Seamlessly connect your favorite apps to your incentive program—no coding, no hassle

✨ SUMMARY: Zapier is a powerful automation platform that connects apps and services to make workflows easier. With 8,000+ integrations, it’s the gold standard for automating tasks like sending gift cards after surveys or rewarding employees for training. Simply set up ‘Zaps’ to trigger actions between apps, saving time and eliminating manual work. 🚀  

Zapier is an incredibly powerful, incredibly popular automation platform that lets you link different apps and services together. And it lets you do this really quickly.

  Zapier is lightning fast,” says Matt Brossard, Giftbit Director of Business Development. 

That’s why Zapier is the gold standard for all sorts of automation and integration. It was the first and most widely adopted platform of its kind, and it’s helped thousands of incentive managers to streamline their programs, thanks to its massive library of integrations.

A "Zap" in Zapier is like a bridge that connects the software tools you’re already using (over 8000 apps in the Zapier library). This bridge will let your apps communicate and share info with each other, dramatically increasing their potential.

Specifically, you can set triggers to send rewards based on certain actions in the apps.

  For example, if you want to reward employees for completing a training module. Connect your LMS (learning management system) to your gift card platform in Zapier, and boom💥—a gift card is sent every time someone finishes their course, and you never have to lift another finger.

  Or maybe you’re running an e-commerce store and want to reward loyal customers. Connect your loyalty program software to your gift card platform, and every time a customer reaches a certain spending milestone,  boom💥 —they’ll get an instant digital gift card automatically, no manual work needed.

In short, whatever your use case, Zapier can help you streamline your processes, freeing up your time to focus on all your other important tasks in your day-to-day.

Giftbit + Zapier = automated multichannel gift card delivery

Giftbit created an integration with Zapier for a simple reason: it works.

Without any code work or developer hours, you can create smart workflows for sending rewards and incentives all around the world.

Giftbit’s Zapier integration gives you close to the same level of flexibility and control that you would expect from an API integration, in just a fraction of the setup time.

What’s great about the experience is that it’s so quick and easy to get started,” says Matt. “You can create a Giftbit account, create a template, and then connect that template to a Zapier trigger within minutes. That’s an extremely fast set up.”

Plus, you can use your Giftbit + Zapier connection to issue gift card incentives for a wide range of use cases, whether that’s for survey responses, collecting exit feedback, powering customer loyalty programs—or any other times you’d like to distribute rewards automatically and dynamically.

I’ve done workflows back and forth between multiple tools I use, like connecting HubSpot and Slack to enable notifications, and collecting feature suggestions through Typeform,” suggests Matt.

Zapier users can also squeeze even more juice out of what they can accomplish, when they take advantage of sleek new features like Tables (i.e., databases) and Interfaces (i.e., custom pages, like visual client portals and dashboards).

Zapier’s got staggering potential—it’s really just limited by whatever our customers can imagine doing with it,” says Matt.

Common ways to integrate gift card sending

✨ SUMMARY: Use Zapier + Giftbit to automate rewards for survey participation, referrals, or event-based incentives. By integrating with CRMs like HubSpot and Salesforce, businesses can streamline gift card distribution based on customer actions, such as lead status changes, purchases, or meeting bookings. These automated workflows not only enhance engagement and sales efforts but also ensure efficient tracking and management of rewards. 

Like we’ve covered, Zapier gift card triggers are particularly well suited for dynamic rewards, like those triggered by survey participation or winning contests. But you don’t need to stop there.

Zapier is very popular, so there's usually something for most business tools that people are already using,“ says Matt.

Broadly speaking, we see Giftbit clients using Zapier integrations in the following key ways.

• Incentive-based actions: Rewards triggered by things like surveys, feedback forms, reviews, and referrals
• Workflow automation: Connecting tools like HubSpot, Slack, Typeform, and Google Sheets
• Event-based rewards: Like trade shows incentives, customer engagement campaigns, SPIFFS, and rewarding top performers

In ‘real life,’ this can look like equipping your sales teams with Amazon gift cards they can use as door openers and/or to keep new customers engaged. Automate this process, and you won’t overburden anyone with extra admin, so they can keep their focus on closing sales.

Or if you want to boost client bookings, you might connect your gift card program with Calendly to offer $10 Starbucks gift cards for any new scheduled appointments.

Given the fact that referral leads convert 30% better than those from other channels, it’s no surprise that word-of-mouth incentives are always a popular use case here. Plus, there's a bonus: the right workflow can trigger rewards for both the referrer and the referee.

