What size gift card box do I need for CR80 cards?

How do you calculate the box footprint from a 3.375 × 2.125 inch CR80 card?

When a customer lifts the lid off one of our custom printed gift card boxes, the card should sit centered like a framed print rather than touching the outer box walls. That framing border is not just visual: it provides the structural margin required to die-cut four corner slits into a paperboard riser or punch a 3.375 × 2.125 inch rectangular well into EVA foam without tearing the outer edge of the pad. If you start with a horizontal CR80 card (3.375 in long by 2.125 in wide) and add a 0.5625-inch (9/16 in) border on the left, right, top and bottom, the total inside tray footprint becomes 4.5 × 3.25 inches. If you want a more dramatic, gallery-style border with room for a foil-stamped message below the card, adding a 0.8125-inch border brings the inside footprint to 5 × 3.75 inches. Both footprints feel substantial in the hand and fit into a coat pocket or holiday stocking.

1. Standard CR80 card dimension: 3.375 in (L) × 2.125 in (W) × 0.030 in (30 mil thickness).
2. Compact sleeve border (+0.31 in per side): 4 × 2.75 in inside footprint for flat retail checkout sleeves.
3. Classic rigid border (+0.56 in per side): 4.5 × 3.25 in inside footprint for two-piece and ribbon-drawer boxes.
4. Executive folio border (+0.81 in per side): 5 × 3.75 in inside footprint for hinged magnetic book folios.
5. Half-moon finger scoop: requires at least a 0.5 in radius cutout on one long edge of the foam well.

What are the most common gift card box sizes by box style?

While CubitPack cuts every order to your exact inside Length × Width × Height in inches with no die or plate charges, most restaurants, spas, boutiques, hotels and corporate reward programs pick from six standard footprints. Compare the sizes in the table below depending on whether you are packing a single CR80 card, a card inside a folded paper carrier, a heavy metal VIP card, or a gift card paired with truffles or a mini candle.

How deep should a gift card box be for 30-mil plastic vs metal cards?

A bare CR80 plastic or paperboard gift card is only 0.030 inches (0.76 mm) thick, yet a rigid gift card box is almost never built thinner than 0.625 to 0.875 inches in inside height. Why do we add that vertical depth? First, a two-piece lift-off lid or custom drawer box needs enough side-wall height for fingers to grip the base tray while lifting the lid or pulling the satin ribbon tab. Second, the interior insert itself (whether a raised false-bottom paperboard platform at 0.375 to 0.5 in tall or a laminated custom EVA foam insert at 0.25 to 0.375 in thick) occupies the lower half of the base tray. If you are presenting a laser-engraved stainless-steel, anodized aluminum or solid brass VIP card (which typically measures 40 mil to 60 mil, or 1.0 to 1.5 mm thick) or stacking a physical welcome booklet underneath the card well, step up to a 0.875-inch or 1-inch inside box depth.

How do I size a dual-cavity box that holds a gift card and a small gift?

One of the highest-converting corporate and holiday packaging formats is the gift card + physical treat combo box: the recipient gets the flexibility of a gift card alongside the immediate delight of unwrapping two artisan chocolate truffles, a 2 oz votive candle, a lip balm or an enamel lapel pin. To size a dual-cavity box, arrange your CR80 card (oriented vertically at 2.125 × 3.375 in) on the left half of the tray and your physical mini-product on the right half. Leave a 0.5-inch divider bridge between the card cradle and the product cavity, plus a 0.5-inch border around all four outer walls. Set the inside Height (H) of the box to match the taller physical product (typically 1.5 to 2 inches for truffles or a mini jar), then ask our design team to build a raised platform under the gift card side so both the card and the treat sit at the same top eye level when the lid opens.

1. Gift card + 2 chocolate truffles: typically fits inside a 6 × 4 × 1.5 in or 6.5 × 4.5 × 1.75 in rigid box.
2. Gift card + 2 oz votive candle or espresso cup: typically fits inside a 7 × 4.5 × 2.5 in two-piece or magnetic box.
3. Gift card + lapel pin, key fob or charm: typically fits inside a slim 6 × 3.5 × 1 in rigid drawer or two-piece box.
4. Stepped insert elevation: we raise the shallow 30-mil card platform so it sits flush with the top of the deeper product well.

How do you measure curved pillow boxes and flat sleeves for gift cards?

For high-volume coffee shops, fast-casual restaurants and retail chains ordering 1,000+ folding cartons, custom pillow boxes and custom sleeve boxes offer a compact, flat-storing alternative to rigid boxes. When sizing a curved pillow box, remember that the two arched end flaps curve inward and reduce the usable flat length inside the pouch by about 0.5 inches on each end. To hold a 3.375 × 2.125 inch CR80 card comfortably without the corners hitting the curved end scores, choose a pillow box measuring at least 4.5 × 3 × 0.75 inches (measured from end-score to end-score by width by center belly thickness). That extra room also lets you slip a folded paper To/From carrier around the card before sliding both into the pillow box.

What are the most common gift card box sizing mistakes?

Avoid these five dimensional errors when specifying a box and insert for standard or custom gift cards

1. Ordering a 3.375 × 2.125 in box to match the bare CR80 card size, leaving zero border room for an insert or finger notch.
2. Sizing a curved pillow box too short (under 4.25 in long) so the square corners of the gift card jam into the arched end flaps.
3. Cutting the EVA foam well to the exact 3.375 × 2.125 in nominal size with zero slip tolerance, forcing the card to bow when pressed in.
4. Letting a gift card sit at the bottom of a 2-inch-deep combo box instead of raising the card side on a stepped platform.
5. Forgetting to measure the thickness of a heavy 50-mil metal VIP card when ordering a pre-slotted paperboard cradle.

Find your size

Packaging for this

Custom Gift Card Boxes

Custom Drawer Boxes

Custom Pillow Boxes

Custom Sleeve Boxes

Custom EVA Foam Inserts

Custom Greeting Card Boxes

More guides