Yet another holiday season has passed and many Americans have a new stack of gift cards to spend during post-holiday sales or throughout the year. For 2021, the average shopper spent about $200 on gift cards over the holiday season. that’s roughly a  five percent increase from 2020.

But what do you do with all those gift cards? Read on to find out:

Gift Card Basics

According to a Ben’s Bargains Gift Card Study of approximately 2,300 online shoppers, over 70 percent of the respondents received at least one gift card during the holiday season. In addition, more than a third of respondents received three or more gift cards during the holiday season.

After you receive a gift card, there are a number of simple steps you should take in order to properly manage your newly received gift.

1. Make a copy. If you are prone to misplacing gift cards, make a copy if you have a scanner / printer. If you do not have that hardware on hand, simply write down the gift card number and issuer’s toll-free number on a piece of paper. You could also take a photo of the card if you have a digital camera or smartphone. If for any reason that the card is lost, you will have a record in order to complete a purchase.
2. Read the terms and conditions. Not always found on the actual gift card, the terms and conditions outline restrictions, usage fees, expiration dates and time decay rate on the card. While many major retailers are lenient on these restrictions, major issuers of cash cards (American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa) can charge a fee for use after an expiration date on the actual card.
3. Check the balance before going shopping. The vast majority of retailers have online tools that allow gift card owners to check the balance of their card. In addition, the company will include a toll free number to check the same information. I like to check balances every few months, mostly because it acts as a reminder to utilize the card for purchases.

Managing Several Gift Cards

Another interesting fact from our recent study: over 45 percent of the respondents have lost a gift card at least once and nearly one fourth of all respondents have lost gift cards on multiple occasions. Regarding monetary value, approximately 40 percent of the respondents received gift cards this year totaling at least $100 and 10 percent breaking $250 in total value.

With such a large volume of cards being given each year, here are a few tips to help you better manage large quantities of gift cards:

1. Register your gift card. Usually a feature found on an online retail site, you can log into your account and apply the gift card immediately instead of waiting for a purchase. This is an ideal way to get the gift card ready for use without actually using it. If the card is limited to a brick & mortar location, it’s possible that the retailer could still allow you to register the card in case of theft or loss.
2. Turn multiple cards into one card. Some retailers offer gift card transfer options, specifically those that are limited to brick & mortar locations like restaurants. Starbucks, for instance, will allow you to transfer balances between gift cards as long as you have the gift card number and the security number (usually has to be scratched to be viewed). This is ideal if you received multiple gift cards for the same store, but don’t want to carry around all of them.
3. Look into smartphone app storage. There is an app available for both iOS and Android called Gyft. This application will allow you to store all your gift cards in one place, your smartphone. Rather than carrying all those cards around in your wallet or purse, the card information will be brought up on screen for use in a store. In turn, cards uploaded to Gyft can be added to Apple’s Passbook application for easy access with other cards like rewards cards.

What to do with Unwanted Gift Cards

When we asked our users about what gifts they dislike receiving each year, over 20 percent of respondents said that they do not like receiving gift cards. It’s likely that some people simply don’t like the impersonal nature of gift cards and others aren’t interested in the retailer. Of course, there are plenty of ways to get rid of gift cards in order to get something you actually want. Here are some ideas:

1. Sell your gift cards. In addition to auction sites like eBay, there are sites specifically dedicated to purchasing gift cards and are somewhat easier to deal with than the auction process. Utilizing sites like Raise and GiftCardGranny, you can sell your gift card for 50 to 90 percent of the total gift card value very quickly. People that use these services are typically paid cash through a Paypal transaction. However, be aware that eBay auctions are typically between 80 to 95 percent of the value of the card, but you will have to deal with additional eBay fees.
2. Donate your gift cards. If you simply don’t need the gift cards or the cash value, consider donating the cards through a service like DonorsChoose or your favorite local charity. Many nonprofits will accept gift cards in order to pay for needed items, like clothing or food for a homeless shelter. Think of it as a more honorable form of regifting. These donations are also tax-deductible, assuming you itemize those deductions during tax time.
3. Convert your gift cards. Interestingly, some retail establishments will allow you to convert your unwanted gift cards into reward points, airline miles or other gift cards. For instance, CVS allows you to convert another retailer’s gift card into a CVS gift card. The same goes for United airline miles and Best Buy reward points. If you received one of those prepaid Visa or MasterCard gift cards, a Reddit user discovered you can convert it into Google Wallet funds and use a physical Google Wallet card to withdraw those funds from an ATM.

