Native BTC payments vs gift car middlemen, Are we adding unnecessary friction?

A lot of people say I spend my Bitcoin, but often that means buying a gift card through a third party and using that at a retailer. Gift cards are a useful workaround, but they also introduce some problems. You often pay extra fees or premiums on top of the actual value, deal with managing codes, balances, and different accounts, and give more personal information to platforms that track your activity.

If Bitcoin is going to work as money, direct merchant adoption matters. Paying businesses directly removes unnecessary layers and keeps more value inside the actual transaction.

What are some real world services you use that accept BTC directly instead of relying on gift card platforms?