Where to Cash in Unused Gift Cards
Joy Wallet is advertiser-supported: we may earn compensation from the products and offers mentioned in this article. However, any expressed opinions are our own and aren't influenced by compensation. To read our full disclosure, click here.
If you had $175 lying around, wouldn’t you do something with it? Like, buy something?
Almost half of Americans have at least one unused gift card, voucher, or store credit, and the average unused amount is $175 per person, according to one study from CreditCards.com.
Plenty of online companies will buy your unused gift cards, turning that piece of plastic into cash.
You just have to find any gift cards you have within five years before they’re allowed to expire under federal law. Or, the value of an unused card can drop enough if it’s not used within a year because fees for inactivity, dormancy, and service can pull every nickel out of it.
Third-party companies that buy gift cards usually subtract their fee from the card’s value. They buy cards for less than their face value and sell them to others at a profit.
If you have gift cards that you don’t plan on using — you may not like the store or the merchant doesn’t have a store in your neighborhood — here are some businesses where you can sell gift cards.
Get the Best Android Gift Card rewards with Cash Giraffe
- It's legit: Best game platform on Google Play, average 4.3/5 Stars for over 100k ratings
- Receive 3,599 coins when you sign up
- Redeem for PayPal or gift cards
- Sign up takes a minute
Jump To
Where to cash in unused gift cards
Raise
Raise buys and sells unused gift cards and pays up to 85% cash back. It also buys store credits.
Selling unwanted gift cards on Raise starts by searching for the store where you have a gift card. You then list it for sale, and you set the selling price. When it’s sold, you’re paid through direct deposit or PayPal.
Listing a card for sale is free. However, 15% is deducted from the selling price when the card sells. According to Raise, electronic delivery of the card to the buyer is free, and more than 90% of cards are delivered electronically.
Raise doesn’t accept some gift cards because of redemption restrictions by individual retailers. Other cards are accepted but may come with restrictions such as a 72-hour hold, or a receipt of purchase must be provided.
CardCash
CardCash buys gift cards, but a card’s value isn’t set by you, the seller, but by CardCash. You start by typing in the store’s name and the card balance and are given a quote.
I asked for a quote on a $50 gift card at Red Lobster and was given a cash offer of $34.50. Or I could trade it and get a little more money on another gift card, such as $35.36 at Walmart or Amazon. To get cash, sellers are paid by check, ACH direct deposit through their bank, or PayPal.
Walmart used to have gift card kiosks in its stores in partnership with CardCash. Walmart offered 70% to 95% of the gift card’s value through CardCash in cash or a Walmart e-card. However, we can’t find a gift card exchange program on Walmart’s website, so the kiosks may no longer exist. Walmart gift card holders can still sell them at CardCash’s website.
eBay
The policy on selling gift cards on eBay requires having $500 or less physical gift cards. “The gift card must be in hand at the time of the listing, and it must ship within five days of the date the card is sold,” the eBay policy says.
Electronically-delivered gift cards can be sold only by third-party retailers vetted by eBay.
Gift cards from companies going through bankruptcy or going out of business can be sold on eBay, but the cards must still be accepted by the retailer as payment. If there’s an expiration date, it must be specified in the listing.
Get the Best Android Gift Card rewards with Cash Giraffe
- It's legit: Best game platform on Google Play, average 4.3/5 Stars for over 100k ratings
- Receive 3,599 coins when you sign up
- Redeem for PayPal or gift cards
- Sign up takes a minute
GiftCash
GiftCash buys and sells unwanted gift cards for cash or cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Etherium.
The process is easy. Enter the brand name and balance of each card you want to sell, get an offer and accept it, and then cash out. Cash is paid through ACH direct deposit to your bank.
Payouts from popular brands range from 70% for Old Navy cards to 90% for Costco cards. Card values can range from $25 to $2,000.
One downside is that sellers must have a card reader to “swipe” the physical card they want to sell. The data is transferred to GiftCash, which gets a detailed overview of the card data through the swipe. A magnetic card reader that costs $18.80 on Amazon comes with a $15 rebate from GiftCash.
