What to do with unwanted gift cards: 5 real options
Use it, sell it, swap it, give it or donate it — the real options for a gift card you will never use, with the trade-offs of each and the mistakes to avoid.
Almost everyone has one: a card from a birthday, a work raffle, a refund or a returned present, for a shop you never go to. Unwanted gift cards are easy to forget about, and a forgotten card is worth exactly nothing. Here are your real options, roughly in the order worth trying, with the trade-offs of each.
Step zero: find out what you actually have
Before deciding anything, gather the facts. They decide which options are open to you.
- Brand and country. Most cards only work in the country they were issued for. A card from a trip abroad may be useless at home but perfectly sellable.
- Balance. The value printed on it, or what is left if you have used part of it. Many brands show the balance on their website without redeeming the card — but for app-store and gaming cards, entering the code usually is redeeming it, so do not try.
- Expiry and fees. Read the small print. Some cards expire; some charge inactivity fees after a period without use.
- Physical condition. Is the code fully readable? Do you still have the receipt or the original e-mail?
Option 1: use it for something you would buy anyway
If the card is for a shop that sells everyday things — groceries, fuel, household goods, a streaming subscription you already pay for — the best value is usually to spend it on what you were going to buy regardless. You get the full face value, with no deduction.
The trap is spending it on something you do not need just because the card exists. A $50 card spent on $50 of things you did not want is worth less than $45 in your bank account.
Option 2: sell it for money
If you would not spend it at that brand in the next few months, selling it is usually the cleanest answer. On GiftSello the deduction is 10% on most cards and 5% on e-money vouchers, so a $100 card pays $90 (or $95) to your wallet, credited within 24 hours of a complete, eligible submission. You see the exact figure before entering the code, and the rate is locked when you submit.
From the wallet you can withdraw to a bank account or a crypto wallet from $50, or spend the balance on a gift card for a brand you do use, bought at 8% off face value from other sellers. That last option is a neat way to swap a card you do not want for one you do.
Check our rates page for the brands with an instant estimate. Anything else can be submitted for review and is quoted by a person in US dollars — you accept or decline before anything happens.
Option 3: give it to someone who will use it
Re-gifting is perfectly fine if the card is unused and you know someone who shops there. Two things to watch:
- Make sure the card is for the right country for the person you give it to.
- Hand over the card or the original e-mail rather than a photo of the code, and only to someone you know. Once the code is shared, it can be used by whoever has it.
Option 4: donate it
Some charities accept gift cards, either to use directly (supermarket and pharmacy cards are popular with food banks and shelters) or to convert into funds. Ask the charity first; not all of them can take cards. If you would rather donate money, selling the card and donating the payout gives the charity cash they can spend on anything.
Option 5: ask the brand
A few retailers will exchange a card for a different denomination, transfer a balance to a new card, or — in some places and under local consumer law — pay out a small remaining balance in cash. It depends entirely on the brand and the country. It is worth one short e-mail to customer service if the balance is small and the brand is local.
What not to do
- Do not sell to strangers on social media or chat apps who contact you first. Once you send the code, there is no way to make them pay.
- Do not post a photo of the card anywhere, even with the code partly hidden. Partial codes can sometimes be guessed, and a photo invites scam messages.
- Do not "check" app-store or gaming codes by entering them in your own account. That redeems them, and they cannot be sold afterwards.
- Do not wait until the last week before expiry. Verification takes time, and an expired card cannot be paid.
Our guide to gift card scams lists the patterns to recognise.
Which option is right for your card?
| Your situation | Best option |
|---|---|
| You shop at that brand anyway | Use it on normal purchases |
| Wrong country, or a brand you never use | Sell it — or swap it for a brand you use |
| Several small balances | Sell them into one wallet, withdraw once |
| A friend or family member shops there | Give it to them |
| You want it to do good | Donate it, or sell it and donate the money |
| Small leftover balance at a local shop | Ask the brand about a cash-out or transfer |
If you decide to sell
Have the code (and PIN, if there is one) ready, along with the receipt if you have it. Open the sell page, choose the card's country, currency and brand, and read the payout. Popular brands have their own pages with the details to check — Amazon, Apple, Google Play, Steam — and every other brand is in the A–Z directory. For partly used cards, see selling a partial balance.
