As an alternative to debit cards, credit cards and cash, online gift cards and physical gift cards provide a convenient method of payment in several denominations. In case you have received one or bought one yourself, you may have been wondering when does your gift card expire or if it is valid or not. Federal and state laws impact if and when your card expires, and retailers can provide additional leniency. You will generally find the information on the gift card, however you can also check the website of the issuer or call them. Here is how to know if the gift card is valid:
Depends on the Laws
As per the federal and state laws, you can expect most types of gift cards to be protected and do not expire for at least 5 years. At the same time, some laws prohibit issuers from minimizing the balance of your gift card through service fees for inactivity as long as you can’t let the card sit dormant for one year. Also, the issuer has to make it quite clear such fees apply.
The laws of your state have an impact on the validity of your gift card as well. For instance, some laws state that they don’t allow most gift cards to expire. Therefore, you can often redeem a gift card anytime. But, bank gift cards fall back to the five year rule. On the other hand, a few laws may stick with the 5 year rule of expiration date. However, a few specific terms can apply to a few gift certificates and employer-given gift cards.
Gift Cards Through Retailers
In case you have a gift card, you can expect the gift card to remain valid at least through the required period under state or federal laws in your location. However, several retailers now don’t set an expiry date for these cards. For instance, the Amazon website says that the balance of your Amazon gift cards never expires, while Walmaryt says a similar thing for its physical and electronic gift cards. The same can be true for Netflix subscriptions.
In case you have a physical gift card, you can read the back of the card to see any terms on expiration along with associated inactivity fees. You can also look at the gift card section of the retailer website which may be in FAQs form, to check if any expiration date applies to your gift card. You may also contact the number on the back of your card or the website of the issuer, give your card information and learn if the card is valid.
In case you have a bank gift card associated with the credit card payment network like Mastercard, American express or Visa card, you may notice the card will have a good thru date on the front under the gift card number. If you want to sell gift cards in Nigeria, contact GC Buying. GC Buying lets you sell gift cards for cash.
