Secret Life of Gift Cards: Here’s What Happens to Billions That Go Unspent Each Year

Gift cards make great stocking stuffers—just as long as you don’t stuff them in a drawer and forget about them after the holidays. Americans are expected to spend nearly $30 billion on gift cards this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. Restaurant gift cards are the most popular, making up one-third of those sales. Most of those gift cards will be redeemed. Paytronix, which tracks restaurant gift card sales, says around 70 percent of gift cards are used within six months. But many cards—tens of billions of dollars’ worth—wind up forgotten or otherwise unused. That’s when the life of a gift card gets more complicated, with expiration dates or inactivity fees that can vary by state....