We’ll walk you through how to set up these types of Zaps next. 

Sales incentive pro-tip: Even when offering incentives, cold leads and prospects might not engage with your promotion. That’s why you’ll want to work with a gift card provider that lets you track claimed and unclaimed incentives, so that you can make better decisions and start recouping any losses.

Integrate gift cards with your CRM

Marketers and GTM teams in particular can expect powerful results when they integrate gift card sending with their CRMs.

Zapier can take a sometimes clunky, unwieldy thing and make an incredibly smart and scalable workflow,” says Matt.

Indeed, CRMs like HubSpot and Salesforce are incredibly robust tools. But they’re also quite complex—which is why if you’re using one, there’s a good chance you’re already leveraging something like Zapier to get the most out of it.

And if you know your way around your CRM, you’re going to be excited by all the ways you can use it to send gift cards and prepaid cards for things like:

• Changes in lead or customer status
• Purchase activity
• Meetings booked
• Meetings completed
• Published reviews
• Customers referred by other clients

We’ll cover some popular options for building gift card sending into your CRMs next.

Zapier options: Need to send gift cards through your CRM? Use a Zapier and Giftbit integration to connect reward delivery to Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho CRM, Close, HoneyBook, Pipedrive, Follow Up Boss, Dubsado, Circle, Keap, Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM, KvCore, Bark, Clio, Kommo, and almost 1000 more.

Gift card workflows in HubSpot 

Just like there’s virtually no limit to how you can use incentives to boost your business, there’s virtually none on how you can link incentives up to your CRM, either.

We all know that when you want more leads to book a call or join a demo, a little extra motivation—like a gift card incentive—can make all the difference.

That’s why one of the most popular HubSpot workflows is sending a Giftbit gift card or prepaid card (like a Visa® or Mastercard®) when a specific HubSpot property changes in a contact record. 📩

Instead of manually sending out rewards, this setup will do the job for you; when a new contact in HubSpot meets the right criteria, they’ll automatically be emailed their gift card—no extra steps needed. 

This Zap makes it easier to run referral programs, promos, or any other incentive-driven campaigns. Find the exact step-by-step instructions to set it up here.

More popular options include sending rewards for new HubSpot form submissions, and for when new contacts are added to a HubSpot list.

Other triggers you might consider include new companies, deal property change, new contact, new engagement, new ticket, or new deal.

See all the HubSpot integration options here.

Gift card workflows in Salesforce

Similarly, the most popular Giftbit + Salesforce workflow connects gift cards to lead activation and motivation activities, too.

With this setup, you can trigger automatic rewards based on specific actions in Salesforce—like reaching a certain deal stage or completing an activity.

Just set your filters to decide which actions qualify, and when a record is updated, the system will take care of the rest. A digital gift card will be created and sent by email, no manual work needed.

See all the Salesforce integration options here.

Automating eGift card rewards for maximum impact

✨ SUMMARY: Popular brands across categories like retail, dining, travel, and wellness are available through the Giftbit catalog, with automation options through Zapier or direct bulk ordering. By enabling full choice, recipients can select their preferred rewards effortlessly, ensuring a seamless and engaging experience.

Of course, any rewards program is only as good as what you’re sending—people just aren’t going to be motivated by lackluster rewards.

So if you want to run a successful program, you’re going to need access to digital and physical gift cards that people really, really want. 💝

And thankfully, with your free Giftbit account, you get full access to the robust and global rewards catalog. 🙌

  We've got a growing international gift card catalog with lots of popular options to help our clients reach larger, more diverse and globally distributed audiences,” says Matt.

Plus, with (or without) a Zapier connection, you have the freedom to send any digital gift card from the full Giftbit catalog.

Here are a few examples of what you might use in your incentive programs.

