The Quick Answer
Plastic postcards are generally the better choice when the goal is to drive redemptions, reactivate customers, and improve campaign ROI. Their durability and gift-card-like presentation help offers stand out and stay with recipients. Traditional paper postcards cost less per piece and make sense for notices, announcements, and mailings where generating a response is not the primary goal.
Both formats can include detachable, wallet-friendly offers, including plastic-free paper options such as AcclaimLite™. Choose based on the cost of generating a customer or redemption, not simply the cost of mailing a postcard.
Key Takeaways
- Plastic postcards provide durability and a gift-card-like presentation for offers designed to be kept.
- Traditional paper postcards cost less per piece and suit notices, brief announcements, and economical reach.
- Both formats can include detachable, wallet-friendly offers.
- Compare cost per acquisition and ROI, not just printing costs.
What Are Plastic and Paper Postcards?
Plastic Postcards
Plastic postcards, sometimes referred to as gift card mailers, are made from paper stock protected by a durable plastic laminate on both sides. This construction provides greater resistance to moisture, tearing, and everyday handling than conventional paper postcards. They can feature a gift-card-like feel, detachable offers, custom shapes, and personalized printing. A landfill-biodegradable option is available with NVIO™.
Options can include detachable cards, key tags, rounded corners, scratch-off panels, personalized offers, and custom shapes for both the postcards and break-off cards.
Paper Postcards
Paper postcards use cardstock, a heavier paper available in different weights, sizes, and finishes. Options include gloss, matte, recycled stocks, and UV coating, a surface treatment cured with ultraviolet light.
Standard paper formats generally require fewer production steps than laminated, die-cut mailers. Turnaround depends on stock availability, quantity, finishing, and scheduling.
Both formats can travel through the US mail. Finished specifications and mailing preparation determine postal eligibility.
Key Differences: Plastic vs. Paper Postcards
| Factor | Plastic postcards | Paper postcards |
| Cost per piece | Generally higher | Generally lower |
| Durability | Strong tear and moisture resistance | Susceptible to tears, creases, scuffing, and print smudging |
| Presentation | Substantial, often gift-card-like | Familiar, with varied finishes |
| Retention | Durable cards support wallet carry | Limited unless equipped with detachable paper cards |
| Production | Lamination and finishing add steps | Standard formats require fewer steps |
| Customization | Break-offs, custom shapes, personalization | Standard sizes, finishes, and personalization; custom-shaped break-off offers with AcclaimLite™ |
| Postage | Finished specifications determine eligibility | Finished specifications determine eligibility |
| Sustainability | Material and disposal options vary | Recycled stocks available; recycling rules vary |
| Best applications | Customer acquisition, loyalty, reactivation, valuable offers | Notices, brief announcements, economical reach |
Benefits of Plastic Postcards
Plastic postcards stand out among the sea of ordinary mail. Their distinctive appearance, substantial gift-card-like feel, and durable laminated construction make them harder to overlook. The laminate also provides greater resistance to moisture, tearing, and everyday handling than unprotected cardstock, helping the mailpiece arrive looking clean and professional.
A wallet-friendly detachable card gives the offer a practical place to stay. Custom shapes can reinforce a brand or promotion while encouraging recipients to handle and remove the card.
SSI Cards’ AcclaimMailer™ combines polyester-laminated construction with durable break-off cards designed to mimic the look and feel of gift cards. Options include multiple offers, custom shapes, variable messaging, and tracking features.
Burger Shack’s AcclaimMailer™ features a custom milkshake-shaped break-off offer.
These formats are sometimes called gift card mailers because the detachable cards can resemble gift cards in size, appearance, and feel. Depending on the campaign, a card may feature a dollar-value offer, coupon, referral incentive, or membership promotion. Unlike stored-value gift cards, these promotional cards do not carry a loaded balance.
Benefits of Paper Postcards
Paper provides lower initial costs, familiar presentation, and straightforward production.
Traditional paper postcards work well for municipal notices, utility announcements, event reminders, and information that does not need extended retention. Gloss, matte, and recycled stocks provide choices for different budgets and brand requirements.
Paper can also support wallet retention. AcclaimLite™ uses substantial paper construction with detachable, wallet-friendly offers and no plastic. It provides an alternative when a campaign needs retained offers but requires a paper format.
AcclaimLite™ provides detachable, wallet-friendly offers in a plastic-free paper format.
SSI Cards also produces traditional gloss and matte postcards on multiple stocks, including recycled paper.
