Do Gift Cards Expire? The Guide to Spending Every Cent on Your Gift Cards
Most gift cards do not expire, and the money on them is better protected than most people realize. By federal law, the funds on a gift card are good for at least five years, and plenty of store gift cards carry no expiration date at all. Visa and Mastercard gift cards keep your funds too, though the plastic itself has a "valid thru" date you can replace if it passes. Here is exactly how long gift cards last, what the law says, and how to make sure you spend every cent.
How long are gift cards good for?
Gift cards are good for at least five years, and often much longer. Under the federal Credit CARD Act, the funds on a gift card cannot expire for a minimum of five years from the date the card was bought or the date money was last added to it, whichever is later. That is the floor, not the ceiling. Many retailers choose not to put any expiration date on their cards at all, so a store gift card you find in a drawer years later is very likely still good.
Trust Granny on this one: before you assume an old card is dead, check the balance. More on how to do that below.
Do store (retailer) gift cards expire?
Usually not. The great majority of single-retailer gift cards, think your favorite coffee shop, clothing store, or restaurant, carry no expiration date on the funds. Even when a date is printed on the card, the CARD Act protects the money for at least five years, and most retailers simply honor the balance indefinitely. If you ever want to know a specific store's policy, check the back of the card or the gift card FAQ on the retailer's website, which usually answers "do gift cards expire?" directly.
Do Visa and Mastercard gift cards expire?
This is where the details matter, because prepaid Visa and Mastercard gift cards work a little differently from store cards.
The funds are still protected. What trips people up is the "valid thru" date printed on the front. On many prepaid cards that date is not when your money disappears, it is simply the date the physical card stops working for online and phone orders. If a card expires with a balance still on it, you are entitled to that balance, and most issuers will send a replacement card.
Here is the part worth knowing: some general-purpose prepaid cards are allowed to charge a monthly service fee once a card has gone twelve months without any activity, which slowly chips away at the balance. That is legal under the CARD Act as long as it is disclosed and charged no more than once a month, but it is why a forgotten prepaid card can be worth less than you remember.
Granny's cards are built to avoid exactly that. The funds on a Gift Card Granny Visa or Mastercard gift card do not expire, and there are no monthly or dormancy fees eating away at the balance. The "valid thru" date is only there for online orders, and if it passes while you still have money on the card, a quick call gets you a replacement card for a $5 fee so you can keep spending your funds. You pay a small one-time purchase fee when you buy, and that is it.
What fees can a gift card charge?
Not many, and the law is strict about them. A gift card cannot be hit with an inactivity, dormancy, or service fee unless all three of these are true: the card has gone twelve straight months with no use, the fee was clearly disclosed when you bought it, and it is charged no more than once per month. That is why fees rarely come into play for a card you use within the first year.
For Granny's own cards, the math is simple. Merchant and brand gift cards carry no fees at all. Visa and Mastercard gift cards have a one-time purchase fee based on the amount you load (it runs from $2.95 up to $6.95 for the largest cards), no usage fees, and no monthly fees ever. For the full breakdown, see the Gift Card Granny fee schedule.
Do gift card expiration laws vary by state?
They can. The five-year rule and the fee limits above are the federal floor, so every state has at least that protection. Some states go further, banning expiration dates or fees outright, and a handful require merchants to cash out a small remaining balance if you ask. If you want the specifics for where you live, your state attorney general's office or a state consumer-law page is the place to check, since these rules change from state to state.
Found an old gift card? How to spend every cent
Since gift cards last so long, the real problem is not expiration, it is forgetting you have one. If you just dug a card out of a drawer, here is how to get full value from it.
- Check the balance first. For a Visa or Mastercard gift card, use the balance checker; for a store card, use the merchant gift card balance tool or the number on the back. Knowing the exact balance keeps you from leaving a few dollars behind.
- Spend it online. Online checkout is the easiest way to use a card down to the last dollar, since you can type the number in at the payment screen and the balance comes right off your total. It also solves the problem of a card for a store that isn't near you.
- Use a split transaction for the last few dollars. When a card is almost empty, tell the cashier how much is left on it and pay the rest another way. Most merchants will run part of the purchase on the gift card and the remainder on your other card or cash, so nothing is stranded.
The short version
Gift cards almost never expire the way people fear. Store gift cards usually have no expiration at all, and by law the funds on any gift card are protected for at least five years. Prepaid Visa and Mastercard cards keep your money too, with a "valid thru" date on the plastic you can replace, and the only cards that lose value over time are ones that charge a monthly fee after a year of sitting unused. Granny's Visa and Mastercard cards skip those monthly fees entirely, so the value you buy is the value you get to spend. Dig out those forgotten cards, check the balance, and put them to use.
Ready to send one that won't nickel-and-dime the recipient? Browse Gift Card Granny for thousands of brands plus Visa and Mastercard gift cards, with cash back on select brands (rates rotate, so check the card's page).
Frequently asked questions
Do gift cards expire?
Most gift cards do not expire. By federal law (the CARD Act), the funds on a gift card are protected for at least five years from purchase or the last time money was added, and many store gift cards carry no expiration date at all. Prepaid Visa and Mastercard cards keep your funds too, though the physical card has a "valid thru" date you can replace if it passes.
How long are gift cards good for?
At least five years, and often indefinitely. Five years is the federal minimum for the funds; most single-retailer gift cards go well beyond that or never expire. Always check the balance before assuming an old card is dead.
Do Visa gift cards expire?
The funds on a Gift Card Granny Visa gift card do not expire. The "valid thru" date on the front is for online and phone orders, not a funds-expiration date, and if it passes with money still on the card you can get a replacement for a $5 fee. Some other prepaid cards charge a monthly fee after twelve months of inactivity, but Granny's cards do not.
Do store gift cards expire?
Usually not. Most retailer gift cards have no expiration date on the funds, and the CARD Act protects the balance for at least five years even when a date is printed. Check the retailer's gift card FAQ for its specific policy.
Can a gift card charge fees?
Only under strict rules. A gift card can charge an inactivity or service fee only after twelve straight months of no use, only if it was clearly disclosed, and no more than once a month. Gift Card Granny merchant cards have no fees, and its Visa and Mastercard cards charge only a one-time purchase fee, with no monthly fees.
What happens if my prepaid card's "valid thru" date passes with money on it?
You do not lose the money. The funds are still yours; the plastic just needs replacing. Call the number on the back of the card to request a replacement (for a Gift Card Granny card, that is a $5 replacement fee) and keep spending your balance.