I hate gift cards

This is not meant, in any way, to sound ungrateful.
There is a blopody good reason that when people (i.e. my family) offer to buy me a gift card for some shop or other, that I request cash instead. It has nothing to do with the fact that I'd rather spend cash on booze (although I probably will). It has everything to do with the fact that gift cards are a total rort.
Case in point: I was given a rather valuable gift card for Christmas. It's for Westfield, which seems handy as there is a store about 5 minutes away by train. Great. So today I went out to do a bit of shopping and decided I needed some new cookware as I've only a small pan and a pot to cook with (ahh the joys of bachelor living). I wandered into one of the stores and found a decent-looking 9 piece set which was 50% off retail! Kick arse! I lugged the box off the shelf and over to the counter.
"Do you have Fly Buys?" inquired the girl.
"Nope, but I do have a gift card" I replied, taking out the card in question.
"Oh..." said the girl, the smile dropping out of her voice "we don't accept Westfield gift cards."
"You don't?!" I asked, mildly shocked. After all, I was in the middle of a Westfield shopping centre.
"No... We do have our own though!" she replied, brightening up.
I thought to myself "And that helps me how?" but decided to just say "Ahh. In that case, forget it." I walked out.
It turns out that the Coles Myer group and K-Mart don't accept the cards, but I've been informed by Westfield representatives that I can use the cards at "any of the fashion stores". Brilliant! Care to guess how often I'm likely to buy my clothes at any of those places?
My entire problem with gift cards is that some prick already has the money and now there are restrictions on how I can get that redeemed for actual products within the very centre which already has the money.

The message to you all is, if you want to get me a present and have no idea what to give me, either give me cash or booze.

So, rather than buying anything useful (as I'm sure my family hoped), I am going to spend the entire thing at Dan Murphy's. Yup, it's all going to go on booze.
Ain't irony grand?