Best Blackhawk Network alternatives: why teams choose Plum
A focused look at gift-card programs: catalog depth, distribution flexibility, developer infrastructure, and enterprise governance - where Plum and Blackhawk Network (BHN) diverge, and why it matters when you're running gift cards at scale.
Powering rewards at 5,000+ companies worldwide
Why Xoxoday
Why Companies Choose Xoxoday
Ten capabilities that Blackhawk Network doesn't offer - and that enterprise gift-card programs can't afford to go without.
True Global Infrastructure
100+ countries, multi-currency, purchase parity, 50+ languages, local tax governance, and flexible data residency across public, private, and on-premise clouds.
Value for Money & Lower TCO
Best-price catalog with no hidden markups. On Generation and On Redemption billing models to match how your finance team operates.
Extensive Catalog
30+ categories across 100+ countries - gift cards, prepaid cards, flights, hotels, experiences, lounges, air miles, charity, mobile top-ups, wellness, and custom rewards. No middlemen.
Amazon Partnership
Direct redemption on Amazon in the US, UK, India, Spain, and Germany. Recipients shop on Amazon's actual website. No other rewards platform offers this.
One Platform for Every Reward Use Case
Employee rewards, consumer promotions, channel incentives, survey rewards, instant payouts, and loyalty programs - without stitching together multiple vendors.
Built-In Enterprise-Grade Controls
Role-based access, budget thresholds, maker-checker workflows, reward rule engine, country-level controls, and approval schedules - built for 50,000+ employee enterprises.
AI Copilot Across the Platform
AI-powered reward recommendations, program optimization, insights and analytics, and automation built into the product - not bolted on.
Unmatched Deployment Flexibility
SaaS Admin Portal, REST APIs, SSO-based white-labeled storefront, SDKs, or iFrames. No-code self-serve or full API control - both supported in one platform.
250+ Integrations
Rewards triggered from MS Teams, Slack, Google Workspace, Workday, SAP, ADP, Darwinbox, Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira, and Zendesk.
Professional Services
Full onboarding consulting and project management. Dedicated CSM, structured MBRs & QBRs, and AI-powered 24/7/365 support across geographies and time zones.
Feature Comparison
How Plum Addresses Feature Gaps with Blackhawk Network
Blackhawk Network (BHN) - via its Tango platform - is a real, well-liked name in gift-card delivery: strong developer experience, a 4.7/5 G2 rating, same-day physical/digital fulfillment, and deep US retail distribution built on decades of relationships with brands like Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. Where it stays narrower is reward-category breadth beyond gift cards, global catalog reach, named enterprise integrations, and the governance layer large programs need.
** Blackhawk Network data reflects information publicly available as of the publish date and may change - verify current details on blackhawknetwork.com before relying on this comparison. Plum data reflects Xoxoday Plum's own published capabilities.
Beyond the Platform
Beyond the Platform - What You Get When You Choose Plum
BHN hands you a gift-card portal and a catalog. Plum hands you a program.
BHN's Hawk Marketplace is built for reordering and account management - useful once you know exactly what you're ordering. Plum pairs the platform with dedicated implementation consulting and project management at launch, so a gift-card program is designed around your budget rules, approval flows, and recipient geography from day one - not retrofitted after the first bulk order.
Post-launch, BHN's public support model leans on self-serve reordering and ticketed support - reviewers describe response times that can lag during high-volume periods. Plum assigns a named Customer Success Manager who runs structured Monthly and Quarterly Business Reviews, actively tracking redemption rates, budget utilization, and catalog performance - plus AI-powered 24/7/365 support backed by a global team across time zones.
On product direction, BHN's roadmap centers on deepening its core Tango/Hawk gift-card and prepaid infrastructure in the US. Plum is already shipping AI-powered reward recommendations, program optimization insights, and Xoxoday MCP for AI-agent-triggered rewards - with a global multi-category catalog built to grow with the program, not just the gift-card line item. The longer you run gift cards through Plum, the more of the loyalty, incentive, and payout stack you can run through it too.
Customer stories
Real results from teams running global reward programs
Leading teams rely on Xoxoday Plum to run scalable rewards and incentives programs with greater control and visibility.
Matt Wale
Head of Growth Marketing, Xero
SaaS · Referral Rewards
We were manually sourcing and sending rewards one by one. With Plum, the entire program runs itself - and our referral program delivered 20% growth year on year.
Our employees really like the Xoxoday rewarding process. The customer service they offer is exceptional and commendable. That was the most important criterion for us when deciding on them.
Human Resource Business Partner
HR Business Partner, H&M
Retail · Employee Rewards
We used to spend weeks coordinating survey incentives manually. With Plum, distribution is fully automated - respondent experience improved and our ops team got that time back.
Ravi Gour
Regional Panel Leader, Asia-Pacific
Media Measurement · Survey Rewards
Pricing and feature claims on this page reflect information publicly available as of the publish date and may change. Readers should verify current Blackhawk Network details on blackhawknetwork.com before making a purchasing decision.