What to do with those unwanted gift cards

With gift cards at the top of holiday shopping lists, you might find yourself getting one. But what do you do with that collection of cards? What about the ones that you don’t want?

You could have exchanged them for half of their face value at Money Mart, a practice that the payday lender reportedly suspended this month after Ontario politicians decried it as “highway robbery.”

Regardless, you do have options. ❚ You could just use them. Aside from telling your family and friends that you’re a “cash only” enterprise, you probably can’t avoid getting one.

More than half of Canadian consumers said they’re giving gift cards to loved ones over the holidays, a survey from Accenture, a management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company revealed. On top of that, 73% of Canadian employers polled by Berkeley Payment Solutions said it gives gift cards to workers as incentives.

Frugal gift givers often redeem loyalty points for gift cards or buy discounted gift cards. (For example, pharmacy company Rexall recently ran a promotion in which it offered $5 off the purchase of a $50 Canadian Tire gift card).

If you intend on redeeming them, place them somewhere accessible or you’ll lose or forget about them.

In Canada, it is illegal for cards to expire but some provinces allow inactivity or dormancy fees on shopping mall cards. In Ontario and British Columbia, a dormancy fee can be levied after 15 months to a maximum of $2.50 per month. In Manitoba, it’s 12 months; 18 in New Brunswick. (In some cases, you can request a threemonth extension before dormancy fees are applied.)

However, some cards, such as promotional gift cards given for free or prepaid credit cards, do expire.

Survey respondents told Berkeley Payment Solutions they prefer prepaid credit cards to retail gift cards. But prepaid cards have activation, service, AT M, foreign exchange and reload fees. The Vanilla Prepaid MasterCard, for example, charges an activation fee that rises from $3.95 for a $25 card to $6.95 for a $200 card. The PayPower Visa card charges a monthly maintenance fee of $4.95 and an AT M withdrawal fee of $1.95. ❚ If you receive gift cards and you don’t want them (and you can’t re-gift them), sell or trade them. You can try finding a buyer on eBay, Kijiji, Craigslist or discount forums such as RedFlagDeals.com. (Use caution when buying cards from strangers; make sure the scratch-off surface on the back of the card does not reveal the card’s PIN.)

Another avenue for selling gift cards for cash is using CardSwap.ca, the largest online service of its kind in Canada, which pays up to 92% of the card’s face value. You’ll get the most cash back for gas and grocery chain gift cards.

“Everyone loves to save on gas and groceries,” says Frances Ho, president of Toronto-based Cardswap.ca. “We resell them on the buy side and people can save money. If there are issues with the card, we will 100% take care of it.” ❚ You can also donate your card to charity and inquire about getting a tax receipt. Canada Revenue Agency notes on its website that gift-card donations are accepted as long as the value is clear.

For those on the giving end, if you want to give a gift card but you don’t want your money to go to waste, Victoria, B.C.-based startup Kiind allows you to send a digital gift card and your credit card isn’t charged until the gift card is used.