Reminder to Use Gift Cards. $8 billion unused a year.

$8 billion dollars a year in unused Gift Cards!

Remember to use the Holiday Gift Cards you recieved

It is an incredible number, but each year more than $8 billion goes unused on gift card balances. While this would seem to be a plus for the merchants, it is actually very troublesome for their book keeping as well. The goal of GiftCertificateGuide is to simply encourage poeple to use the card balances fully. It has been well documented that the sooner the card is used after reciept the more likely that the full balance will be redeemed.

To help get the gift cards fully spent do some online research before entering a store to use them. Or better yet, simply make the purchases online. The biggest merchants including apple, urban outfitters, kiehls, nordstrom and more all allow for their gift cards to be used both online and in the retail stores. Also, be very aware of the terms of the cards. Some of the bank related pre-paid cards have either and expiration date or a fee they charge after a number of monhts. Waiting on gift cards simply increases the chances that they will not be used.

Lastly, if you can tell that you most likley will not use the gift card you recieved then at least donate it. Giving a gift card to a charity can be extremely helpful to them and will allow you to avoid wasting the gift.