Restaurant Online Gift Cards and Loyalty: A Setup Guide
By MarketingToolsProHub Editorial Team | Last updated: | 10 min read
How does a restaurant sell gift cards online?
Choose a gift card tool that works with your POS, such as Toast or Square, or a standalone service, then add a "Gift cards" link to your website header and footer that opens a branded page where guests pick an amount, add a message and schedule delivery. Check local expiry and fee rules before you launch.
- Square eGift Cards are free to set up, with 2.9% + 30 cents per card payment on its online order page and a 2.5% load fee on the Square Free and Plus plans (none on Premium) (US pages).
- Toast sells e-gift cards from your own website and lets guests schedule delivery, but doesn't publish a gift card price on its product page.
- In the US, federal rules stop gift card funds expiring within five years and limit inactivity fees; Australia, Ontario and Ireland set their own rules.
- Put a "Gift cards" link in the header and footer all year, and promote it before holidays.
- Loyalty can run on your POS (Square, Toast) or as your own program tied to your email list.
How can a restaurant sell gift cards from its own website?
There are four common ways, and the right one depends mainly on your POS: guests need to redeem the card at the table as easily as they bought it online.
- Your POS's own gift cards (Toast, Square): the balance lives in the same system staff use to take payment.
- A standalone gift card service such as Gift Up!: a checkout you embed on your site, with its own fees.
- Your online ordering platform's add-on, if it has one: check whether cards work in the restaurant as well as online.
- A custom gift card page on your website that connects to one of the above, so the checkout matches your brand.
| Option | Published fees | Selling from your website | Things to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square eGift Cards | Free to set up; 2.5% load fee on Square Free and Plus (none on Premium); 2.9% + 30 cents per card payment on the eGift order page | Link a button to Square's eGift card order page | Physical card prices vary with the quantity you order |
| Toast Gift Cards | We found no published price on the product page: ask Toast | Toast says you can sell e-gift cards directly on your website or through Toast Online Ordering | Built for US restaurants on Toast; physical cards are available to Toast POS customers |
| Gift Up! | 3.49% per card sold, listed with a $0.50 minimum per card (currency not stated); no monthly or setup fee; you also pay your own card processor | Embeds into your existing website | How staff check and redeem balances at the table |
| Clover | We found no price on Clover's own pages | Ask your Clover provider | Which gift card apps your account supports, and their fees |
| Custom page on your site | Part of your website build, plus the fees of the tool behind it | Yes, in your own design | That the tool behind it syncs balances with your POS |
If you're planning a new site around gift cards, ordering and booking, see our restaurant website design service.
What should a restaurant gift card page include?
A dedicated page, for example /gift-cards, that lets someone buy on a phone in about a minute. Link to it from the header and footer, and from a homepage banner in gifting seasons.
- Card design and amounts: a few set amounts plus a custom amount, and a photo or design that looks like your restaurant.
- Delivery choice: email or text now, or on a date the buyer picks. Toast lets guests schedule a gift card to send at a specific date and time.
- Message field for the buyer's note.
- Where it can be used: dine-in, takeout, online ordering, and which locations accept it.
- Terms in plain words: the expiry date (or "no expiry"), any fees, and that it isn't refundable for cash if that's your policy and the law allows it.
- Balance check: a link where guests can look up what's left.
- Physical cards: if you sell them, say whether you post them or guests collect them at the restaurant.
Physical or e-gift? E-gift cards suit last-minute buyers and people sending to another city. Physical cards suit in-person gifting and the counter at the restaurant. Square and Toast both offer physical and digital cards, so you can sell both from one system. Our restaurant website checklist covers where the gift card link sits alongside menus, booking and hours.
What gift card rules apply in the US, Canada, UK, EU and Australia?
Rules differ by country, and in the US and Canada by state or province. This is general information from official pages checked on 23 October 2026, not legal advice: confirm the rules where you trade before you print terms on a card.
| Market | Expiry | Fees | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US (federal) | Funds can't expire before five years after the card was issued or last loaded | Dormancy, inactivity or service fees only after a year with no activity, no more than one a month, and disclosed on the card | CFPB: Regulation E, 12 CFR 1005.20 |
| Canada (Ontario) | Most retail gift cards can't have an expiry date | No activation, added service or dormancy fees for most retail cards | Ontario: buying or using gift cards |
| UK (Northern Ireland government source) | We found no minimum expiry period on the official pages we checked, and we found no UK-wide government page on gift card expiry; nidirect says the expiry date should be shown on the voucher or the trader's website | We found no fee rule on the page we checked | nidirect (Northern Ireland government): shopping |
| EU (Ireland example) | Vouchers sold from 2 December 2019 must last at least five years from purchase | We found no fee rule on the page we checked | CCPC: gift voucher requirements for businesses |
| Australia | Cards bought from 1 November 2019 must be valid for three years | No fees after purchase, such as activation or inactivity fees; payment surcharges and replacement fees are allowed | Consumer Protection WA: gift vouchers and cards |
- US: Regulation E excludes loyalty, award and promotional gift cards from these rules, though they still need certain disclosures. The CFPB also notes that your state may provide additional protections and rights, so check your state's own rules too.
- Canada: Ontario allows exceptions for cards for one specific service and charitable cards, and lets businesses charge to customize or replace a lost card. Other provinces set their own rules.
- UK (Northern Ireland government source): we found no UK-wide government page on gift card expiry. nidirect, the Northern Ireland government's advice site, says expiry dates vary and "some shops give you six months". State the expiry date clearly on the card and on your website.
- EU: we found no gift card rule on the Your Europe shopping rights page, and national rules differ. In Ireland, the CCPC says buyers must get written confirmation of the expiry date, by paper or email.
- Australia: the expiry date must be clearly shown on the card, and the three-year rule doesn't apply to promotional, genuinely discounted or loyalty cards, among others.
When should a restaurant promote gift cards, and how do bonus offers work?
Promote gift cards in the weeks before the big gifting dates, and keep the link visible the rest of the year.
| When | Occasion | What to put on the site |
|---|---|---|
| November to December | Holidays and year-end staff gifts | Homepage banner, a bulk or corporate order form, scheduled delivery |
| Early February | Valentine's Day | Gift cards next to the Valentine's menu and booking button |
| March to May | Mothering Sunday (UK), Mother's Day (US, CA, AU) | Brunch menu, booking, e-gift cards for family who live elsewhere |
| June | Father's Day, graduations, end of the school year | Gift cards in an email to your list |
| All year | Birthdays, thank-yous, last-minute gifts | Header and footer link, instant e-gift delivery |
Bonus offers ("buy a gift card, get a bonus card for yourself") work best when the bonus is a separate card with its own terms:
- Give the bonus card its own name, start date and expiry date, and say so on the page.
- Keep paid gift card balances and bonus balances separate in your reports, and ask your accountant how to record each.
- Check how your market treats promotional cards. US federal rules treat promotional cards differently from paid gift cards, and Australia exempts promotional cards from the three-year rule.
How do you run a restaurant loyalty program from your website?
Either use the loyalty module in your POS, so points build up when guests pay, or run your own program tied to your website and email list. A POS module is simpler; your own program gives you more control over the sign-up page and the rewards.
Pick a reward model:
- Visits: a reward after a set number of visits. Easy for guests to understand.
- Points per amount spent: fairer when order sizes vary a lot.
- Tiers: regulars move up levels with better rewards. Square Loyalty lets you reward visits, amount spent or specific items, and shows tiers such as Silver and Gold.
POS loyalty options:
- Square lists its loyalty rewards program in Square Plus, listed at $49 a month per location (currency not stated), and offers a 30-day free trial; customers can join at your point of sale, through your Square website or from an invoice.
