An aspect of the present invention includes a method for transferring a gift using a gift-transfer application. A digital gift can be associated with a unique tag identifier on a gift item, and the unique tag identifier can be used to retrieve the digital gift. Specifically, the method includes associating the unique tag identifier with an electronic gift of a particular monetary value and using a payment portal to charge a financial account an amount equal to the monetary value. The method further includes the gift-transfer application receiving a request including the unique tag identifier to redeem the electronic gift and, in response, sending a plurality of value-allocation links along with respective options for applying the monetary value to an electronic gift card of a respective merchant.