Gift cards

In financial news, a recent Bankrate survey found Americans have over $21 billion in unused gift cards, store credit and airline redemption vouchers. They figure half of all U.S. adults have about $167 in unredeemed gift cards and store credit.

 Starbucks Corp. alone reported $1.7 billion in unredeemed gift cards -- as of Dec. 31. Shoppers bought $425 million of the coffee company’s cards in the fourth quarter alone. Meanwhile, Target Corp. had $683 million in gift-card liability as of Nov. 2.

 Now here’s why I am bringing this up, one-quarter of U.S. adults have allowed a gift card to expire. Under federal law, a gift card cannot expire in less than five years after the date of purchase. But if it’s not used within 12 months, fees for inactivity, dormancy or service can be charged to the card each month, diminishing its value.

 Gift cards and store credits are real money, the longer you hold it, the more likely you are to lose it. Or the company could go bankrupt. 

Unwanted gift cards can be sold in a secondary market on sites such as Cardpool.com, CardCash.com and GiftCardSpread.com.

 And you can always regift if you don’t use it yourself.