- Toast Loyalty works in-store and online for restaurants on Toast POS; its price isn't shown on the product page, so ask Toast.
On your website: add a short "Join our rewards" section with what members get, a sign-up form that also asks permission to email, and the same offer at online checkout. Link loyalty and gift cards from the same footer area, so regulars find both. Ordering from your own site also keeps the guest relationship with you rather than a marketplace; our guide on moving regulars off delivery apps covers that side.
What does it cost to add gift cards and loyalty to a restaurant website?
Two parts: the gift card or loyalty tool's own fees (above), and the website work to add a branded gift card page, a loyalty sign-up and the links in your header and footer.
With us, a restaurant website with a gift card page and loyalty sign-up connected to the tools you already use starts at $5,000 (Custom Business Website). With online booking built in, it's our Website + Booking System from $7,500; custom gift card or loyalty features that need their own development fit our Custom Digital System, from $10,000+. You get a fixed written quote after a free discovery call, it typically takes around 2 months, and you own the website, code, domain and content once paid.
These are approximate figures based on published pricing at the time of writing. Your actual cost depends on your scope and will be confirmed after a free discovery call with us.
If you'd rather add the gift card link yourself, a do-it-yourself website builder costs less up front. Wix plans run from about $17 to $39 a month billed annually (Light to Business) and Squarespace plans from about $19 to $49 a month (Basic to Plus), as reported by Website Builder Expert for US plans in 2026. Our small business website cost guide compares builders, freelancers and agencies over three years.
Our guide to restaurant website costs compares builders, restaurant platforms and custom builds. See it in action: our restaurant website demo (a demo, not a client project) shows the header, menu page and booking flow where a gift card link would sit on a phone.
Frequently asked questions
Summary
To sell restaurant gift cards online, use the gift cards in your POS (Square or Toast) or a standalone service such as Gift Up!, give them a branded page linked from your header and footer, and print clear terms. Check the expiry and fee rules where you trade: five years in US federal rules, three years in Australia. Add loyalty through your POS or your own program tied to your email list.
Check how your current site handles gift cards, menus and booking with our free restaurant website grader.
Sources checked
Information checked on . Prices, fees and policies change, so confirm details with the source before relying on them. This article is general information, not legal or tax advice.
- Square: gift cards pricing, US (load fee "up to 2.5%", 2.9% + 30 cents on the eGift ordering page; fees shown in % and cents, no currency code; checked 25 October 2026)
- Square: pricing, US ("With Square Free and Square Plus, you pay a 2.5% load fee", 0% on Premium; plan prices listed with "$", currency not stated; checked 25 October 2026)
- Square: Loyalty, US (checked 23 October 2026)
- Toast: gift cards (we found no published price; checked 23 October 2026)
- Toast: loyalty (we found no published price; checked 23 October 2026)
- Gift Up!: pricing (currency not stated; checked 23 October 2026)
- CFPB: Regulation E, 12 CFR 1005.20, gift cards and gift certificates (US federal, checked 23 October 2026)
- CFPB blog: giving or receiving gift cards (archived, states may add protections; checked 23 October 2026)
- Government of Ontario: buying or using gift cards (updated 14 August 2026, checked 23 October 2026)
- nidirect (Northern Ireland government): shopping, gift vouchers (Northern Ireland consumer advice; checked 25 October 2026)
- Your Europe: your rights when shopping in the EU (we found no gift card rule; checked 23 October 2026)
- CCPC Ireland: gift voucher requirements for businesses (checked 23 October 2026)
- Consumer Protection WA (Government of Western Australia): gift vouchers and cards (national rules since 1 November 2019; updated 19 June 2025, checked 23 October 2026)
- Website Builder Expert: Wix pricing (US prices, third-party, updated 15 September 2026, checked 23 October 2026)
- Website Builder Expert: Squarespace pricing (US prices, third-party, updated 28 August 2026, checked 23 October 2026)