How it works
Each card keeps its starting balance and every spend, top-up and correction you enter; the balance is worked out from them, so Undo and History always agree. Amounts are whole cents (or the currency's smallest unit). Corrections record what the store says the balance is; they don't count as using the card.
The card to use first is on top: the one whose expiry date, or whose date to avoid an inactivity fee, comes soonest. After those come the cards you haven't used for longest. That order is our rule of thumb.
In the US, the CARD Act's rules (12 CFR 1005.20) say the money on most gift cards can't expire sooner than five years after the card was bought or last loaded, and an inactivity fee can only start after 12 months with no activity, once a month at most, and only if the card says so. Tick that a card charges such a fee and the page shows the date to use it by: a year after you last spent from it or added money, which is our reading of "activity". Other states and countries have their own rules.
The page never stores card numbers or PINs: those are what spends a card. It keeps the store, the balance, and at most the last four characters, in this browser only.
Questions people ask
- Do gift cards expire?
- In the US, the money on most gift cards can't expire sooner than five years after the card was bought or last loaded (the CARD Act's rules, 12 CFR 1005.20). The plastic can expire sooner; then the issuer has to give you a replacement for free while the money is still good, unless the card was lost or stolen. Promotional and loyalty cards aren't covered, some states go further (California bans most expiry dates), and in Canada most gift cards don't expire, with rules set by each province.
- Can a gift card charge a fee if I don't use it?
- In the US, only after 12 months with no activity, no more than one fee a month, and only if the card says so (12 CFR 1005.20(d)). Tick 'Charges a fee when it isn't used' on a card and this page shows the date to use it by.
- Why doesn't this page save the card number or PIN?
- Because the number and PIN are all anyone needs to spend the card: the FTC warns that only scammers ask for 'the numbers off the back of the card.' This page keeps its data in your browser without encryption and in export files you might send around, so it stores at most the last four characters. The FTC suggests keeping a photo of the card and its receipt on your phone instead.
- Can I get cash for a small balance left on a card?
- Sometimes. In California, a gift certificate with less than $15 left can be redeemed in cash (Civil Code 1749.5). Elsewhere it depends on where you live and the store's policy.
- Does this page check my balance?
- No. It remembers the balance you type and subtracts what you spend. To see the real balance, use the store's balance page or the phone number on the card, then fix it here with Correct balance.