Comparing Postcard Costs and Cost per Redemption
Mailing more postcards does not necessarily generate more business. The better comparison is how much each redemption costs, not simply the cost per piece.
For example, 10,000 paper postcards at 5% redemption generate 500 redemptions. With the same budget, 7,500 AcclaimMailer postcards at 7% generate 525. Although the campaign reaches fewer households, it produces more redemptions and a lower cost per redemption.
See how 7,500 AcclaimMailer plastic postcards can outperform 10,000 paper postcards for a closer look at the numbers.
Want to compare formats within your budget? Request a Quote for your next campaign.
Postage: EDDM Is Not Just for Paper
Postal eligibility depends on the finished mailpiece and mailing preparation.
Size, thickness, weight, flexibility, and address placement matter. Machinability means whether a piece meets requirements for automated postal processing. Review USPS mail-type guidance and confirm production specifications against current USPS physical standards before printing.
Every Door Direct Mail, or EDDM, reaches addresses along selected carrier routes without an individual customer list. AcclaimMailer™ can be produced to meet EDDM requirements, combining a distinctive plastic mailpiece with neighborhood saturation mailing. SSI Cards also evaluates addressed saturation mailing, which reaches most addresses on selected routes, and reports postage within 2-3 cents per piece of EDDM for qualifying campaigns.
For businesses targeting an area around a location, compare complete campaign economics rather than assuming the lowest postage produces the best ROI.
ANA Direct Mail ROI Figures
The Association of National Advertisers’ 2023 Response Rate Report (if you’re not a member, signing up is free), published in February 2024, reported average direct mail ROI of:
- 161% for house lists, meaning an organization’s own customer or contact lists. “Despite incurring 4 postal rate increases over the last two years, the highest ROI for individual media was direct mail (sent to house lists) 161%.”
- 34% for prospect lists used to reach potential new customers.
These reported results cover direct mail broadly, not plastic postcards specifically, and are not a forecast for an individual campaign. They provide useful context for the importance of audience selection.
Why Physical Engagement Matters
The USPS Office of Inspector General’s research with Temple University found that participants spent more time with physical advertising, experienced stronger emotional responses, and remembered it better than digital advertising.
These findings help explain the value of physical mail. AcclaimMailer builds on that tangible experience by giving recipients something to handle, detach, carry, and revisit. Wallet-friendly offers keep the promotion available until use.
SSI Cards Case Studies
The AcclaimMailer™ page features additional campaign results, redemption statistics, and customer examples. Two campaigns illustrate how retained offers can generate measurable results:
- A grocer campaign has averaged 25% redemption over five years against a 10% goal. It used an 8.5-by-5.5-inch AcclaimMailer™ plastic postcard with a $20-off-$50 offer for selected loyalty customers, including declining and lost shoppers.
- A 40-location car wash campaign generated 16,505 redemptions, 1,129 new memberships, and 453% realized ROI over four months. Its custom race car-shaped break-off offer continued generating redemptions months after delivery.
A custom race-car-shaped break-off offer from the car wash campaign described above.
When to Choose Each Format
Choose Plastic to Drive Redemptions and ROI
Durable postcards fit:
- Customer reactivation and loyalty enrollment.
- High-value dental, automotive, and home-service offers.
- Restaurant, retail, and membership promotions.
- Reference pieces such as service schedules and VIP benefits.
- Competitive markets where distinctive presentation matters.
Choose Paper for Economical Information Delivery
Traditional paper fits:
- Municipal notices and utility announcements.
- Brief event promotions and recurring reminders.
- Campaigns prioritizing maximum reach within a fixed budget.
For campaigns that need wallet-friendly, detachable offers without plastic, AcclaimLite™ provides a substantial paper cardstock option. For customers who prefer a landfill-biodegradable laminated format, NVIO™ also offers durable, wallet-friendly break-off cards.
Not sure which fits your campaign? Ask SSI Cards to compare postcard options based on your audience, offer, and budget.
Sustainability: Understand the Material
Paper offers recycled-content options and established recycling pathways. Local acceptance rules and coatings or laminates still matter. Recycling options for laminated plastic mailers are generally more limited.
SSI Cards’ laminated postcards use polymers containing zero PVC. This distinction also applies to its NVIO™ laminated postcards, Teslin cards, gift cards, key tags, and badges.
NVIO™ offers landfill-biodegradable plastic postcards with optional customizable break-off cards. Its biodegradation performance has been tested using ASTM D5511-18, with actual rates dependent on landfill conditions.
