How to Get the Most Out of Your Gift Cards

Gift cards—once seen mostly as an afterthought gift—have become one of the holiday season’s more-popular presents. But many people don’t get maximum value from them.

Consider Bankrate research that finds the average American with unused gift cards has a balance of $244. That same research, conducted in 2024, indicates that over one-third of Americans have lost money on a gift card by letting it expire (20%), losing the card (17%) or seeing a retailer go out of business before they could redeem a card (12%).

Card and consumer experts say shoppers and retailers have gotten better at using cards as currency, but there is room for improvement. Here are some tips to make the most of them and safeguard against fraud. 

Know the type of card

Cards fall into a few categories: Two of the most common are bank- or credit-card-branded cards, which allow for spending at any businesses that accept cards, and store- or business-specific cards, which are typically good at a single store or chain.

Then there are “choice cards,” says Shelley Hunter, a gift-card expert at eGifter, a gift-card technology company and marketplace. These cards let a recipient decide where to shop from among a cluster of retailers (home-improvement or sports-equipment chains, for example).

Bank-issued or credit card-branded cards are the most flexible, but they may charge “nonuse” or “other “maintenance” fees starting at the one-year mark, which can eat into a gift recipient’s card balance, says Hunter.

For example, a Visa Virtual Gift Card can be used at any U.S. merchant that accepts Visa debit cards. However, the card may begin charging a monthly $4.95 maintenance fee after 12 months of inactivity, depending on state laws. A $25 card that went unused for a year could be wiped out six months into year two.

Store- or business-specific credit cards, such as those for a particular retailer or restaurant, are simple to redeem and rarely charge fees.

A choice card, Hunter says, is essentially a gift card for another gift card. Unlike other cards, the recipient must take a few extra steps: They must choose the retailer at a gift-card portal and convert the choice card to a retailer-specific card, which generally has the benefit of no expiration or inactivity fees.

Register or load your card

After receiving a gift card—assuming you don’t spend it right away—you should record and register your card. This can help you avoid fraud and increase the likelihood you can still use funds if you lose the card.

If criminals can access a gift card’s number and its PIN code, once that card is purchased and “loaded” with funds, they can swiftly drain the balance before the intended recipient gets to shop, says Amy Nofziger, AARP’s director of fraud victim support.

With physical cards, put them in your wallet or photograph them on your mobile phone (both front and back). If you can, register your physical card with the affiliated retailer (such as adding the card to your account “wallet”).

With digital cards, load them to online wallets on your phone or at online shopping sites (such as Amazon or Google) where you will likely see the cards’ availability and reminders to deploy the balance.

Know the expiration details

A 2009 federal law says cards must not expire for five years from the date of issuance, and if charges for inactivity take place they must be disclosed upfront and not charged for at least one year from the card’s issuance. Some states extend additional protections: California, for instance, prohibits inactivity fees altogether. 

Hunter recommends that recipients of cards set calendar alerts to remind them to use cards ahead of an inactivity fee or card expiration date. 

Many gift cards, especially bank or credit card-issued cards, have a “valid thru” date, at which time the card (but not necessarily the balance on it) expires. This date may also indicate the time at which the card starts to charge nonactivity fees. 

If you don’t use the card by this date, you may need to request a replacement card (or codes) to use the funds. 

Don’t waste the change

While surveys find that many gift-card recipients spend 30% to 40% above the card amount in efforts to “use the full card,” and pay any difference out of pocket, some consumers leave a small balance when shopping that will often go to waste. 

To counter this waste, in more than a dozen states you can “demand the change,” Hunter notes. For instance, in some states if you received a $100 gift card, and spent $93 of it, you can ask for the remaining $7 back as cash. State maximums vary, topping out at $9.99 in California (where cash-back limits are slated to rise to $15 in April 2026).

Another way to manage leftover funds: You can donate small balances to organizations such as GiftCards4Change.org, which directs the funds toward efforts to address a variety of causes.

Jane Hodges is a freelance writer in Seattle. She can be reached at reports@wsj.com.