Americans Are Sitting on $21 Billion in Unused Gift Cards

That's money you shouldn't be giving up.

If you've ever dropped the ball on a birthday or holiday present, a gift card may have come to your rescue. And similarly, you may have received your share of gift cards through the years.

Gift cards are an easy gift to give because there's no brainwork involved. And in many cases, they're a great gift to receive because you get the freedom to use your money as you please.

If you get a $50 Target gift card, you can use that money to buy groceries if need be. And if you get a $50 Amazon gift card, you can use it for essentials like socks and underwear if you're not in a position to spend it on items that are more fun.

The problem with gift cards, though, is that they can be easy enough to forget about. And if you neglect to spend yours, it's basically like throwing money away.

Consumers have billions of dollars in unspent gift cards

A recent report by Credit Summit, as summarized by CNN, revealed that almost two-thirds of U.S. consumers have at least one unspent gift card. And all told, Americans have a whopping $21 billion in gift cards they've yet to redeem.

Now, to some degree, that's pretty surprising. After all, inflation has been wreaking havoc on consumers for well over a year, forcing many to rack up scores of credit card debt just to stay afloat. It would stand to reason that consumers would be more motivated to use their gift cards so as to be spending less out of pocket.

That said, in many cases, gift cards cannot be used to cover essential expenses. Sure, you could use a Target or Walmart gift card to buy food. But if you receive a gift card to a local craft store or book seller, that's not going to address an essential need for you. And so a gift card like that might easily get filed away in your desk drawer, only to be forgotten about.

The good news is that often, gift cards do not expire or lose value over time. But some do. So it's important to read the fine print on the back of your gift cards to avoid losing out.

You should also know that if you don't spend a gift card, and the issuer goes out of business, you could end up out of luck. So that's all the more reason to spend your gift cards rather than save them.

Put those gift cards to good use

If you're sitting on a bunch of gift cards, a good bet is to make a list of the ones you have and how much value each card has on it. From there, you'll need to determine if you're likely to use each gift card or not. If you were given a Starbucks gift card but you've sworn off caffeine, you may not get great use out of that particular piece of plastic.

Any gift card you're unlikely to use is one you should seek to swap or exchange for cash. A simple internet search should bring up a list of sites that allow you to do this.

Keep in mind that if you're looking to unload a $50 gift card for cash, you might only walk away with $35 or $40. But you're better off getting $35 or $40 to stick in your bank account than hanging onto a $50 gift card you're very unlikely to use.