@dafizisblue should be able to shop how he/she wants even if it doesn't make sense to others.
I'm curious about this "policy." Is it based on logic or emotion? @dafizisblue are you willing to explain the reason you despise purchasing gift cards so much?
I can think of a chicken fast food shop in Southern California that caters mostly to Hispanics and it's NOT the 3 letter crazy chicken place. This place is Guatemalan-origin. Anyways, the shops do not require you to buy a GC while on the shop, but they have multiple scenarios for their shops. Besides the walk-in/dine-in, they have drive-thru. Then they also want people to pay with a GC because they are testing their employees to see if they can redeem it. So if you assign a scenario that requires GC purchase, you purchase the GC ahead of time and use it on your shop as the form of payment.
Going back to your shop, If you are getting reimbursed for the gift card anyways, why not hand it to another customer and tell them here's something for your next visit. It shouldn't really make a difference.