🛍️ Retail & shopping cards ​​

• Use these when you want versatile rewards that cover a broad range of everyday products or larger purchases
• Popular brands include Adidas, Best Buy, Kohl’s, Nordstrom, Target, and Winners
• Ideal for offering a meal or casual dining experience as a reward, like for corporate gifts or celebrating a win or milestone
• Popular brands include The Cheesecake Factory, Chili’s, Chipotle, Domino’s, DoorDash, Olive Garden, Outback, Subway, Texas Roadhouse, and Uber Eats

🍿 Entertainment & leisure cards 

• Give your recipients a break from the everyday with gift cards for streaming services, movies, or arcade and game centers
• Popular brands include AMC Theatres, Dave & Buster’s, Hulu, and Paramount+
• Learn more about sending gift cards for subscription services here

💳 Prepaid & digital wallet cards 

• Use these when you need flexible, global rewards that let recipients decide where to spend their funds
• Popular options include prepaid cards from Visa and Mastercard

🛒 Grocery and pharmacy cards 

• Perfect for covering daily needs and routine essentials; practical rewards are very popular options for employee rewards in particular
• Popular brands include Carrefour, Coles, CVS Pharmacy, IGA, Kroger, Publix, Safeway, Sam’s Club, Sobeys, Thrifty Foods, Walgreens, Walmart, and Wawa 

⛽ Gas gift cards 

• Another essential that can make a big impact in your recipients’ every day expenses. These are also popular for driving incentives, or if you manage truck/delivery drivers and would like to reward top performers or incentivize specific behaviors on the road
• Popular brands include Chevron and Texaco, Esso and Mobil, and Petro-Canada.

☕ Coffee cards 

• Great when you want to give someone a coffee break!
• Popular brands include Dunkin’, Peet’s Coffee, and Starbucks.

💆🏽‍♀️ Wellness & self-care cards 

• Use these to promote health and well-being
• Popular brands include Rachelle Béry, Spa & Wellness Gift Card by Spa Week (accepted at over 8,000 spa and wellness facilities across the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico), The Vitamin Shoppe, and TONI&GUY

🖥️ Online shopping cards 

• These types of gift cards are ideal for digital-first audiences, letting them shop conveniently on popular e-commerce platforms
• Popular options include Amazon.com, eBay, Poshmark, and Wayfair

🏡 Home improvement & decor cards 

• These work well for incentivizing DIY enthusiast
• Popular brands include Bed Bath & Beyond, The Home Depot, HomeGoods, IKEA, and Lowe’s

✈️ Travel & adventure cards 

• Use these when you want to reward recipients with travel opportunities, getaways, or experiences away from home 
• Popular brands include Air Canada, Airbnb, Amtrak, Best Western, Carnival Cruise Lines, Hotels.com, and Southwest Airlines
• Note: Giftbit supports travel incentives up to $2500, making these a lovely option for executive rewards

💗 Charity cards 

• Use these when you want to let recipients support their favorite causes
• Popular options include Charity on Top and CharityChoice, which combined give access to almost two million charities

Automate sending to global audiences

For a truly sustainable gift card program, you’ll also need access to international eGift cards.

An international gift card partner will let you send a card that works across borders, making it easier for recipients in different countries to enjoy their gifts. 🌐

This in turn will help simplify global rewards programs, so you’re not spinning plates trying to manage different rewards and bank accounts in different countries and currencies

Global reward options are important if you already have international recipients, of course—or if you think you might have them in the future.

But they’re also important if you’re not exactly sure where all your recipients are located. If that’s the case, or if you’ve got a highly mobile audience, you’ll need a gift card partner that automatically handles global rewards.

Ultimately, if you want to future-proof and fool-proof your gift card program, you’ll need to offer gift cards from a wide range of desirable global brands that will work wherever your recipients actually are.

Instantly offer full choice options

There’s a simple truth for gift card programs of all sizes: no matter how fast or automatic, good gift card distribution relies on recipient experience, period. 

You’ve put all this thought and effort into creating a streamlined program, all designed to delight your audience. So at the end of the day, if that audience isn’t actually delighted, then all that work was for naught. 

When deciding what types of gift cards to offer via your gift card integration, think about what will delight and motivate your recipients the most.

Sometimes this choice will come down to the behavior or effort you’re trying to incentivize. Like we’ve covered, that might simply be a $10 coffee card to boost meeting attendance.

Or, if you’ve got a tech savvy, digital-first audience, you might consider a curated, on-brand list that includes powerhouses like Apple, xBox, League of Legends, or other gaming platforms.

But another easy way to make your integration and your rewards really shine is to offer your recipients full choice from the whole gift card catalog. 😎

With full choice, you let people pick exactly what they want, and that creates a smooth, enjoyable experience,” says Matt. "Giftbit has the most user-friendly choice experience available now, and full choice works really nicely with Zapier. The templates do most of the heavy lifting, so there’s even less set up needed."

So instead of setting up your curated list of brands, you can just set your template to ‘full choice.’ That way, your recipients will enjoy a flexible and intuitive selection process, and they’ll get to pick exactly what they want.