The Complete Guide for Managing Your Gift Cards (so you don’t lose them)

Do you have a Visa gift card from last year that has a remaining balance of $2.73?  Did your great Aunt Erma send you a gift card for the Old Country Buffet? Did you receive yet another $5 Starbucks gift card that’s probably going to get lost before you spend it? Did you receive a gift card for a retailer that’s an hour drive away and doesn’t have an online site?

Fear not, you can convert those gift cards into something you can actually use; cash or perhaps something as good as cash, an Amazon gift card. Here are a number of options to convert your unwanted gift cards:

Option 1: Turn your Visa gift card into an Amazon gift card.

Particularly useful when you have a few Visa / Mastercard / AMEX / Discover gift cards with a few bucks left on each, converting these will let you bank all the balances on your Amazon account.

1. Log into your Amazon account, go to your account page and add your gift card as a payment option.
2. Check your remaining balance on the card (either online or via phone), then go to an Amazon eGift card page. Set the remaining amount as the eGift card’s value and put your own email address in as the recipient.
3. Go back to your Account page, click Gift Cards and apply the gift card code (received via email) to your balance.

Option 2: Sell your gift card on a 3rd party gift card site.

There are a number of these types of sites, CardPool, CardCash, Raise, etc… Ultimately, you are going to take a percentage hit when selling the card, but you will have something more valuable if you weren’t planning on using the card in the first place.

Here are some examples with a $50 Best Buy card (as of 12/26/19):

• Cardpool: Offers a check for $40.00 or an Amazon gift card for $42.50. (You also have the option of selling the gift card on the marketplace for a slightly higher rate, but it will take longer).
• CardCash: Offers a check / direct deposit / Paypal for $43.50 or an Amazon gift card for $45.02.
• Raise: Offers payout via check / direct deposit / Paypal for $41.56. (This is paid out when the card sells on the site. It will sell faster based on your price, but your payout could drop.)

Payment values will vary based on the popularity of the retailer. eBay is also an option, however gift cards typically sell up to 20% off the original value, then you also take a hit on eBay fees and potentially PayPal fees.

Option 3: Use a Gift Card Exchange forum

The most popular one of these is probably the sub-Reddit, r/giftcardexchange/. You do have you educate yourself on rules of trading and make sure you are trading with a legit person. Another good trading forum is CheapAssGamer; great for video game related trades as well as gift cards.

Option 4: Donate your Gift Cards

Some charities will allow you to donate gift cards, regardless of the size of the balance. You can claim it as a charitable contribution at tax time, assuming you itemize.  Check with your local charity to see if this is an option.

Option 5: Sell your gift card using Craigslist / Facebook Groups

While meeting in-person to sell a gift card isn’t the easiest option, you can typically get a good return. Make sure you meet in a public place and have access to Wi-Fi / LTE service to verify the balance of the card for them. It’s an easy way to make quick cash (without getting hit up by online fees) or barter a trade for another item.

How to convert gift cards you don’t want into cash / Amazon gift cards

Think back to the holiday season. (We know, it’s tough to remember what happened four days ago, let alone four-plus months ago, but just try.) You probably were thankful for receiving many excellent gifts, perhaps including some gift cards. Sure, you don’t normally shop at the House of Prune Juice, but after receiving a gift card, you figured you’d check it out.