ClipKard
ClipKard makes it easy to see how much your unwanted gift cards can be sold for, but it requires creating an account and logging in to find more information.
To get an offer, just enter the brand of the gift card you want to sell, enter the card number to verify the balance, and you’re given a payment amount for it.
To find out how to get paid or where to mail your physical gift cards, you must create a ClipKard account.
Its website offers some details. For accepted offers, you mail your physical gift cards to the company. ClipKard pays for shipping through USPS First Class Mail. If you use USPS Priority Mail, the shipping costs that ClipKard calculates are deducted from the final payment total, meaning you’re paying for expedited shipping.
You can get paid for cards you sell through PayPal, or a check can be mailed to you.
Craigslist
Craigslist is a free site to sell almost anything, including prepaid gift cards. You must set up an account on Craigslist to create a “post” to create a listing to exchange gift cards for money.
You set the price as the seller, though you should first check how much similar cards are selling on Craigslist and set similar prices. Many cards are sold for about 30% off face value.
To ensure fast and easy sales, accept cash only and meet the buyer at the store where the card is from so they can check the card's validity with a store clerk. An Apple iTunes card, for example, can be checked at an Apple store.
Get the Best Android Gift Card rewards with Cash Giraffe
- It's legit: Best game platform on Google Play, average 4.3/5 Stars for over 100k ratings
- Receive 3,599 coins when you sign up
- Redeem for PayPal or gift cards
- Sign up takes a minute
Gameflip
Gameflip recommends setting prices for unused gift cards on its site for 2% to 15% off the original amount. Depending on the popularity of your gift cards, you may need to adjust the asking price to attract buyers, Gameflip says.
If a buyer chooses your gift card, their payment is verified by Gameflip, and you send the item to the buyer. Sales proceeds are credited to your wallet through Gameflip, and you can request a payout whenever you want.
The company says it doesn’t charge listing or membership fees. It does, however, take a “small fee” from your proceeds after a sale. The payout choices are Wise, Pyoneer, Skrill, and Bitcoin. Each of those sites has its own fees for transferring money.
As the company’s name implies, the most popular gift cards sold on the site are gaming-related. Popular gift cards include:
- Steam
- PSN
- Xbox Live
- Amazon
- iTunes
- Google Play
It allows the sale of non-gaming gift cards, but only among the 22 businesses it lists as being allowed in its marketplace.
QuickcashMI
QuickcashMI is based in Chelsea, Michigan, thus the company’s name. Users can sell electronic or physical gift cards on its website or app.
To start, you select a gift card merchant from the cards it accepts. You enter the remaining balance on the card, which can be sold electronically or by mailing a physical card to QuickcashMI. You pay for shipping, which the site recommends, in a padded envelope with a tracking number.
If you accept the company’s offer, a check will be sent to you within one business day of receiving and verifying the balance on your cards.
The company doesn’t list payout ranges but says that payouts vary based on market conditions and can be as high as 90% cash back on some merchants. For example, a card with a full value of $100 could sell for $90.
Related: 20 sites to help you save right now
Get the Best Android Gift Card rewards with Cash Giraffe
- It's legit: Best game platform on Google Play, average 4.3/5 Stars for over 100k ratings
- Receive 3,599 coins when you sign up
- Redeem for PayPal or gift cards
- Sign up takes a minute
Summary of companies cashing in gift cards
Platform | Fees |
|---|---|
Raise | 15% of the card's selling price is deducted and kept by Raise |
CardCash | Fees aren’t listed, but it pays less than a card’s face value. We saw card offers for 30% less than the face value. |
eBay | If a card you list sells, eBay charges a final value fee. For most products, the final value fee is 12.9% of the sale price or lower, plus 30 cents per order. |
GiftCash | Gift cards are bought at a discount of 10-30%, meaning you don’t get the face value of the card you sell. There is no fee for ACH transfer but a small, unlisted processing fee for cryptocurrency payouts. |
CardSell | $1 fee to ensure it’s active. Up to 92% of a card’s value is paid to sellers, meaning fees are as high as 8% of the card’s value. |
ClipKard | No fees for selling, other than the customer paying shipping costs if choosing priority mail to send gift cards to ClipKard. |
Craigslist | No fees. |
Gameflip | Small, unlisted fee is paid to Gameflip when you sell a gift card. To cash out, the four payment methods it uses charge fees from 1-2.5% of the card’s value plus 50 cents to $2 per transaction. |
QuickcashMI | $10 service fee if a gift card is invalid. No other fees are listed, though there may be some. Cards can be sold for up to 90% of value, meaning a 10% fee is the starting point for a fee on sellers. |
Avoiding scams
Some sites require you to follow certain rules as a seller so that the site or its buyers aren’t scammed. Most require verification of a card’s value.
