National ‘Use Your Gift Card Day’ is approaching

Believe it or not gift cards were the most requested items on holiday wish lists this year, before that it was cash. I myself like to open wrapped gifts, but what do I know?

Interestingly enough even though people prefer to receive gift cards as gifts, millions of dollars in shopping treasure could go to waste as recipients forget about the cards or misplace them. So much for a thoughtful gift. It’s forgotten much too often.

To prevent this yearly mishap, National Use Your Gift Card Day is unwrapping its sixth annual campaign on Saturday, January 18.

Held on the third Saturday of each January, the retail holiday reminds shoppers to use the $29.3 billion in gift cards they were expected to receive this year but are likely to overlook.

An astonishing 43% of Americans have at least one unused gift card lingering around the house or in their phone wallets, worth an average of $244.00, the personal finance site Bankrate reported in September 2024.

“Everyone loves getting gift cards, which let you treat yourself after all the time you spent shopping for others,” said Tracy Tilson, founder of National Use Your Gift Card Day. “But in all the excitement of the holidays, it’s so easy to forget you received them. That’s why we created a gift card holiday – to urge consumers to find and use the cards that are meant to be spent.”

Gift card were the top-requested gift in 2024, followed by clothing and accessories, books and other media, and personal care or beauty items. To those whose wish came true, National Use Your Gift Card Day recommends these tips for keeping track of the cards you received:

• Designate a safe spot for them and put each one there as soon as you receive it.
• Visit the websites of merchants whose cards you’ve been given, to find special deals to maximize your gift card and save money on purchases.
• Make a shopping or dining plan to use them, including when you’ll go and what you’ll buy.

“Whatever you choose to do with your cards, you can feel good knowing you’re honoring the good wishes of those who gave them to you,” Tilson said. “These presents were meant to be spent, and National Use Your Gift Card Day is here to help make sure they are.”

Merchants who support the holiday include Macy’s, Ace Hardware, and Applebee’s.