Anyone want to do a gift card challenge?

[Pilsy]

I have a $500 gift card to Tiffany that's been in my purse for so long, they had to reissue it once already. I don't want to "waste" it on just anything, but I also don't want to never use it. I'm thinking I should check in with them to confirm it's still valid, and then I'll plan on buying some jewelry for my girls that I'll give to them for graduation someday. Then again, how far will $500 go these days?

I'll have to go check out their site.

Good problem to have!

[dr.girlfriend]

Aug 8, 2022 14:35:33 GMT -5 Pilsy said:

I have a $500 gift card to Tiffany that's been in my purse for so long, they had to reissue it once already. I don't want to "waste" it on just anything, but I also don't want to never use it. I'm thinking I should check in with them to confirm it's still valid, and then I'll plan on buying some jewelry for my girls that I'll give to them for graduation someday. Then again, how far will $500 go these days?

I'll have to go check out their site.

Good problem to have!

Oooh, get the $1000 tin can!  (just kidding!)

[whattheheck]

Aug 8, 2022 14:35:33 GMT -5 Pilsy said:

I have a $500 gift card to Tiffany that's been in my purse for so long, they had to reissue it once already. I don't want to "waste" it on just anything, but I also don't want to never use it. I'm thinking I should check in with them to confirm it's still valid, and then I'll plan on buying some jewelry for my girls that I'll give to them for graduation someday. Then again, how far will $500 go these days?

I'll have to go check out their site.

Good problem to have!

I have a $100 gift coin to Tiffany’s that I found when cleaning out my moms desk (she passed in 2008). I have no idea if they even take it anymore.

[Pilsy]

lol, dr.girlfriend! Sounds about right.

whattheheck, definitely reach out to them!! I'm sure you can still use it. I think my gift card is 11 years old now...

[ssmjlm]

Pilsy, I would do the sterling bead pieces. I have the whole set and wear the earrings all the time and the bracelet a lot. I don't wear the necklace much with not going into work.

I would 100% replace the earrings if I lost them.

www.tiffany.com/jewelry/earrings/tiffany-hardwear-ball-earrings-GRP03142/

www.tiffany.com/jewelry/bracelets/tiffany-hardwear-ball-bracelet-GRP01690/

[Pilsy]

Aug 9, 2022 10:13:11 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

Pilsy , I would do the sterling bead pieces. I have the whole set and wear the earrings all the time and the bracelet a lot. I don't wear the necklace much with not going into work.

I would 100% replace the earrings if I lost them.

www.tiffany.com/jewelry/earrings/tiffany-hardwear-ball-earrings-GRP03142/

www.tiffany.com/jewelry/bracelets/tiffany-hardwear-ball-bracelet-GRP01690/

Ooh, I do love those earrings!

Hmm... I have the gift card because I returned something many moons ago. That was a gift to me, so buying myself something with the gift card now is only fair, right? 

[ssmjlm]

Pilsy, definitely!

[dr.girlfriend]

Update: I got my fake flowers from C&B! I think they look a little too fake to put on my table, but I styled them on my bookshelf and like it! They can spruce up my background on teleconference calls.

[expectantsteelerfan]

Aug 7, 2022 18:51:14 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

Aug 7, 2022 17:01:21 GMT -5 expectantsteelerfan said:

But I do have a $5 gift card I got as part of a gift basket I won many years ago to some random store called Today's Tiffany at this upscale mall near us. I laughed so hard when I got it. I don't think you can buy anything from that store for less than $100, and the stuff in there was not my style, so I could not imagine wanting to drop the extra $ just to use the $5 gift card.

If you're ever in the area you should try to sneak it on a shelf with "free to a good home" on it!  :-D

This is such a great idea!  I was at the mall this past weekend to go to the movie theater and was going to actually do it, only to discover the store is now permanently closed (it was a Covid casualty apparently).  I will definitely do this with any other small gift cards I don't intend to use though.

[HoneySpider]

Just seeing this thread but we've actually been working on using up some gift cards recently so good timing!

