Christmas vouchers vs Prepaid reward cards: Which creates more value?
A Christmas reward can be a moment. Or it can be the start of something more. That's one of the biggest differences to consider when choosing between Christmas vouchers and a prepaid reward card for your employees. Both can put meaningful choice into people's hands. Both can work brilliantly as a Christmas thank-you. The difference depends on what you want your reward to achieve after Christmas. If you're looking for a flexible, easy-to-deliver one-off reward, an eVoucher could be exactly what you need.
If you want to give employees money to spend while creating opportunities to keep delivering value throughout the year, a prepaid reward card such as the Pluxee Card can take you further.
So, let's compare them.
Quick answer: Are Christmas vouchers or prepaid reward cards better?
Neither is automatically better. Choose an eVoucher Cheque for a flexible, one-off thank-you that lets employees select from over 140 retailers. Choose a prepaid reward card when you want the value to carry forward through future rewards, employee top-ups, and cashback opportunities with over 80 UK retailers. The Pluxee Card is also available as a digital solution, making it just as eco-friendly as an eVoucher while giving employees ongoing value through cashback on their regular spending.
Three things to know:
1. Consider your business need: Choose eVouchers for a simple, flexible one-off Christmas thank-you.
2. For longer-term plans: Choose a prepaid card for repeat and consistent loading of rewards.
3. Additional employee value: Employee top-ups and cashback can help a Pluxee Card keep delivering value beyond Christmas.
Christmas vouchers vs Prepaid reward cards: Which creates more value?
The answer to this question isn't straight forward because value means something different to everyone. If you're an employer seeking ad hoc, low-commitment rewards, then you'll likely consider eVouchers most valuable. If you're looking for a longer term rewards solution that doubles as an employee benefit, a prepaid rewards card is most valuable to you.
Then there are your employees to consider. They want choice, which both solutions offer in spades, but if they need support making their money stretch further every day, then the Pluxee Card is the most valuable solution.
Think of it like this:
- eVoucher = give people a choice of where to spend a reward.
- Pluxee Card = give people money to spend, then create the opportunity for the value to continue.
What is a Christmas eVoucher?
A Christmas eVoucher is a digital reward that an employee can exchange or spend with eligible retailers. You can buy eVoucher Codes for a specific retailer, or eVoucher Cheques that enable your employees to choose where they want to spend their reward.
With Pluxee eVouchers, employees can choose from more than 140+ UK retailers and split their reward across up to five retailers. Distributed digitally, they're suitable for desk-based, remote, and deskless workforces.
That makes eVouchers a strong choice when you want to:
- Give employees a one-off Christmas thank-you
- Give people choice instead of selecting a physical gift for everybody
- Set a controlled reward value per person
- Distribute rewards digitally
- Keep the process straightforward for HR
There's nothing wrong with a reward being designed for one moment. Sometimes you simply want to say: "Thank you. This is for you. Enjoy it."
An eVoucher does that really well.
What is a prepaid reward card?
Here's where an important distinction comes in, and you can read more about it in our blog, 'What is a prepaid card for employees?'
A prepaid reward card isn't the same thing as a gift card. We'll leave that there for a moment.
A traditional retailer voucher or gift card typically limits where you can spend the value. A prepaid card works like a payment card with funds loaded onto it.
The Pluxee Card isn't connected to an employee's bank account. Employers and employees can load funds onto the card, and employees can spend the available balance wherever Visa Prepaid is accepted.
That makes it particularly interesting for employee rewards. Instead of telling someone where to redeem their £50 or £100 reward, you put the spending power in their hands.
Christmas dinner? Presents? A day out? Something they've been saving for? Everyday costs?
The employee decides.
Want the technical detail? Read our guide to prepaid cards and how they can work as an employee benefit.
Christmas vouchers vs prepaid reward cards: what's the difference?
Here’s a comprehensive review of the difference between Christmas vouchers and a prepaid rewards card like the Pluxee Card, from what they’re best suited to and their role beyond Christmas.
| Christmas eVoucher | Pluxee Card | |
| Best suited to | One-off rewards | One-off + ongoing rewards |
| Employee choice | Choice across eligible retailers | Broad spending using loaded funds |
| Initial employer reward | Yes | Yes |
| Future employer rewards | New reward required | Funds can be added to the card |
| Employee top-ups | No | Can be enabled |
| Cashback opportunity | No | Available through participating retailers (80+) |
| Role after Christmas | Primarily the original reward | Can become an ongoing employee benefit |
| Best strategic fit | Simple festive recognition | Christmas recognition + longer-term value |
The distinction isn't really voucher versus card. It's moment versus mechanism.
Do you need something that delivers a great Christmas reward? Or could Christmas be an opportunity to give employees a reward they'll still be getting value from next year?
Quick takeaway:
eVouchers deliver a strong one-off moment; a prepaid reward card can provide value beyond Christmas.
Why a prepaid reward card can create value beyond Christmas
When it comes to delivering value beyond Christmas, the Pluxee Card (a prepaid reward card) separates itself from a conventional Christmas voucher and retailer-specific gift cards because employers have the option to unlock the cashback-earning potential by allowing employees to add funds and use it every day.
1. The employee decides what matters
Finding a universally brilliant Christmas gift for an entire workforce is virtually impossible because people have different families, interests, priorities and circumstances.
Putting funds onto a prepaid reward card removes the guesswork. Instead of deciding what employees value, you give them more freedom in how they use the money.
It's a simple shift, but an important one: Same employer reward. Different value for different lives.
2. You don't need a new reward mechanism next time
Recognition shouldn't happen once a year.
