Gift cards you got over the holidays should be considered cash that needs to be spent, and sooner rather than later.
If you set a gift card aside planning to use it in the future, you could be out of luck. The store could go out of business, or close the location near you making it more difficult to shop. You could misplace the card, or forget that you have it.
Gift cards can also lose their value over time. By law, gift cards are good for 5 years from the date of purchase. But merchants can begin charging a monthly inactivity fee if the card hasn’t been used within a year after it was bought.
Don’t let that happen. Instead, turn that little plastic card into a little something for yourself, as soon as you can.
Get more information about gift cards, and if you feel that you’ve been treated unfairly by a merchant, file a consumer complaint with our office at www.ncdoj.gov or call us toll-free within North Carolina at 1-877-NO-SCAM.
This message brought to you on behalf of North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper.