Americans are expected to spend nearly $30 billion on gift cards this holiday, according to the National Retail Federation. Most will be redeemed.

Gift cards make great stocking stuffers — just as long as you don’t stuff them in a drawer and forget about them after the holidays.

Americans are expected to spend nearly $30 billion on gift cards this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. Restaurant gift cards are the most popular, making up one-third of those sales.

Most of those gift cards will be redeemed. Paytronix, which tracks restaurant gift card sales, says around 70% of gift cards are used within six months.

But many cards — tens of billions of dollars’ worth — wind up forgotten or otherwise unused. That’s when the life of a gift card gets more complicated, with expiration dates or inactivity fees that can vary by state.

  • 9point6@lemmy.world
    342·
    11 months ago

    Holy shit the US has some consumer protection we don’t have over here (at least in the UK)

    A legally enforceable 5y minimum expiration for a gift card is a fucking great idea.

    • EmergMemeHologram@startrek.website
      192·
      11 months ago

      Realistically they get really fucking annoying to keep on your books longer than that anyways.

      You’ve got this weird accumulating liability account just sitting there until they expire or you can write them off.

      • 9point6@lemmy.world
        81·
        11 months ago

        For sure, but I had an “expires in 6 months” gift card for a restaurant over here a year ago. Could have done with not feeling forced to squeeze it in-between existing plans

        • EmergMemeHologram@startrek.website
          3·
          11 months ago

          That’s short.

          Starbucks stars have actually got me to stop buying their product. I get an email saying my stars expire, but not how many, after 12 months and gave up on it

        • Wahots@pawb.social
          2·
          11 months ago

          Six months seems downright criminal, especially if it’s to a small restaurant. Two years should be the absolute minimum.

    • Slowy@lemmy.world
      17·
      11 months ago

      In Canada they never expire unless the store goes out of business. There’s a few exceptions for things that are services rather than freely spent balance but yeah, to me it seems unfair that they would be able to just absorb that money.

    • RBG@discuss.tchncs.de
      1·
      11 months ago

      Uhm, don’t have a concrete source here but AFAIK in the EU gift cards that have been bought by paying money into them are not allowed to expire, and I would have thought the UK has similar laws.

      Coupons from magazines are not something anyone spent money on so they can have expiry dates.