If you have ever received a gift card, you may have wondered what to do with the remaining balance after you’ve used it up. One option is to transfer the money from the gift card to your bank account. This can be done using a few different methods, depending on the gift card and your bank. Read on to learn more about how to complete this transaction.
A gift card is the new age version of giving someone money to buy what they like. Sadly, for some of us, gift cards from a specific merchant or store can only be used to make purchases from that merchant or store.
More often than not, we always don’t end up wanting to purchase something from that merchant/store. I’ve heard many “too smart for the system” people trying to make a purchase and then return the item to get cash for it. Sometimes this works, but well, I’m sure if you’re here reading this, you’re looking for a more promising solution for your gift card collection.
For this post, I’m including both options, selling your card or linking it to get the value back in cash.
Ways to transfer money from Gift Card to Bank Account
While there are no direct methods to make such a transfer, you can get back your cash amount from a gift card by using one of the following methods:
- Find a Gift Card Exchange Kiosk
If you have a gift card from a popular supermarket or shop in a premium mall, you can try looking for a Gift Card Exchange Kiosk on their premises. Enter your gift card information, and you’ll get a voucher for the amount of cash.
This is one method to get all your money back. The only catch here is that many of your gift card merchants/shops might not have an exchange kiosk.
- Transfer your money to your PayPal/ Venmo/ MoneyGram account
Another method to make your exchange can be by making a transfer to your e-wallet. If you have a PayPal, Venmo, or MoneyGram account, you can link your card to your account and get the money back.
For PayPal, you need to “Link a Card” next to the “Wallet” menu. You can “Add gift card” to your Venmo account. In all of these cases, the money will be credited back to your e-wallet in a few days.
- Use Square Reader or apps like Ibotta to get your money back
If you’re a frequent “receiver of gift cards,” maybe a handy app is what you need. Square Reader is one such POS platform where you can simply scan your gift card and specify the amount of money you want to transfer to your account.
A 2.75% transaction charge will be applied for each transfer. Ibotta is another cash-back app; here, you can get a payout for your gift card over $25.
- Buy a Money Order using the gift card
You can also use your gift card to purchase a money order. However, most gift card retailers don’t allow this.
If you have a Visa or Mastercard gift card, this is an option. There is a minimal charge applicable for this. Typically, you can only retrieve $1000 per money order, but I’m guessing that is sufficient for most gift card amounts.
- Sell gift cards to a website or friend.
If all else fails, you can always try selling your gift card on a website like eBay or Craigslist. Here, you’ll probably have to list them for a lower price, so people do buy them. Trying to sell it to a friend or acquaintance is also an option. A friend might end up giving you good value for your gift card!
Final Words
It might be surprising to some that there are, in fact, so many ways to get your money’s worth from a gift card. However, I must warn you, in any of these cases, a certain commission or percentage of the amount would be deducted.
Whether you sell it to a friend for less price or pay the conversion fee through a portal, getting the full value back is rarely possible. You can get the maximum amount back with a slight dedication, but, hey, for a gift card you weren’t going to use anyway, that’s good enough!