NVIO™ offers a landfill-biodegradable laminated postcard option with detachable, wallet-friendly cards.
Common Mistakes When Choosing Postcards
- Using an outdated or poorly targeted mailing list. Ordering a mailing online does not mean the list has been reviewed for accuracy or fit. Bad addresses and the wrong audience waste printing and postage dollars before the offer has a chance to work.
- Comparing printing prices instead of total campaign costs and ROI.
- Choosing a format without considering the offer or campaign goal.
- Printing before confirming mailing requirements and postage.
- Sending an unclear offer or leaving out a clear next step.
- Assuming which format works best without testing.
How to Test Plastic vs. Paper Postcards
Send the same offer to comparable groups from your mailing list, using paper postcards for one group and AcclaimMailer™ for the other.
- Keep the message and mailing dates consistent.
- Use a different offer code or tracking method for each format.
- Compare redemptions, cost per customer, and ROI.
- Allow time for recipients to use offers they have kept.
For a practical budget comparison, give each format the same total budget, including printing and postage. Measure which generates more business, not which mails more pieces.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are plastic postcards better than paper postcards?
Plastic postcards are generally the better choice for driving redemptions, reactivating customers, and encouraging repeat business. Their durable construction and gift-card-like presentation help offers stand out and stay with recipients. Traditional paper postcards cost less per piece and work well for notices and announcements. AcclaimLite™ offers a paper cardstock alternative with detachable, wallet-friendly offers.
How much more do plastic postcards cost?
Pricing depends on quantity, size, construction, and finishing. As a general guide, the same budget buys about three AcclaimMailer™ postcards for every four traditional paper postcards. Higher redemption rates can offset that difference and deliver a better campaign ROI.
Do plastic postcards get better response rates?
Based on SSI Cards’ customer results, AcclaimMailer™ generally generates higher response and redemption rates than traditional paper postcards. Its gift-card-like presentation helps attract attention, while durable, wallet-friendly break-off offers keep the promotion handy until recipients are ready to use it.
Can plastic postcards be mailed using EDDM?
Yes. Plastic postcards can qualify for USPS Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) when they meet the applicable size, weight, and preparation requirements. They can be produced to meet EDDM’s minimum size requirements, allowing businesses to combine a distinctive plastic mailpiece with neighborhood saturation mailing.
Do plastic postcards help customers keep an offer longer?
AcclaimMailer™ gives recipients durable, wallet-friendly break-off cards they can carry until they’re ready to use the offer. Instead of leaving the entire postcard at home, customers can keep the promotion handy for a future visit, extending its usefulness beyond the initial mailing.
Are plastic postcards recyclable?
Recycling options depend on the construction and available facilities. Check local acceptance requirements for the specific material. For customers seeking a landfill-biodegradable alternative, SSI Cards offers NVIO™ postcards.
What businesses and organizations benefit most from plastic postcards?
Plastic postcards are a strong fit for local marketing and business-to-consumer (B2C) campaigns across retail, restaurants and hospitality, automotive, healthcare, fitness and wellness, professional and home services, and cannabis dispensaries. Nonprofits, fundraising programs, and membership organizations also use them to drive participation, donations, enrollment, and renewals.
They are especially effective for customer acquisition, reactivation, loyalty, and repeat business. Their distinctive presentation attracts attention, while durable, wallet-friendly offers keep the promotion handy until recipients are ready to visit, book, buy, or contribute.
Can you add a detachable card to a plastic postcard?
Yes. AcclaimMailer™ supports durable break-off cards and custom shapes. Paper postcards can also include detachable offers through formats such as AcclaimLite™.
How do I test plastic postcards against paper postcards?
Send comparable audience groups the same offer in each format. Use distinct tracking codes and compare acquisition costs, redemptions, and ROI.
Choosing the Right Postcard for Your Campaign
SSI Cards manufactures plastic and paper direct mail postcards, including AcclaimMailer™, AcclaimLite™, and NVIO™ options. With in-house printing, card manufacturing, personalization, and mailing capabilities, SSI Cards can help you select the right format for your campaign.
Request a direct mail quote to discuss your next campaign.
By Sean Goade
Executive VP | SSI Cards Marketing & Direct Mail
About the Author
Sean Goade specializes in helping businesses and membership organizations leverage high-impact direct mail, membership cards, gift cards, loyalty cards and key tags, and personalized marketing solutions to support engagement, retention, and growth.