Zomato gift card: claim it into Zomato Money and order as usual

Zomato gift cards are prepaid instruments regulated by the RBI. The ones issued by Pine Labs, with Zomato as co-branding partner, can be used only on zomato.com and the Zomato app. Before spending, you add the card's value to your Zomato account. If you have more than one card loaded, the one expiring first is used first. When an order costs more than your balance, you pay the rest by card, net banking or another digital method.

The value can't be moved to a different Zomato account, so if the card is a gift, send the code before claiming it yourself.

The claim takes under a minute once you have the code from Subspace.

The discount on a single card looks small, but it applies to every rupee you load. If you order regularly, buying a card each month and paying from it turns the discount into a steady saving, and you can still apply Zomato's own promo codes on top. With four years of validity, there's no pressure to spend a card quickly.

The chart shows the running saving over 12 months at the top Zomato rate listed on Subspace today, for two monthly ordering budgets.

Food is one of the few gifts nobody needs to return. A Zomato card works well for:

• Someone recovering at home after an illness or surgery, who shouldn't be cooking.
• New parents in the first weeks with a baby.
• Students and young professionals living away from home.
• A colleague who stayed late to help you ship something.

If the person also orders groceries through Instamart, a Swiggy Money card may fit better. For pizza lovers, a Domino's card usually carries a bigger discount.