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---
description: Virtual Incentives’ 2021 research found that almost half of millennial respondents preferred receiving virtual gift cards or virtual Visa cards.
title: Virtual Incentives Reports Millennial Preferences for Virtual Rewards in 2021
image: https://giftcard.news/images/social/v1/virtual-incentives-reports-millennial-preferences-rewards-2021-64ca90f9b2688728c73e58f9f3768021.jpg
---

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# Virtual Incentives Reports Millennial Preferences for Virtual Rewards in 2021

Virtual Incentives’ 2021 research found that almost half of millennial respondents preferred receiving virtual gift cards or virtual Visa cards.

By [Suzie Elis](https://giftcard.news/author/suzie-elis/) December 15, 2021 1 min read 

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 Photo: Source: virtualincentives.com 

[Virtual Incentives](https://giftcard.news/company/virtual-incentives/) reported strong interest in virtual holiday rewards among millennials in research discussed on December 15, 2021\. The company said almost half of millennial respondents preferred receiving virtual gift cards or virtual [Visa](https://giftcard.news/company/visa/) cards, while nearly 40% preferred giving them.

The findings came from a ten-question [Google](https://giftcard.news/company/google/) Consumer survey of US adults aged over 18\. Virtual Incentives reported the millennial results as part of its advice to employers selecting rewards for the 2021 holiday season.

According to the company, 30% preferred receiving instant rebates or incentives virtually, and 40% considered virtual incentives important to

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## Sources and documents

ExpandCollapse 
* [What Gifts Your Millennial Employees Really Want This Holiday Season](https://www.virtualincentives.com/what-gifts-your-millennial-employees-really-want-this-holiday-season/?utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news) — virtualincentives.com

## In this article

### Companies

* [Google](https://giftcard.news/company/google/)
* [Virtual Incentives](https://giftcard.news/company/virtual-incentives/)
* [Visa](https://giftcard.news/company/visa/)

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![Portrait of Suzie Elis](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/suzie-elis-editorial-portrait-w320.webp) 

About the author

## [Suzie Elis](https://giftcard.news/author/suzie-elis/)

Journalist — Gift Cards & Digital Gifting

Suzie Elis covers gift card products, digital gifting and distribution for Gift Card News.

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