All this time later, that same gift card is still in your wallet because you never had a hankering for prune juice. And at this point, you probably never will. Don’t worry. Those unwanted gift cards may be worthless to you, but they aren’t to someone else, and they’ll pay cash for them. We guarantee that cash won’t live in your wallet for four-plus months without being used. Keep reading to find our best ideas for how to sell your gift cards for cash!

Realistic Expectations

We do have to include a disclaimer here: Chances are not great that you’ll receive face value in cash for your unwanted gift cards. Depending on the demand for a particular brand of card, you could receive far less than face value actually.

So you’ll have to decide at what percentage of face value you’re willing to sell the gift card before you start the process.

Additionally, you can sell a card that you’ve partially used, but most re-sellers that purchase gift cards require that you have at least a $20 balance on the card.

Why Can’t I Receive Face Value?

Remember that if you’re selling an unwanted gift card, the gift card re-seller has to have the ability to re-sell the card at a profit. So the margin for the retailer occurs in the difference between the value for which it purchases your card versus the amount it can sell the card. Re-sellers wouldn’t make any profit if they pay you full value for the gift card.

Additionally, some cards are in greater demand among buyers than others, so more popular cards will be more valuable when you sell them. And some gift card re-sellers may have a temporary oversupply of cards from a particular company, meaning they’ll pay you less if you’re selling that type of card at the wrong time.

If you sell the card to another person, rather than at a retail re-seller, you may receive closer to face value — or even face value — for your gift cards. But you do have the hassle of taking the time to find a buyer … and even then, you’re not guaranteed to receive face value.

So the fastest and easiest method to sell an unwanted gift card is to go to one of the gift card re-sellers listed below, but don’t expect to receive face value.

Cardpool

With the Cardpool service, you have multiple options for exchanging your gift cards for cash. Cardpool partners with stores and kiosks in your local area to purchase gift cards. This is the fastest way to exchange a gift card. (If you’ve used Coinstar Exchange kiosks to sell cards in the past, Cardpool now owns these kiosks.)

The Cardpool web site offers the ability to search by postal code for locations near you. You will need an ID to make the exchange.

You also can use Cardpool to perform an exchange remotely over the Internet. Just enter the gift card retailer and the amount remaining on the card, and you’ll see a payout amount that you can choose whether to accept. You will have to mail the gift card before receiving your payment.

GiftCardBin

GiftCardBin is a service that partners with businesses in your local area — usually payday loan stores and pawn shops. You then can sell your gift cards at those locations. Just visit the GiftCardBin web site where you can search for a location via postal code.

You also can sell your gift cards online through the GiftCardBin web site. But you will have to mail the physical gift card before you can receive your payment.

Check Into Cash

This is a payday loan store that also will purchase gift cards in person. Visit the Check Into Cash web site to find a location near you. You cannot sell your gift cards remotely through the Internet with this service.

Card Cash and Gift Card Zen

The Card Cash web site and the Gift Card Zen web site are two more options for selling the cards online. Neither site has an option for selling the cards in person, though.

Local Check Cashing Stores

If you don’t have one of the stores listed above in your area, it’s worth checking with any locally or regionally owned check cashing, pawn shop, and payday loan types of stores to see if they’d be interested in purchasing your unwanted gift cards.

Sell It on Your Own

There are many options for selling an unwanted gift card yourself. A popular option is eBay. If you’re looking more for a site that focuses only on gift cards, the Raise web site is an option. At Raise, you just set the card’s price and then wait for it to sell.

You always can try to sell it through a Craigslist ad too. Or if you don’t mind trying to sell face to face, visit the store that issued the gift card and ask people there if they would like to buy it. Because the people there already like the store, they’d be good candidates to buy the card. Just make sure your sales pitch is on point!

Still Carrying Holiday Gift Cards? Here’s How to Sell Your Gift Cards for Cash