One of the reasons the Giftbit full choice experience works so well is because it’s structured in a way that won’t overwhelm your audience. They might have almost 1000 choices, but they’re going to feel like they can quickly and easily find exactly what they want.

That’s because of the catalog’s user-friendly search functionality, which makes it easy for any recipient to find an appealing reward. And unlike with other platforms, Giftbit recipients can search by both brand name and by relevant keywords.

Plus, the platform leverages pre-built categories—like online shopping, food and drink, entertainment, and travel—that act as handy shortcuts. These help guide users toward the brands that match their interests, without adding any unnecessary complexity. 

All said, full choice not only simplifies your process when creating the automation in Zapier. It also ensures that every recipient enjoys a customized and stress-free experience. 🎁

Potential hurdles when integrating gift card rewards

✨ SUMMARY: Concerns about gift card integration include cost, complexity, security risks, testing uncertainties, and scalability. Giftbit addresses these with transparent pricing, flexible automation controls, strong security measures, and hands-on support. By optimizing workflows and leveraging smart automation tools like Zapier, businesses can streamline reward distribution while maintaining full control and security.

Many of the challenges you might run into when setting up Zapier integration are the same you’d run into with any your gift card program setup.

Namely, cost is always going to be an issue for any type of program, so you’ll want to find a gift card partner that only charges you for the gift card themselves. If you want to send a $50 gift card, for example, it should only ever cost you $50.

We believe that when a company pays money for an incentive, all of that cost should go to the incentive itself,” says Nat Salvione, Giftbit CCO. “The most effective incentives programs are ones where the entire budget goes to the reward.” 

You’ll also want to find a partner that won’t lock you into any exclusionary and/or long-term contracts.

Exclusivity is a business tactic that really should have gone away in the ‘80s and ‘90s,” says Nat. “It’s too old-fashioned, and it kills innovation.” 

Finally, friction and delays are often the kiss of death for rewards programs. Who wants to wait weeks or months for approvals?

So you'll also want to look for an integration that is quick to implement.

We make our KYB steps [Know Your Business—a standard legal requirement for any gift card program] and brand approval requirements simple to follow, so it’s a lot easier to get started with a reward program at Giftbit” says Matt. “When you are in the last stretch of getting your integration ready to do the actual production orders, getting across the finish line should be fast and easy.”

Beyond this, if you (or other stakeholders) have any specific concerns or questions about starting a gift card integration, here’s what you need to know. 👀

1. Concerns about added costs

Zapier integration can raise a few additional questions around costs.

Problem: First, while it’s possible to use a free account on Zapier, some more advanced workflows may require a higher-tier Zapier plan.

Solution: If this is a driving concern, be aware that you likely have other options. Book a call with a specialist to find an integration that works with your budget.

Problem: Meanwhile, program managers may also be hesitant about keeping costs in check when they’re sending automatic rewards. What if you automatically send more than you meant to?

Solution: This is actually one of the ways a Zapier connection can make your program more cost-efficient, not less.

Yes, when it comes to things like referrals and survey incentives, it can be hard to predict who will receive a digital payout and when. 

But automating with Zapier provides clear control over your budget and spending, because you can set spending limits.

For example, if you only want to reward the first hundred respondents of a survey, you can simply set up your Zap to stop sending after reaching that limit.

Ultimately, by using Zapier to portion out your rewards, you can maintain better cost control without sacrificing the quality of your gift experience.

2. Concerns about added complexity

Most program managers are going to create their Zapier account and find that everything’s easy to set up and works just as expected, all systems go. 🚀

But sometimes, figuring out which apps to connect and how to optimize your workflows can be a challenge—especially for the less tech savvy among us.

For example, Matt points out that sometimes people will try to trigger rewards from multiple review tools at once, when it would be a lot easier to consolidate everything in their CRM. 

This is why a smart approach is key. Namely, these following steps can help you streamline your gift card setup and keep things manageable.

• Centralize your data: Instead of pulling rewards from several review tools, use a central CRM like HubSpot or Salesforce to manage everything in one place.
• Choose the right tools: Use a targeted approach that focuses on integrating tools that complement each other rather than trying to connect every single one. 

• Simplify your workflow: By consolidating information into a smart spreadsheet or CRM, you’ll get a clearer picture and better control over your incentive program.
• Talk to an integration specialist! Matt and his team love helping leads and clients figure out exactly what works best for their programs. Think your use case is too big or wacky to wrangle? Don’t worry—they love a challenge. Book some time now. 

