Some issuers of Visa (NYSE: V) gift cards and American Express (NYSE: AXP) are pulling out the stops for last minute holiday shoppers. Some issuers are providing no fee Visa gift cards with free shipping. American Express just announced free second day shipping (up to December 20, 2009) in addition to their no fee American Express gift card deal.

Here are details about two ways to get no fee, network-branded gift cards this season. A network-branded gift card is a gift card that can be used at any merchant within a network – American Express gift cards can be used at any merchant that accepts American Express, and Visa gift cards can be used at any merchant that accepts Visa.

No Fee Visa Gift Cards

First, the folks at GiftCards .com are offering a number of features for purchasers of Visa gift cards, including no fees, free shipping, the ability to customize a card with your picture, and a free holiday card. Check out the details of the offer from GiftCards .com here. There may be other issuers and merchants that offer Visa gift cards with no fees, but we like the added features of the cards from GiftCards .com.

No Fee American Express Gift Cards

Next, American Express® Gift Cards provides a number of discounts and benefits for all purchases of American Express gift cards. From time to time, before big holidays (like Christmas, Mother’s Day, etc), American Express gift cards can be purchased with discounts like free second day shipping offer, etc. These features, combined with American Express’ no fee gift card policy make giving American Express gift cards a no-brainer for business and personal gifts this season.