So you’ve had a birthday, wedding, promotion, or anything else that leads to the receiving of gifts. Among your pile of newly acquired treasures sit some gift cards for places you know in your heart you’re not going to shop at.
What do you do?
You could sit on it and let the guilt build up until you feel compelled to use it. But there’s also a lot of great options out there for getting rid of unwanted gift cards.
Here are five suggestions.
- Sell it For Cash
You can turn your gift card into straight cash if you wish. The easiest way to do this is to find a website to sell unwanted gift cards.
This page does a great job of explaining the process. You won’t get the total value of the gift card, but you can expect anywhere from 70% upwards.
While you can decide to sell your gift cards privately, using websites specifically designed for it will streamline the whole thing. You’ll also have access to customer service representatives that can help you through the process of swapping your unwanted gift cards for cash.
- Donate Your Unwanted Gift Cards
If you want your gift card to go to a good cause, you can opt to donate it to a charity.
Charities, schools, or churches use gift cards to purchase essential supplies. They also make great prizes for fundraising giveaways like raffle draws. Whatever they use it for, you know the card is going to a good cause.
- Regift
Gift cards make good gifts. That’s why they’re called “gift” cards, and it’s why you were gifted one. If you’re at a loose end for what to do with yours, try regifting it.
The card may not have been suitable for you, but it will probably be of use to someone you know. This option is great because it takes the hassle out of gift shopping, and it can be a great way to cross some names off a Christmas gift list months in advance.
- Use it to Buy Presents
Similarly to regifting the card, you could always use to buy gifts with. Sometimes it can feel awkward or rude to give away a gift card someone else has given you.
If you could buy a present for someone with your unwanted gift card, then everybody wins. It’s a great way of saving money on Christmas or birthday shopping.
- Return to Issuer
You can, in some cases, exchange unwanted gift cards for money with the issuer. This seems like the most straightforward option on the face of it, but it can prove tricky.
A lot of companies simply don’t allow you to return gift cards. Other’s may offer you some cash for it, but it won’t be the total value of the card.
In other cases, you may only be granted store credit in exchange for the card, which leaves you more or less in the same position as when you went in.
You Have Plenty of Options
The key takeaway here is that having an unwanted gift card is no cause for panic. There are plenty of ways to get rid of the cards that benefit you, or others, without offending the person who gave it to you.
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