Do you know what we say about expiration dates on gift cards? Nonsense!

Gift cards – whether they are issued by credit card companies like American Express and Visa, or retail stores like Walmart and Target – never expire.  If the cashier tells you otherwise, call customer service immediately to inquire about that store’s policy; it is likely an error.  Note that the previous statement does not necessarily apply to pre-paid debit cards (for example Reloadit), as these may have an expiration date.

However, many credit card companies do not guarantee this for all their gift cards; some will allow fees if not used within a certain amount of time. For example, American Express’ terms state “There is no inactivity fee associated with the Gift Card, however, if your Account remains inactive, other fees may apply.” Citibank similarly has an inactivity fee.

However even if a credit card company charges fees for not using their gift card within a certain amount of time, they cannot charge an expiration date if one does not exist in the first place!

Even when there are no fees for non-use, you will likely have to toss out or sell that gift card once its balance falls below $5. However, this does not qualify as expiration because the retailer never made any guarantees about when these cards would expire after purchase.

It sounds like for most people, gift cards are completely free from expiration. However, for some stores, there may still be a small risk of fees or expiration based on the issuer’s policy.