Holiday Gift Cards

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Holiday Gift Cards

The National Retail Federation expects shoppers to buy close to $25 billion in gift cards this holiday season.

There are two main issuers of gift cards:

1. Banks and credit card companies push one type, those with VISA, MasterCard, American Express or Discover logos on them. Recipients can use the plastic at merchants that accept that card. Almost all of these cards levy purchase fees of a few dollars and charge other fees if the recipient doesn't use them up within six to 12 months.

2. Retailer gift cards give recipients the run of the store. Retailer gift cards can have expiration dates and/or maintenance or inactivity fees although most people drain their cards quickly and thus lose no value.

Banks, credit card companies and retailers that issue gift cards don't always follow the same script when it comes to their terms, conditions, fees and footnotes. "As we enter the holiday season, it is especially important that consumers be alert to the wide variety of terms and conditions available in the gift card market," says Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan.

To check the rules on more than 50 popular cards from iTunes to Wachovia, go to:

Fees, Rules, Caveats on Over 50 Gift Cards – from Amazon to Wells Fargo

Research firm TowerGroup figures that nearly $8 billion of gift card money will ultimately end up unused this year. Consumer Reports found that more than 23 million Americans have unused gift cards from last year's holidays valued at more than $972 million.