Bitcoin Gift Cards

Why gift cards?

Most big retailers (Amazon, IKEA, supermarkets, fast-food chains) don't accept Bitcoin at checkout. But you can still spend your BTC at all of them by buying a gift card with Bitcoin on a gift card platform. The card arrives in your email within seconds and works like any other gift card.

Why this matters: the gift card route turns Bitcoin into a general-purpose spending tool for everyday life, not just for crypto-native merchants. The trade-off is a small platform fee (usually 1–5%).

The main platforms

Bitrefill

Bitrefill is the largest. 1,000+ retailers, Lightning support, eSIMs, mobile top-ups, and prepaid Visa cards in some regions. Fees are competitive and Lightning payments have effectively zero platform markup.

Coinsbee

Coinsbee covers 2,000+ brands globally and supports Lightning. Strong in Europe and Asia. Slightly higher fees on some brands but covers the long tail of regional retailers that Bitrefill misses.

Cryptorefills

Cryptorefills is similar to Bitrefill with good Lightning support and a wide catalogue. Particularly strong on mobile top-ups in developing markets.

Gyft

Gyft was one of the original Bitcoin gift card platforms. Smaller catalogue but accepts BTC and has a long track record.

UK retailers you can reach by gift card

Amazon UK — buy on Bitrefill, spend on anything
Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose — grocery gift cards
Argos, Currys, John Lewis, M&S — high-street retail
Just Eat, Deliveroo, Uber Eats — takeaway
Starbucks, Costa, Pret — coffee
Airbnb, Booking.com, Hotels.com — travel
Uber, Bolt, Lime — local transport

How to buy a gift card with Bitcoin (step-by-step)

Open a Lightning wallet (Phoenix, Wallet of Satoshi, Breez).
Go to Bitrefill (or your platform of choice).
Search for the retailer (e.g. "Amazon UK").
Pick a denomination (£10, £25, £50, custom).
Pay with Lightning or on-chain BTC.
Receive the gift card code by email within seconds.
Paste the code at the retailer's checkout (or save it to your account for later).

Which platform to use

For most people: Bitrefill, paid with Lightning. Largest catalogue, lowest fees, instant delivery.

If Bitrefill doesn't have the retailer: try Coinsbee or Cryptorefills.

For mobile top-ups in developing markets: Cryptorefills is often the best.