractive if a gifting occasion is on the horizon. Other companies have introduced virtual gift cards that users redeem on their smartphones. As the merchant is not involved in the loop, it is considered a cash transfer rather than a traditional gift card. Gift card collecting Gift cards can have many different designs, including for, holidays, special occasions, sports teams, cartoons, and more. Some hardcore collectors collect different variations of each card, and or prefer where the pin number is not scratched off. Even more desirable are brand new unused gift cards even ones still attached to the retail backers. Most gift cards are plastic, some variances include clear plastic, shaped cards, and paperboard cards. Recently most Starbucks and Chipotle gift cards are now paperboard instead of plastic. A partial list of popular retailers with collectors who have released gift cards worldwide with many different designs and or variations include: Aldi Applebee's Barnes & Noble Best Buy Burger King Chick-Fil-A Chili's Chipotle CVS Dollar Tree Dunkin Donuts Firehouse Subs Game Stop Home Depot IHOP In-N-Out Burger Jack in the Box JC Penney K-Mart Krispy Kreme McDonald's Olive Garden Panera Perkins Qdoba Red Lobster Red Robin Schlotzsky's Sears Sonic Starbucks Steak 'n Shake Subway Target Tim Hortons Toys R Us Walmart Wendy's According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest gift card collection in the world, as of 2021, belonged to Canadian-American brothers Aaron and David Miller of Scarsdale, New York. By 2013, the brothers had amassed an estimated 3,125 different cards. In addition, some online collecting websites have pages dedicated to gift card listings for collectors. Pitfalls It has been argued that holiday giving destroys value due to mismatching gifts. The most efficient way to keep value in gifting would be to give cash; however, giving cash in most cultures is not socially acceptable, except with children. Gift cards, to a degree, may overcome this problem, but