In the past 2 weeks we've used a coupon for a free dozen donuts, a $50 gift card to a restaurant not near us now that we moved (we happened to be in the area so we went for lunch), and 2 free tickets to a kids play place.

Earlier this summer we tried to use a $25 gift card to a macaron shop and they told us they have changed to a new gift card system and we couldn't use it anymore. It's older, but not super old so that was a bummer - seems like that would screw a lot of people.

[dr.girlfriend]

Aug 14, 2022 8:21:26 GMT -5 HoneySpider said:

Earlier this summer we tried to use a $25 gift card to a macaron shop and they told us they have changed to a new gift card system and we couldn't use it anymore. It's older, but not super old so that was a bummer - seems like that would screw a lot of people.

That's such bad business, especially for a smaller place! 

[HoneySpider]

Aug 14, 2022 11:02:23 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

Aug 14, 2022 8:21:26 GMT -5 HoneySpider said:

Earlier this summer we tried to use a $25 gift card to a macaron shop and they told us they have changed to a new gift card system and we couldn't use it anymore. It's older, but not super old so that was a bummer - seems like that would screw a lot of people.

That's such bad business, especially for a smaller place! 

Right? We were really surprised they wouldn't do anything. 

[heygrey]

We rarely get gift cards and if we do we use them up pretty quickly.

But my husband's best friend (an elementary school teacher) came over the other day and handled H a stack of Starbucks gift cards. Friend never goes to Starbucks and just wanted to get them out of his drawer. H now has over $150 in credit on his starbucks app!

[tacokick]

I have an $80 one for Bloomingdale’s. It’s hard because Bloomingdale’s is expensive and $80 doesn’t go far but it’s also too much to just get a box of candy and call it a day.

[tacokick]

Aug 14, 2022 11:12:58 GMT -5 HoneySpider said:

Aug 14, 2022 11:02:23 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

That's such bad business, especially for a smaller place! 

Right? We were really surprised they wouldn't do anything. 

Your state might have a law about this

www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/question-legal-gift-certificates-expire-27997.html

[dr.girlfriend]

Another update! I went to my bank branch and it caused some confusion but ultimately I got the stupid American Express Cheque turned into cash!

[biscoffcookies]

Aug 16, 2022 16:04:41 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

Another update! I went to my bank branch and it caused some confusion but ultimately I got the stupid American Express Cheque turned into cash!

Yay! I am entertaining myself imagining the confused reactions from the tellers. In my head it’s like that video where college kids were asked to use a rotary phone.

[fernweh]

Aug 17, 2022 8:30:44 GMT -5 biscoffcookies said:

Aug 16, 2022 16:04:41 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

Another update! I went to my bank branch and it caused some confusion but ultimately I got the stupid American Express Cheque turned into cash!

Yay! I am entertaining myself imagining the confused reactions from the tellers. In my head it’s like that video where college kids were asked to use a rotary phone.

I had an experience very similar to this when I cashed in some savings bonds I had received as gifts as a child. Multiple bank tellers took a crack at it (one of them I don’t think even knew what a savings bond was) and ultimately had to get the branch manager to show them what to do with them.
I’m a bit concerned as I still have a stack that isn’t fully mature that it’ll be impossible in a few years to find someone who knows how to deal with them.

[dr.girlfriend]

Aug 17, 2022 17:29:11 GMT -5 fernweh said:

Aug 17, 2022 8:30:44 GMT -5 biscoffcookies said:

Yay! I am entertaining myself imagining the confused reactions from the tellers. In my head it’s like that video where college kids were asked to use a rotary phone.

I had an experience very similar to this when I cashed in some savings bonds I had received as gifts as a child. Multiple bank tellers took a crack at it (one of them I don’t think even knew what a savings bond was) and ultimately had to get the branch manager to show them what to do with them.
I’m a bit concerned as I still have a stack that isn’t fully mature that it’ll be impossible in a few years to find someone who knows how to deal with them.

I remember winning a $200 20-year bond in high school as a journalism prize and thinking, "In 20 years hopefully I won't care so much about $200!"  I still wonder where that bond went!  :-)

[tacokick]

Aug 17, 2022 17:29:11 GMT -5 fernweh said:

Aug 17, 2022 8:30:44 GMT -5 biscoffcookies said:

Yay! I am entertaining myself imagining the confused reactions from the tellers. In my head it’s like that video where college kids were asked to use a rotary phone.

I had an experience very similar to this when I cashed in some savings bonds I had received as gifts as a child. Multiple bank tellers took a crack at it (one of them I don’t think even knew what a savings bond was) and ultimately had to get the branch manager to show them what to do with them.
I’m a bit concerned as I still have a stack that isn’t fully mature that it’ll be impossible in a few years to find someone who knows how to deal with them.

You can do them by mail. My grandfather had a ton in his and my mom’s name and when she died I mailed them in. It was a very large amount and many, many bonds but it was easy! They direct deposited into my account. Treasury Direct has all the info on their website.

I admit I was scared to send them but it worked and the people I called at the Treasury Dept were the nicest.

[mrsd2006]

I found a Best Buy gift card that was probably 5 or 6 years old. It was $100. I don't really remember how I got it, probably from purchasing a cell phone through them. I used it to buy a new ipad when my 12 year old ipad died.

[dr.girlfriend]

I gave away my Lego store and AMC gift cards to a friend this weekend to use for her kids, so I'm down to just the Regal and Fandango ones! My husband sees movies all the time but is a wimp about actually using gift cards so I may need to do some nagging but I am almost at gift card zero (minus the truly ancient ones that I am too embarrassed to redeem)!

[waverly]

I used up all my gift cards, and then I won a summer reading prize at the library, and guess what gift cards. I don't remember what all they are, but one of them is essentially worthless. It is $5 to a restaurant where we really hate the food. So, do we just go in a get 2 cokes to go and leave?

[sadlebred]

Am I the only person that uses gift cards within 3-4 months when I get them?

[sent]

I am constantly buying gift cards to use for our own purchases so I can rack up Chase points. That said, I have ones still sitting around. I have some from Victoria’s Secret from when I returned some stuff from my bridal shower in 2010. Last Christmas, we went to a mall not quite near us so I could use up a $75 GC specific to that mall that I was given in 2013. We bought holiday decor at Pottery Barn. On the same trip, I also finally used a paper certificate for the Gap that I had hung on to since 2008 when I returned something while visiting my brother at college in the Midwest.

Otherwise I try to spend them within a few months of getting them.

[gt7301b]

I am embarrassed to admit that I had 17 gift cards or free rebate coupons with various amounts on them. We get a lot of them from running races.

So far this month my husband and I have used two for date night, a Barnes and Nobles GC to buy my son some books, and a running club gift certificate for shoes. Down to 13.

[ssmjlm]

I finally used the last of one those happy food place gift cards last night. I’ve had it since before the pandemic.

It can’t be rung as a gift card, it has to be done as credit and so doing a split purchase was a PITA because I bought it for Panera, but mostly do online ordering for pick up.

I got it in a deal and I think left 30cents, but so happy it’s done.

[dr.girlfriend]

Bonus update: I recovered my Honey password and realized I had $40 in rewards on there. I got a Target gift card and immediately spent it on impulse purchases. :-) I got my son a hoodie, myself some replacement LED candles for my candleholders now that we are starting to entertain again, and this marble cheeseboard/tray thing that was only $10 (half price) and is actually really nice!

[gt7301b]

I got a gc to a local running store that wasn't working to actually work and bought a new pair of shoes for $40.  I also have two more gcs that have to be used in person (for a different running store) that are close to my dentist, so I am goign to try and use them before my dentist appointment this week.

[gt7301b]

Sept 26, 2022 11:51:09 GMT -5 gt7301b said:

I got a gc to a local running store that wasn't working to actually work and bought a new pair of shoes for $40.  I also have two more gcs that have to be used in person (for a different running store) that are close to my dentist, so I am goign to try and use them before my dentist appointment this week.

I was actually able to use these yesterday.  This pair of running shoes only cost me $14.  Woohoo!