Gift cards will probably always be one of the best gifts to get during the holidays, and the reason is simple: they allow you to buy whatever your heart desires, without having to spend your own money. It’s perfect! When you get one, you probably do something like this: rip it open, use it to purchase whatever you want, and then immediately toss it in the trash so that you don’t find it months later and get your hopes up thinking you didn’t use it. But if this is what you’re doing, you may want to think twice. There’s a legit reason why you should never throw out your used-up gift cards, and it’s going to change everything.
Well, actually, there are a few reasons you should hold on to your used gift cards, and not just because you like hoarding waste (who doesn’t, really?). There are a bunch of benefits that come with keeping your used-up gift cards that you probably don’t even realize when you’re throwing them away — and you should, because holding onto them could make your life a lot easier in the end! So, before you toss the gift cards you’ve already used, be sure to read through this list first.
You can use old gift card numbers to sign up for free trials.
can't get charged when your free trial expires if you have no money in your bank account pic.twitter.com/n9QHeHn0n0
— angy bangy (@pbangellii) December 23, 2018
We’ve all been there: you sign up for a free trial of something, enjoy it for a week or so, and then you forget that your card automatically gets charged at the end, meaning you end up paying for it. It’s kind of the worst.
i forgot to cancel my hulu free trial n it charged my moms card i’m going to get murdered when she gets home rip
— soobins gf em (@soobinktty) December 26, 2018
One solution is to keep creating different accounts and using different information to sign up for free trials.
But a better way to get around it is to use an old gift card to sign up. As Apartment Therapy points out, sites that ask for a credit card number for a free trial will recognize universal Visa gift card numbers as credit card numbers, even if there isn’t a remaining balance. That means you can use your gift card number to sign up without having to worry about ever getting charged. Problem solved!
You might need that gift card to return the items you bought.
Say you get a gift card and use it to purchase a whole bunch of goodies online. Once they arrive, you realize you need to return some… and when you go to the store, they say they need to see the card you used to purchase the items in order to get a refund… but you threw it away.
Obviously, if you threw out your gift card, you can’t bring it back, and you may not be able to return the items. It’s always best to hold onto the card until you’re absolutely sure you want to keep the items you purchased. You’ll have to make space in your wallet, but you’ll thank yourself later.
You can turn them into something environmentally friendly.
Not all gift cards are recyclable, but that doesn’t mean you can’t reuse them. Hold onto them to use them as a bookmark, or even use them to clean your house. You can get super creative with them.
You can also add to the balance of some gift cards to keep using them. For example, adding onto the balance of a Starbucks gift card allows you to gain points towards free coffee.
Fun fact about our gift cards, they are reusable. You can always add to your balance or when it’s all empty you can bring it to us and we can recycle it. #FunFactFriday #fabulous #GiftCard #recycle #HolidaySpirit pic.twitter.com/NsRiOGgjGq
— Smiley Cup Bubble Tea (@smileycuptea) December 21, 2018
They can be regifted.
Just because you already used the whole balance doesn’t mean you can’t add to it. Take the gift card back to the store and add a balance to gift it to someone else down the line.
And don’t worry about them not having the original packaging: you can put together a cute little set and make it look even better:
You can use them for crafting.
Me after getting a $15 gift card for Christmas pic.twitter.com/IG35zcJtSo
— isaiah 🧍🏽♂️ (@thatguyisaiahh) December 25, 2018
Another way to recycle your gift cards is to use them to make little gift card crafts. You can cut them out and make them into greeting cards for the next holiday.
They also make great stencils and keychains… and really, the possibilities are endless.
So the moral of the story is this: hold onto your gift cards from now on! They have more uses than you think.
