Do you love gift cards as much as I do? They’re a great gift idea for almost anyone: family, friends, teachers, co-workers, and especially those people who are so hard to buy for. Gift cards are also fun to receive; I love to treat myself to something special with a gift card, or maybe check out a new restaurant or store that I haven’t tried before. And of course, our panel members can redeem reward points for digital gift cards!
But as much as I love gift cards, they can sometimes be hard to keep track of and use. I often forget which cards I have, or inevitably I realize I forgot to use a gift card after I’ve been to a store or restaurant.
One of my New Year’s resolutions is to find all my gift cards- both physical cards and digital gifts!- and figure out a way to organize them. Then, make a plan to use them after they’re organized!
How do you organize your gift cards? What tips do you have for tracking the cards you have and remembering to use them? I’d love to hear from you- share your tips in the comments!
Tips to organize gift cards
I found some great tips online from websites like Organized Buddy. Check out some of the organization tips I’m using below.
Round them all up: Check your purse, wallet, junk drawers, car, and any other places you may have stashed cards. Don’t forget to check your email for any electronic gift cards you may have forgotten about!
Pick a dedicated place to keep all your gift cards together. Use a wallet, business card holder, small pouch or cosmetics case- you probably have something like this already in your home. Earmark it for gift cards and decide on a place to keep it. Maybe you keep it in your purse or your car, or perhaps you have a spot in your home that makes more sense.
Check the balances. Do you know the balance on your gift cards, especially the ones that are partially used? Dedicate some time to checking the balances of each gift card. Then, use a marker to write the balance on the card. You can also use a small strip of masking tape on the card to write down the balance.
Load gift cards to websites or apps. Many large retailers allow you to load the balance of a gift card to your online account on their website or in the app. This can make it much easier to use a gift card, plus you don’t have to keep track of the gift card and remember to use it! Check your gift cards to see which ones can be loaded to your account with that provider.
Print electronic gift cards. If you have electronic gift cards in your email inbox that can’t be loaded to an online account or app, print them out and put them in your dedicated space. You’re less likely to remember a gift card if the information is buried in your inbox.
Purge at least once per year. Go through your gift cards and toss any that are expired. Be sure to check the rules about their expiration dates and fees. Some merchants deduct fees from the balance of gift cards that aren’t used within a certain amount of time.
Use your gift cards
Now that you have your gift cards organized, make a plan to actually use them! I love some of these ideas.
Make a gift card display. I saw this idea online somewhere, and I’m planning to do this with my gift cards! If you’re a visual person and tend to forget about things that aren’t right in front of you, this tip is for you.
Get a piece of foam board, poster board, or some other type of sturdy item. You could even use an empty wall or your refrigerator. Then, use painter’s tape to attach each gift card to the board. You can make your display as basic or as fancy as you want. The idea is to be able to see all the gift cards at once.
No-buy challenge. This is an idea that pairs well with New Year’s resolutions to spend less money. If you’re doing a no-buy or low-spend challenge, incorporate your unused gift cards. Maybe you don’t want to spend money during your challenge, but you’re willing to make exceptions for purchases made with gift cards.
Regift them. If you have gift cards for places that you know you won’t visit, consider regifting them to someone who can use them. Don’t drink coffee but you have a pile of gift cards for coffee shops? You probably have a friend who would enjoy them! Or, check with local nonprofit organizations in your community to see if they’ll accept your unused gift cards.
Make a plan to start using them! Maybe you pick one card per week to use, or set a goal to use them all by a certain date. A fun activity to do with family members might be to take turns drawing a gift card each month to be used.
Panel member tips
Most gift cards cannot be scanned after purchase, so they are generally not reportable as an item in your shopping trip. However, you can choose gift card as the payment method. You should choose the payment method that covers the most of your shopping trip. For example, if you paid using a $25 gift card and $10 in cash, you would choose gift card as the method of payment.
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I hope this was helpful and inspires you to organize and use your gift cards!
Regards,
Taylor
Blog comment reminder: If you have a panel-related issue that you need assistance with such as a problem with scanning or your rewards, please contact our Panel Support Center directly and they will be happy to assist you! You can reach them at 1-800-962-6700 or email them at [email protected]. You can send a message from NCP’s Facebook page. Please don’t enter panel-related issues or share any personal panel membership information in the blog comment section. Any issues will be addressed faster if you contact our support center directly. Thank you so much!
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