Gift Cards are an easy gift to give --- but often forgotten. Have you used those birthday or Christmas gifts cards yet? You probably have at least one or two unused gift cards stored away that you may never use. CreditCards.Com's Ted Rossman says you're not alone. "Orr survey found that nationwide there's about $21 billion worth of unused gift cards out there. I know that Starbucks is said to have about $1billion so far unused." He says there are lot excuses for not using them - from "I don't like that store or restaurant" to "I don't know where I put it." Rossman says, remember that you're losing money every day they are not used. They don't collect interest, and with current inflation - they lose value every day....and some expire!
Is Re-Gifting Tacky --- or Not So Bad?!?
On average each American has $175 in unspent gift cards or the like. And millennials are the worst offenders. Rossman continues: "We found that 52% of millennials have unused gift cards. The average to theirs is worth $226 a piece!" Rossman says their survey discovered almost half of Americans have at least one unused card. He again urges you to use them now because the longer they stay in the drawer, the less likely you are to use them and their value goes down due to inflation.
You could re-gift it
You could use a restaurant card to take yourself out to lunch.
You could take a friend to lunch.
You could see if the card has an optional location use.
You could check out a Gift Card Resale site and at least get back part of its value.
image:GettyImages
Too many gift cards go unused.Photo: Getty Images