Canadians have spent the most we ever have on gift cards in the past year, over $3.5 billion worth. This trend has no sign of slowing down as retailers large and small promote these shinny pieces of plastic as the ideal gift, ranging from your $10 Starbucks card to the $100,000 Four Season extravaganza. Retailers love them because they are money in their pocket, and shoppers like them due to convenience and flexibility. I have personally received a few this Christmas and want to share some tactics on getting the most out of them with you.

Make use of them
The first rule of gift cards – use them. The second rule of gift cards – use them. Gift cards are essentially an IOU from the store. You pay the merchant now, and they promise to give you something of value in return. Like most IOUs, you have to ask for it to get it, so go ahead and use the card and get something nice. It is estimated that 25% of gift cards are never redeemed after one year, perhaps it was lost, or that they are too busy to shop, or in rare cases, the store simply went bankrupt (e.g. Circuit City, Linen and Things, Comp USA…). Redeem your gift card and turn that piece of plastic into something you can actually use.

Know your rights
Gift cards are debt instruments, and it is only as good as the terms of the contract. What contact? It is probably written in the print on the packaging, or on the back of your receipt. It may include things you’ve never bargained for such as expiry dates, administrative fees, maintenance fees, restriction on use and so on. Fortunately, there are regulations in place in a number of provinces (Alberta, BC, Manitoba, and Ontario) to ensure that everyone plays fair. The details vary, but they essentially protect your rights by enforcing that:

- Gift cards cannot have expiry dates
- Cannot have fees that erode their value with time, or fees upon usage
- Any restrictions or terms must be clearly printed on the gift card

Most gift cards sold today should already comply with the above rules, but if you happen to receive one that doesn’t, you should be able to exercise your rights by gently reminding the store manager of their obligations under the law. Note that some gift cards are exempt, these include cards that can be used at multiple stores (such as shopping mall cards), or cards that can only be used for a specific good or service. For more detail, see gift card laws for Alberta, BC, Manitoba, and Ontario.

Passing it on
OK, so you got a gift card but already have everything (that’s probably the reason why you got a gift card in the first place), now what? Gift cards are generally not redeemable for cash, but you can save some time and money if you can reuse it as another gift. Birthdays, baby showers, weddings etc… It is one of the few items that no-one will know or mind it as a re-gift. Even if your gift card is personalized, you can still use it at the store to buy another gift card personalized to the occasion for your recipient.

Selling your gift card
Nothing beats cold hard cash, gift cards included. There are many way to sell your gift card and some are better than others, however, this would be a topic for another time.

P.S. Free $10 gift cards from Wishabi.ca
For a limited time, you can get a free $10 gift card to your favorite stores when you tell your friends about Wishabi. To find out more, check out the Wishabi 10 for 10 free gift card promotion.