Sell a gift card you won’t use on a gift card resale site, trade it there for one you will use, or give it to someone who shops at that store. If only a few dollars are left, more than a dozen states make the store pay them out in cash when you ask.
Every month you hold on to a card you won’t use, you risk losing some or all of it. A forgotten card never gets spent, some cards can start charging inactivity fees after a year unused, and a store that closes can leave the balance worthless.
You can get the value out of a card without shopping somewhere you never go. Gift card resale sites buy cards for cash.
CardCash, for one, pays up to 92% of a card’s value and quotes an offer for yours on its sell page. At an 80% offer, a $50 card brings $40 you can spend anywhere. CardCash usually sends payment within two days of approving a sale, by check, bank transfer, or PayPal, and it asks for a credit card, not a debit card, to verify each sale. It also lets you trade a card for one from another store, and it says trading gets you the most for a card.
Check the balance first, on the store’s website or at its register, so you know what you’re selling. Compare offers from two or three resale sites before you sell, since each one sets its own price. To give the card away instead, hand it to someone who shops there or donate it to a charity that takes gift cards.
A few dollars left on a card are worth using, too. Use the card first at checkout and pay the rest with cash or another card.
Or ask for the cash. More than a dozen states make the store pay out a small balance on request. California’s law requires it for any balance under $15, and Washington’s law for less than $5 left after a purchase.
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