Theatre tokens as a gift - any issues?

[Spirou]

Has anyone had any issues with using theatre tokens recently? So many voucher schemes are such a hassle to redeem that you often end up losing out (I'm looking at you "One4all" vouchers that are a complete scam!), but DM doesn't like to give cash...

Can they be used for part-payment? The most likely scenario is that we'd want to splurge for better seats than her budget would allow but would like to use the tokens towards that. Does that work seemlessly online or would that require extra work like calling up the venue to make bookings?

Or if she ends up being ridiculously generous and we only use up part of the token, can we use the rest for another purchase at a later point?

We're in London, so we're assuming availability of shows should not be an issue, but would be good to know if anyone ever had any problems with this...

Not in London but......

IME, yes, you can use vouchers for part payment of your bill
Yes you can keep the credit for another show.

However my experience is they are a pain and I'd FAR rather have the cash.
I've found not all theatres take them, and I hate ending up with small amounts left in the kitty - not enough to take you to the next show, but as a matter of principle, I hate the fact that the theatres then end up with your "change" if you don't use the full amount.

Would she not be persuaded to give cash if you say it is for a specific show, or specifically to go to the theatre ? Then thank her again when you go, to be really clear you did use it for that.

I had some pre Covid and they were a faff. I hate getting vouchers, cash is so much better. I shop in Lidl and charity shops so even with a voucher I resent paying high street prices. And experience vouchers end up being an expensive day out/weekend away with a ‘free’ bit in the middle.

Can you ask her to give you vouchers that you can use to pay for some of your normal spending and then mentally repurpose the money so you can just pay using card to book the theatre? Stick the value of the voucher in a savings account/bank pot labelled 'theatre voucher'

Eg M&S, John Lewis/Waitrose, Amazon? If you regularly spend there, you'll have no bother using the voucher - just tell her you got a TV, electric toothbrushes, cake mixer or whatever so she gets to indulge in her 'makes no sense but feels right to her' gifting and you don't have the hassle that vouchers introduce.