Expert: Never Pay Full Price For Gift Cards

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - When it comes to gift cards, there are two schools of thought.

Some people think they're impersonal, but others think they're practical.

These days, most people must fall into that second category because for the ninth year in a row, experts say gift cards are the most sought after type of present for the holidays.

Over the next few weeks, the average shopper is expected to spend roughly $175 just on gift cards.

"Everyone's predicting that retail sales for gift cards are going to be $135 billion. It's huge," Duquesne University Marketing Professor Dr. Audrey Guskey says.

But, you don't have to buy gift cards at face value.

In fact, Guskey says you should never buy a gift card at full price.

Here are five ways to save.

First, use discount websites.

Do a quick Internet search and you'll find tons of websites where you can buy gift cards for a fraction of the card's face value.

"I would advise you to stick to the big ones - monstergiftcard.com, giftcardzen.com and cardpool.com - those are the three that are the biggest ones," Guskey says.

Depending on the card and the site, you can find anywhere from 5 percent to 25 percent off.

That means if you buy a $50 gift card at 20 percent off, you'd pay only $40, but the card is still worth $50.

You can buy from those sites year-round, but you'll find even bigger discounts, especially from iTunes, in December.

You can also use your credit card rewards to buy gift cards.

Most credit card companies let you redeem your rewards for gift cards to a variety of stores.

In many cases, it's better than redeeming your rewards for cash.

For example - with Citibank's rewards program, you need 10,000 points to get $50 in cash back, but only 5,000 points to get a $50 gift card.
We all have unused gift cards, so why not re-gift the ones you'll never use?

You can do that a few ways.

There are websites where you can sell them for cash, then use that money to buy new cards.

You can also exchange them for a different card.

Most stores also allow you to trade in old cards for new ones of the same value, so they don't look like they've been in your junk drawer for a few years.

Even if the value on the card is expired, most states have programs that let you recoup unused funds from expired gift cards under unclaimed property laws.

When it comes to general-purpose gift cards versus store-issued gift cards, go with the store-issued one.

The general purpose cards, like ones from Visa or American Express, usually charge extra fees. On top of that, Guskey says some of them lose their original value over time.

If you're buying gift cards online, don't pay for shipping.

Seventy percent of stores offer free shipping on gift cards, so look for those.

But, for the other 30 percent, check to see if you can have the gift card emailed to you instead or even emailed directly to the recipient.

Despite the caution about general-purpose gift cards, Visa tops the list of this year's most popular holiday gift cards, according to a recent survey by "Card Hub."

Amazon, American Express, iTunes, Walmart, Target, Starbucks, Netflix, eBay and Google Play round out the top ten most popular gift cards on that survey.

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