I'm thinking of offering my partner a gift card in exchange for doing my portion of the project
Isn't it a team project? Do you feel it's best to offer him a gift card?
I think he is able to complete the project on his own.
It seems that you want to get out of doing a project by paying your partner to do the whole thing. You should complete your half of the project to ensure the best possible outcome and grade. It would be unfair to ask your partner to do more work then he should and paying him to do it is insulting.
He might not pull through on time since he is eyeing a bigger paycheck somewhere else.
Don't you value your education and what you spent so far? I believe you should just do your part of the project, because he is not obligated to do everything by himself. You may learn how to cooperate better or learn a lot of new things while doing it!