Cards for cash: how to turn your gift cards into money

CardSwap website lets you buy, swap and sell unwanted gift cards for cash.

Gift cards are a popular present around the holidays. But if you find yourself with a wallet full of unwanted gift cards, there are a couple of easy ways you can turn them into cold, hard cash.

Frances Ho is president of Canada's largest online gift card exchange site called CardSwap. She says one in 10 gift cards don’t get redeemed, which adds up to about $100 million a year.

CardSwap offers an online solution, by buying your unwanted gift cards for up to 92 per cent of the face value.

"Gas and groceries are super popular on our site, because everyone is going to fill up with gas and you might as well save some money," said Ho.

The site then re-sells those gift cards to other consumers at discounts of up to 20 per cent off.

"All the cards that we receive we actually resell it to somebody else who actually wants to shop at that store and save money," she said.

Another slightly riskier option for selling gift cards is through online sites like Craigslist.

Cassie Gill cashed in on a couple of highly discounted Holt Renfrew cards last Christmas.

"The main thing you need to make sure you do is meet with the seller in the store to verify the amount on the card," said Gill.

If you're buying a card off the rack, before you leave the store, check your receipt with the back of the card to make sure it's activated properly.

If there's a scratch area on the back of the card, make sure it hasn't been tampered with. Thieves have been known to record those numbers, wait for the card to be activated and then use it to purchase goods online, draining the card before the rightful owner has a chance to use it.

Another thing to watch out for is if a business goes bankrupt. In that case, your card could be worthless.  It has happened at a few businesses in Metro Vancouver over the past couple of years.

Legislation in B.C. has made it illegal for gift cards to have expiry dates or fees. But there are some exceptions, like cards sold for charitable or promotional purposes or gift cards for a specific good or service, like say a haircut. Phone cards are also exempt, as are cards with credit card branding or logos.