What To Do With Unwanted Gift Cards

The day after Christmas Kathy, of Pleasant Prairie, Wis., contacted ConsumerAffairs.com with a problem: she had recently charged an expensive smartphone at Best Buy. Then her son gave her a Best Buy gift card for Christmas.

“I need to pay the bill with the gift card,” Kathy said. “They would not apply it to a bill - he gave me a lot of money - they said you can only purchase merchandise.”

While it is true that most store-issued gift cards cannot be used to pay existing debts, Kathy is not without options. There are a number of online gift card exchanges where she can sell her Best Buy gift card for cash. While she should not expect to receive the full face value, she could receive enough to go a long way toward paying for her smartphone.

Using an exchange

At Plastic Jungle you can sell your unused gift cards and Plastic Jungle sells those gift cards at a discount to other consumers.

“You can sell the gift card to Plastic Jungle, and get cash for it,” the company says on its site. “Then we turn around and sell that very same gift card to someone who loves that brand and is thrilled to buy the gift card for less than face value.”

To sell a gift card, you click the link that says “Sell a Gift Card.” Enter the details about the card you want to sell. Plastic Jungle will then make an offer for your card. The company says it will pay up to 92 percent of the gift card's value. Since that's the most it will pay, you should probably expect to receive less.

If Plastic Jungle's inventory of cards happens to have an abundance of Best Buy gift cards, Kathy might be offered less. At the same time, if there aren't many other Best Buy cards available at the time she sells hers, she might receive a bit more.

Payment options

Kathy would receive her money by cashier's check, an Amazon.com gift card, or a deposit into her PayPal account.

Gift Card Rescue, Card Pool, Monster Gift Card, Swapagift.com and other exchange sites work much the same way. Not only can you sell unwanted gift cards but you can buy gift cards at a discount.

Since these exchange sites are relatively new – and new ones are popping up all the time – consumers would be wise to do some research before selecting one. Be sure to search the name of the site and read posts and reviews from people who have used it.