The average household has several unused gift cards sitting in a drawer — a birthday gift for a store you never visit, a restaurant card from a city you no longer live in, a balance of a few dollars left on a card you thought was empty. Added up, Americans hold billions of dollars in unused gift card balances every year. Selling those cards turns forgotten plastic into cash, and it takes about ten minutes.

The safest way to sell is through a reputable gift card exchange. CardCash, Raise, and Gift Card Granny are the best-known platforms: you enter the card brand and balance, they offer you a price, and you receive payment by PayPal, bank transfer, or a different gift card of your choice. Most cards sell for 70 to 90 percent of their face value, depending on the brand — popular cards like Amazon, Target, and Starbucks fetch the highest rates, while niche store cards fetch less.

Before selling, check the balance and the terms. Some cards have expiry dates or dormancy fees that reduce their value, and a card with a 5 dollar balance is rarely worth selling once fees are taken into account. If a card is for a store you might still use, spending it yourself is worth more than selling it at a discount. And if the balance is very small, some exchanges let you combine it toward a different card rather than taking cash.

Avoid the common traps. Never sell a gift card to a stranger who contacts you first, and never pay with a gift card because someone claiming to be from a company or the government told you to — that is the most common gift card scam in existence, and real companies never ask for payment that way. Use only established exchanges with buyer protection, check the platform's reviews before your first sale, and keep the physical card until the payment has cleared.

Selling gift cards will not make you rich, but it is the easiest money in this guide: the cards are already yours, the sale takes minutes, and the cash is real. Make it a habit to check your drawers twice a year, sell what you will not use, and put the money toward something better. And next time someone asks what you want for your birthday, ask for a card from a store you actually shop at — or cash.

Not every gift card is worth selling. If the card is for a store you shop at regularly, spending it yourself is worth more than selling it at a discount — a 50 dollar card sold for 40 dollars is a 10 dollar loss, while spending it buys 50 dollars of things you needed anyway. The same applies to cards with small balances: a card with 4 dollars left is worth more as a discount on your next shop than as a sale.

Also check for cards that gain value over time. Some restaurant and coffee cards offer rewards or bonuses when you use them, and a gift card for a store having a sale can be worth more than its face value. Before selling any card, ask one question: will I use this in the next three months? If the answer is yes, keep it. Sell only the cards you genuinely will not use — that is where the free money is, and it is also where you avoid regretting the sale later.