Check the T&Cs
The first thing to do is read the small print (it could be very small if it is squeezed on the back).
This should tell you if there’s an expiry date, which is probably the most vital information, and what other caveats apply.
Under UK consumer law, expiry dates are allowed, as long as they are spelled out. Twenty-four months (two years) seems to be the most common. For a specific experience, it might be just a year.
One problem could be whether or not the clock starts ticking on the purchase date – if that’s the case, keep hold of the receipt that came with the voucher, as that will include the date.
If there is no receipt, ask the person who gave it to you when they bought it.
Also, check where you can spend the card. Some retailers let you spend e-cards and physical cards in shops and online, while others impose restrictions. At Boots, for example, e-cards can be used only for online purchases, while a Vue gift card can be used only to buy cinema tickets in person.
Most retailers’ small print contains a warning that they can vary the T&Cs if it is reasonable and necessary to do so.
This often happens when a business falls into administration, and there may be little warning, so the best advice is to use the voucher as soon as you can.
Add to your digital wallet
Rather than carrying around a pile of vouchers, see if you can add yours to Google Pay or Apple Wallet. Then you will have it if you unexpectedly end up in a shop where it’s valid.
Tesco cards and National Book Tokens, for instance, can be added to both. Argos eGift cards can be added to an Apple Wallet, as can the Love2shop contactless gift card.
To do this, you may need to go via the retailer’s website, rather than uploading the card to the wallet. You will need to input all of the details, including the pin.
… or an online account
Cards and vouchers are like cash, so you need to keep them safe.
To make sure you don’t lose your gift cards, and remember them next time you shop, see if you can add them to an online account you have with the retailer.
This is an option at Marks & Spencer, where you can store any balance online, but still take the card to a shop to use if you haven’t already spent it.
Waterstones lets you add gift cards to your account, and, when you do, provides a QR card to use in its stores. You need to log in to your account so they can be scanned at the till.
At Amazon, you can add a card to your account and it will automatically use the funds as payment for your next order unless you opt to keep it for another occasion – untick the box next to “Use your £ gift card balance”.
Theatre Tokens do not have an expiry date, but you should create an account and register them online, as this offers some protection against loss or theft.
Sell them
Several websites have made a business out of facilitating sales of unwanted gift cards – as you might expect, they take a cut, so you do not get the card’s face value.
However, if you are lucky, you might be able to effectively exchange it for a card of the same value.
At Cardyard and Cards2Cash, you input details of the card you want to sell and are told how much you will get in return – it offers one value if you want cash, and a higher value paid in credit to spend with them. Both pay you only when the card is sold, and offer an estimate of that date.
Cards are often sold at a discount to the face value. When we looked, if you had a £50 John Lewis voucher to sell, you could sell it for £43 in cash, or £45.15 in credit to spend on the site. The latter would be enough to buy an unwanted £50 H&M voucher. Bear in mind, though, that some gift cards have T&Cs that explicitly rule out resale.
Cineworld, for example, states “you may give the gift card to anyone else to use but it may not be resold”. Rival cinema chain Vue says that you need its “express prior written permission” to sell a card. And WH Smith’s terms specifically say cards cannot be resold.
Swap them
Ask family and friends if they have gift cards they don’t want, too, or if they shop in places you have vouchers for.
They may be keen to swap, or willing to take yours off your hands. You could offer them a bit of a discount and still be better off than if you sold it online (or stuck it in a drawer and forgot about it).
If inflation runs at 2% this year, your £50 gift card will effectively be worth £49.02 in a year, so you could take a little hit without losing out.
Set reminders
Put a reminder in your phone or calendar for when vouchers may be most useful: early summer is a good time to use one up at Boots for suntan lotion or other holiday essentials, while in the summer holidays, a WH Smith voucher could be used for new school stationery and a Marks & Spencer one could be put towards school uniforms.
Or set a December reminder to spend an M&S or Waitrose voucher on Christmas food or drink, or use a WH Smith one for a diary or calendar.
If you plan to use your voucher as a treat, you could set a reminder for a dull day in February or March when money is tight, the Christmas stock has been cleared, and retailers plug their new ranges.
Reset the countdown
The expiry date will often be from the last transaction, rather than the date of purchase, so you can buy more time if it is getting close.
Some retailers do a reset if you just check your balance online – including John Lewis, HMV and Vue. You need to fill in the card details on the website.
If yours is for a shop that does not offer that, you could make a small purchase and save the bulk – but once you’re already browsing online, or in the shop, you might as well see if you can spend the lot.
Whoever gave it to you would want you to be feeling the benefit of their gift, after all.
