Years ago, a friend who needed cash sold me a $100 Nordstrom gift card. I wish I knew where the heck I put it.
Gift cards are a popular holiday solution, especially recently, as supply chain disruptions and shipping delays have made gift buying more challenging. Most gift cards are spent within a year, but billions of dollars remain unspent and about 1% to 2% of gift card dollars typically go unused, according to Amy Dunckelmann, vice president of research operations for Mercator Advisory Group, a global payments consultant.
This year, my New Year’s resolution is to find and deploy every single gift card lurking in our household by Jan. 15, which is this year’s National Use Your Gift Card Day . For help, I turned to two gift card experts who offered suggestions on how to keep track of cards and use them to the best advantage.
MAKE A PLAN FOR THE CARDS YOU WON’T USE
Gift cards come in two flavors: those you’ll use and those you won’t. If a gift card isn’t right for you, ask yourself who might be a better fit, says Tracy Tilson , founder of UseYourGiftCard.com and the creator of National Use Your Gift Card Day.