With a prepaid reward card, Christmas doesn't have to be the end of the story. Once employees have their Pluxee Card, employers can use the same mechanism for future cash rewards and bonuses.
- So, instead of: Christmas → reward → finished
- You can start building: Christmas → recognition → future rewards → everyday value
That's a much stronger foundation for a longer-term reward strategy.
3. Employee top-ups can keep the value going
With the Pluxee Card, employers can choose a solution that lets employees add their own funds while also receiving employer-loaded money to maximise the benefits of the card.
Why does that matter?
Because the card doesn't have to become irrelevant when the original Christmas balance reaches zero. Employees can keep using it with their own money and access the cashback opportunities the card offers.
The employer's Christmas reward has introduced the benefit. Employee top-ups can help make it part of everyday life.
4. Cashback can stretch the value further
Value isn't always about increasing the amount the employer gives. It can also give employees opportunities to make their money go further.
When you enable cashback, employees can earn when they spend through 80+ participating UK retailers, creating two different layers of value:
- Employer value: the money you load onto the card.
- Ongoing employee value: the opportunities available when they continue using it.
How Viridor turned a £100 Christmas reward into something bigger
Viridor wanted its Christmas reward to do more than generate a short-lived festive moment.
They came to us with a brief to create a reward that wouldn't be wasted, offered employees flexibility and choice, stretched salaries further and made people feel valued and supported.
Viridor loaded £100 onto our prepaid Pluxee Card for every employee, but they didn't stop there. Viridor opted to enable employee top-ups so they could access cashback opportunities.
The results show why that distinction matters:
- 94.55% employee activation
- More than £25,000 in employee top-ups
- More than £58,000 in employee spend
- More than £1,000 cashback earned
Look particularly at that second number: Employees subsequently added more than £ 25,000 themselves.
The employer's reward introduced people to the card. Employees then chose to put their own money onto it. That's the difference between giving somebody value once and introducing them to something they can keep using.
One Viridor employee described using the original £100 towards their family's Christmas meal:
Once the £100 was deducted from the card, I just had £14 to pay for a three-course meal and drinks for 15!
Ryan Peasland, Communications and Engagement Specialist at Viridor.
More importantly for employers thinking beyond December, Viridor chose employee and employer top-ups, cashback and the ability to use the prepaid card for future cash rewards and bonuses.
That's a Christmas reward with somewhere to go next.
So, are eVouchers still a good Christmas reward?
Absolutely. A longer-term solution isn't automatically the right solution. Sometimes the brief really is: "We want to give everybody a Christmas thank-you." In that case, adding something more elaborate just for the sake of it doesn't necessarily create more value.
Pluxee eVouchers give employees a choice from more than 140 UK retailers, while employers can choose individual reward amounts and either manage distribution themselves or ask Pluxee to send them.
They're particularly well suited if you want:
- A clear one-off festive reward
- Digital distribution
- Choice without selecting individual presents
- Control over the amount given
- A straightforward way to recognise employees
Our guide to making your Christmas rewards go further looks in more detail at how to get the most from your festive reward budget.
The question isn't whether eVouchers are good. It's whether you want the value to stop with a one-off reward.
When should you consider a prepaid reward card instead?
Consider moving towards a prepaid reward card when your Christmas brief starts sounding less like: "We need to send everyone a Christmas gift," and more like: "We want to give employees something useful at Christmas and create more value afterwards."
A prepaid employee reward card becomes particularly interesting when you want to:
- Give employees broad spending freedom
- Load future employee rewards onto the same card
- Give employees opportunities to earn cashback
- Allow employee top-ups
- Connect reward with financial wellbeing
- Move from annual recognition towards something employees can use throughout the year.
Quick takeaway:
Consider a prepaid reward card when Christmas is the starting point for broader choice, repeat recognition and year-round value.
Don't choose a Christmas reward. Choose what happens next.
Christmas is a brilliant opportunity to recognise your people. It doesn't mean every Christmas reward has to become a year-round employee benefits strategy. If you need a simple, flexible, meaningful one-off thank-you, Pluxee eVouchers are built for that moment.
If you're thinking beyond the moment, the Pluxee Card can turn your Christmas reward into the start of something more.
- Load the initial reward.
- Let employees decide how to spend it.
- Make future rewards through the same card. Enable employee top-ups.
- Give people opportunities to earn cashback.
Your £100 Christmas reward is still £100, but to the employee, the value can grow way beyond.
Key takeaway:
The best Christmas reward fits what you want to achieve next: an eVoucher for a flexible one-off thank-you, or a prepaid reward card for recognition that keeps delivering value beyond Christmas.
FAQs
What is a prepaid reward card?
A prepaid reward card is a payment card you load with money before you spend it. Unlike a credit or debit card, you can only spend up to the available balance. The Pluxee Card isn't connected to the employee's bank account and can be used wherever Visa Prepaid is accepted.
Is a prepaid reward card the same as a gift card?
No. Gift cards and vouchers can restrict spending to a particular retailer or network of participating retailers. The Pluxee Card is a prepaid Visa card, with funds loaded onto the card for spending wherever Visa Prepaid is accepted.
Can employers put Christmas rewards onto a prepaid card?
Yes. The Pluxee Card is ideal for distributing employee Christmas rewards.
Can employees add their own money to a Pluxee Card?
Employers can choose a solution that enables employees to add their own funds, letting employees keep using the card after spending an employer-funded reward.
Are eVouchers good for employee Christmas rewards?
Yes. They're particularly useful when an employer wants to give a flexible one-off reward while letting employees choose where to redeem it. Pluxee eVoucher Cheques currently offer 140+ UK retailers and let employees redeem their reward across up to five retailers.
