Gift cards are one of the best forms of making payments, but there is a catch. Most times, the purchase value is lesser than the gift card, and we end up wasting the remaining balance as the gift card is utilized. In other cases, the remaining balance is so less on your gift card that you cannot buy anything from the store using it. While there are several scenarios as such, are there ways to effectively utilize digital gift card balance? Yes, you can do a few things; let's discuss them in the following sections of this blog post.
3 Ways to Effectively Utilize a Digital Gift Card
If you want to effectively utilize your digital gift card balance and save those leftover pennies and dollars from falling into the dead end, you can follow the below steps that can help you to an extent.
1. Transfer Them to Your Electronic Accounts
The most common mistake we make is to never redeem our gift card balances to our electronic accounts on the merchant's website or App. When your gift card balance is added to your account, you can save those last pennies and dollars after your purchase as they combine with your next gift card balance.
A classic example of this is the Amazon gift card. If you have a physical or digital gift card, the first thing to do is always redeem them instantly on your Amazon account. This can help you save from losing the gift card, having it torn, and getting the gift card balance ready to redeem on your next purchase. In the other case, if you decide to redeem digital gift cards later, you might end up losing it all to the spammy inbox or compromised email accounts.
But once you have this gift card redeemed, your gift card balance keeps on increasing with every new addition, and you can finally buy your desired product for free. Moreover, there are no expiry dates or validity terms, so you can always have them as long as you wish.
2. Sell When You Don't Need Them
If you are a favorite person for many, it is likely that you will receive a lot of gift cards as they turn out to be one of the best gifts. However, if you are tired of getting single-store gift cards or gift cards that you no longer need but have a stack of them, you can always sell.
There are several online platforms that allow you to sell your gift cards to other people in need for a little cheaper price. You can also sell them in person and, in exchange, get the money to buy something else of your choice.
But why would other people buy gift cards from you when they can buy directly from the merchant stores or websites? There are two reasons for this; firstly, when buying in person or on a seller platform, gift cards are often availed at lesser prices which is a great way to save some money. Secondly, gift cards come with a lot of offers and discounts on products that other people want to buy, and this way, they get them at much lesser prices, both when buying and redeeming gift cards.
3. Buy Something Cheap to Use the Remaining Balance
Suppose you are left with a small denomination in your gift card balance after your last purchase, and it is likely that you might not use it later, don't lose hope; you can still utilize them.
Most commonly, we spend our gift card balances either a little high from the available balance or a little low, and it is definitely not our fault. As you might have noticed, gift card denominations are usually in the multiples of 5 or 25, while product prices are always a little less or more from them and not the exact value. This is done by the marketing team to save those extra pennies and dollars from your gift cards to slide into the merchant's pocket. But wait, is there a solution to it?
Well, there is one way. If you have a remaining balance on your gift card, you can buy something cheap that you might need in your everyday life, such as stationery, groceries, or daily needs. Of course, you will end up paying a little extra from your pocket, but at least you are not wasting the remaining gift card balance and getting things for almost half the price with the help of the leftover balance.
Besides, if there is huge money and your digital gift card is about to expire, you can buy a trending product and later sell it off on platforms like eBay for a little lesser price. This way, you can save your gift card balance from being wasted.
How to Track Gift Card Balance like a Pro
Managing and tracking gift card balances can be a little messy and tricky as, most times, we forget the balance amount and end up trying hard to remember the last purchases. But there are some smart ways to keep track of your gift card balances that no one might've ever told you.
1. Call the Toll-Free Number or Check the Website
If you are unsure of your last purchases and trying hard to remember your gift card balance, there are two simple ways to check them.
The first method works with both physical and digital gift cards. Most gift cards have a toll-free number written on either the front or back of the card, which can be used to check the balance. To know your balance, call the toll-free number and ask the representative to retrieve the remaining balance amount information for you.
In the second method, you can always visit the website of the merchant or business from which you have received or bought a gift card, and using your account and gift card details; you can check your current balance. One of the best examples of this is the Amazon gift card, whose gift card balance can be noted from the redeem page of your Amazon account.
2. Reminders App
Phones are no longer a black box and now are much smarter than ever before and all thanks to the features they provide. One such feature is where you can set a reminder for basic things of your daily life, such as getting groceries, mowing the lawn, and many more. Similarly, you can set a reminder for your gift card balances each time you make a purchase. This helps you track the expense and the remaining balance at the end of each month.
What fascinates us is that reminder apps have now upgraded to become much smarter with location-based reminders. So, each time you make a purchase using your gift card, you can set the location-based reminder with the remaining balance, and the next time you visit the store, you will automatically see the reminder on your device. This way, you can always know the remaining balance before your next purchase. Now, that's quite smart.
3. Use Sticky/Post-it Notes
Sticky notes are pretty handy when you can't remember small things such as gift card balances. Usually, we write notes for general reminders, but you can use them on your freezers to keep track of the credit you are left with on your gift cards. Sticking such notes on freezers or fridges comes in handy when you use gift cards mostly for buying vegetables, fruits, and other groceries.
You can also stick such post-it notes with the remaining balance on your home workstation. This is one of the best places as most people often tend to buy products online from their working desktops. For mobile users, you can always use the Reminders App on your smartphone to keep track of such balances.
4. Notes App on your Phone
The Notes app has also improved alongside Reminders, allowing users to do more than just scribbling their thoughts. One such feature is the spreadsheet feature, where you can create a table and keep track of your purchases and the gift card balance which is utilized.
You can also add purchase images, location, and other metadata to keep a detailed track of your gift card expense and the leftover money. However, you still need to calculate manually. For an automated process, you can always use apps like Excel, Google Spreadsheet, and Apple Numbers to create a table with all your purchase and then add rules to calculate them automatically with each entry.
5. Gift Card Organizer and Manager Apps on Android and iPhone
Tracking gift card expenses and balances can now also be done using third-party apps on your Android and iPhone devices. These apps allow you to add gift cards, enter the purchase values, and check the remaining balance. Adding gift cards to these apps is similar to adding passes or credit cards to the Wallet app; you can mostly find the same stack interface on all the devices.
Alongside, a few of such apps also remind you when the gift cards are about to expire, which is one of their best features.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do gift cards expire?
Most gift cards do not come with an expiration, but if they do, you should keenly watch them with reminder apps or sticky notes to not lose them.
Can you shop using digital gift cards in offline stores?
Yes, you can spend your digital gift cards in offline stores; during the checkout, show the redeem code to the cashier, and they will get it utilized.
Conclusion - Effectively Utilizing Digital Gift Card Balance
Gift card balances can be tricky to manage and save, but a few techniques can help you save or effectively use them. Moreover, keeping track of gift card balances is not that hard when done correctly. You can use the basic apps or sticky notes after each purchase to keep track of the remaining domination or let third-party apps manage them entirely for you.
What do you do to keep track of digital gift card balances apart from the five methods that we have shared? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