QuickcashMI, for example, only sends payment after it has verified the value of the cards it’s buying. To prevent fraud, sellers must enter their credit or debit card information if they’re selling a card electronically. Physical cards are verified when the site receives them in the mail, and credit card information isn’t needed on cards that are mailed.
If you’re trying to sell gift cards on Craigslist, some buyers may request a copy of your ID information to prevent fraud by you.
Thieves sometimes buy gift cards with stolen credit card numbers, such as from a Visa card, and then sell the gift cards online at Craigslist. When the credit card victims have their accounts deactivated, the thieves may have already sold the gift cards. Then, when the credit card companies nullify the fraudulent charges, the gift cards are deactivated.
Well-known, legitimate gift card exchange sites, such as those we’ve listed, can be good places to sell cards if the exchange has the policy to ensure the cards are valid. Look for a site that offers secure payment and a way to check that the money you’ve received is legitimate.
A trusted gift card reseller is the middleman between you and the buyer, so you shouldn’t worry about working with a trustworthy buyer.
Get the Best Android Gift Card rewards with Cash Giraffe
- It's legit: Best game platform on Google Play, average 4.3/5 Stars for over 100k ratings
- Receive 3,599 coins when you sign up
- Redeem for PayPal or gift cards
- Sign up takes a minute
Pros and cons
Pros
- Get cash for unwanted gift cards that you may not use anyway.
- Most reseller sites make it easy to sell cards.
- Cash can often be transferred to you electronically.
Cons
- Some reseller sites don’t list fees they charge.
- Some sites don’t list payout ranges until you enter card names and face value amounts.
- Getting a check as payment may take a week to receive.
The bottom line
Gift cards can seem like a Plan B for someone who hasn’t put much thought into your gift. If it’s for a retailer you don’t like or don’t shop at, you can turn it into cash by selling it online. You might get as much as 90% of the card’s value, which is money in your pocket, instead of going to a Plan C to re-gift the card.
Just be sure to use a reputable gift card exchange and look for ones that have multiple safety features to protect sellers and buyers. Who knows, you might end up $175 richer.
Joy Wallet is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor, financial advisor, loan broker, insurance producer, or insurance broker. Its articles, interactive tools and other content are provided to you for free, as self-help tools and for informational purposes only. They are not intended to provide investment advice. Joy Wallet does not and cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information in regard to your individual circumstances. We encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific investment issues. Featured estimates are based on past market performance, and past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.
Our site doesn’t feature every company or financial product available on the market. We are compensated by our partners, which may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear on our site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice. Our editorials are grounded on independent research. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services.
We value your privacy. We work with trusted partners to provide relevant advertising based on information about your use of Joy Wallet’s and third-party websites and applications. This includes, but is not limited to, sharing information about your web browsing activities with Meta (Facebook) and Google. All of the web browsing information that is shared is anonymized. To learn more, click on our Privacy Policy link.
Images appearing across JoyWallet are courtesy of shutterstock.com.
Writer
Aaron Crowe is a freelance journalist who specializes in personal finance writing and editing. He has worked at newspapers, where he won a Pulitzer Prize, and has written for numerous online publications. These include AOL, US News & World Report, WiseBread, Bankrate, AARP, and many websites focusing on housing, credit and insurance. He lives in California with his wife and daughter.
Share this article
