Gift Cards and Bankruptcy

I’ve seen people talk about using gift cards as a way to save for large purchases.  Where I live this doesn’t make sense because of the fees that chip away at the value, but some states like California don’t have that limitation.  Regardless of where you live, gift cards become pretty much worthless if the company goes bankrupt as people who hold gift cards from Sharper Image and The Bombay Company are learning.  If you want to save money, the best place to keep it is in a bank.