Millions of Americans have come to appreciate the convenience of giving and receiving gift cards.
"They're convenient, they're flexible, and you don't have to stand in the return line," GiftCards.com spokeswoman Shelley Hunter, who is also known as the "Gift Card Girlfriend."
However, if you're going to be a smart consumer, make sure you're protecting that investment. That means you need to use your gift cards and find ways to maximize their value. For Hunter, that means keeping an eye on the retail landscape.
"When a store is in trouble, the gift card can become very quickly in trouble, even those stores are open," Hunter said.
Shoppers beware, follow store news
As a big proponent of gift cards, Hunter was disturbed when she heard Radio Shack would stop honoring it's gift cards March 3. Hunter says she realized there's a bigger problem out there, affecting other retailers. She found nearly a dozen stores that had either stopped accepting gift cards or were in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. She's urging shoppers to be aware of what's happened at some of their favorite stores.
"If you see store closings for a particular store, that is a little bit of a signal that the company could be having financial trouble," Hunter said.
She devised her own watchlist of stores where consumers might want to use their gift cards sooner rather than later. The list included businesses like Family Christian Stores, Cache, and Wet Seal.
"If I had Wet Seal gift card for example, I would just go in and use it, and now wait to see what happens," Hunter said.
Cache is already in the middle of a going-out-of-business sale and will only honor its gift cards through Sunday, April 5.
How to avoid the 'gift card graveyard'
"No. 1, if you have a gift card, use it right away. Don't keep it around and wait for something special to come along," Hunter said.
She also urged shoppers to consider the following:
- Store your gift cards in a place that will remind you to use them, possibly in your wallet by your debit card.
- Look for app to help you manage your cards.
- Think of creative ways to use the cards.
"Just because the store doesn't have merchandise you want to buy is not a reason to hold onto that gift card," said Hunter. She also has a list of alternative options for shoppers who have gift cards, but they're not sure what to do with them: buy a gift for someone else, purchase merchandize and sell it, or buy something that you can donate to your church, school, or favorite charity.
"If you do go that route and you buy merchandise to donate, then you can also get the tax write off from it," Hunter said.
For more of Hunter's advice on using gift cards, click here.