3. Concerns about security

When sending gift cards, security will always be an important factor. The simple truth is that public-facing rewards programs can be popular targets for bad actors. 

That’s why Giftbit has always placed such a strong emphasis on security. No matter how you send rewards, our platform is designed with multiple layers of protection, including features like SOC 2 compliance, continuous monitoring, and secure data handling.

For Zapier gift card integration, adding approval steps and/or spending limits is one of the simplest, easiest ways to prevent abuse.

• Approval steps: Use your CRM to pause gift card approvals. For example, let a survey trigger a record change that then waits for a final approval before sending a reward.
• Spending limits: Set clear spending limits to control how much value is distributed.

If your reward process is public facing, you might also consider having part of the process done manually through your dashboard, instead of fully automating each and every step.

Overall, working with a partner like Giftbit helps you focus on delivering a great experience while keeping security risks under control.

Our team is also able to help you decide what workflows will help you best automate gift card fulfillment without sacrificing safety.

4. Testing concerns

New Zapier users might also worry about accidentally triggering real gift card orders during their setup process.

Problem: When setting up your gift card automation, it's natural to worry about accidentally triggering real orders.

Solution: Set up test workflows without a funding method—pending orders can be deleted easily. Giftbit’s customer support can help clean up test orders.

This approach gives you full access to the entire Giftbit catalog, letting you try out any type of digital gift card you like, without the risk of unwanted spending. It’s a safe and straightforward way to get comfortable with your setup before going live.

5. Ability to scale

Finally, one thing that perhaps not enough would-be integrators consider is how well their integration will support them over time.

Many integrators don’t inquire about uptime or stability of the catalog or speed of reply for technical support, but these are things that really affect the overall experience,” says Matt. 

To counter this, you’ll want to work with a gift card distributor that ensures backward compatibility to prevent disruptions. Any minor updates to the catalog (which are surprisingly common in the incentive space) should happen seamlessly.

This in turn should lead to a lower maintenance burden for you and your team—so you can really take advantage of that ‘set it and forget it’ Zapier approach. Once your system is set up, it should require very little ongoing upkeep.

Meanwhile, you’ll want to look for a partner that provides flexibility as you grow, especially if you’re starting out with a smaller program.

It can be challenging for new integrators to get through the earliest period for their rewards program,” says Matt. “They may need additional flexibility around payment terms because they don't really know when gift card demand is going to spike. They need to be able to quickly scale things up or down according to their business needs."

Specifically, look for these signs that your integration is built for growth:

• Flexible payment options, including the freedom to adjust as your order volumes increase
• Catalog stability, so that your all gift card options remain available, even when demand is high
• Transparent pricing & reporting, so you always know what you’re paying for
  • Pro-tip: find a partner that shares whether rewards are claimed or unclaimed, and that offers revenue sharing on unclaimed funds
• Hands-on support, so that you and your recipients can always reach a ‘real live’ person on the support team to walk you through any questions or concerns
• Convenient controls, for reissuing rewards and correcting delivery failures

The right combination of flexibility, stability, and support is what will make scaling your gift card automation as smooth as possible. All of these features will help you focus on growing your business instead of worrying about constant tweaks or unexpected limitations.

TIP: Zapier has introduced an AI to help build workflows. If you're unsure about how to get started, try describing what you want to build to the AI assistant within Zapier's Zap Builder. This approach can help you establish the basic structure of your workflow, which you can fine-tune later. And remember, even if you just get a rough outline, you can always tap into our expertise for further refinement. Contact us here.

Do you need a technology solution to easily order and send digital gift cards? 

If you want an easy way to buy and send digital gift cards, you’re going to want a technology solution, yes.

Of course, when it comes to bulk electronic rewards, you have plenty of options to choose from. Zapier integration is simply one of the easiest, most streamlined, and most cost-effective options going. 

Remember, Zapier offers huge potential due to its massive library of integrations. And continuous improvements (including a new AI assistant) make it easier and easier for users to build workflows based on their own unique needs.

Ultimately, a good technology solution is going to make it really easy to automate your gift card sending process, ensuring a smooth and hassle-free experience for you and your team.

Plus, the Zapier and Giftbit integration gives you a one-stop shop to send any type of eGift card or prepaid catalog available in the robust rewards catalog, turning your gift card program into a piece of cake. 🍰