Can You Get Cash Back From a Gift Card? [Answered] Can You Get Cash Back From a Gift Card? [Answered]

Can You Get Cash Back From a Gift Card? [Answered]

Can You Get Cash Back From a Gift Card?

Gift cards aren’t mere payment tools—they facilitate consumer culture. They entice, even oblige you to spend on products and services you may not need. You think of all the money that’s practically going down the drain and wonder—can you get cash back from a gift card? The answer is a yes, albeit a twisted one.

In the past, certain retailers would issue refunds for returned gift cards—but now, most stores have a no-return policy. If you want to cash out a gift card, you need solutions beyond the issuing store. This guide compiles all safe and legitimate methods of doing so—you can go over them and choose something that would work for you.

If you want to improve your finances with extra cash and free gift cards of your choice, consider using Mode Mobile’s products. They help you earn a side income worth hundreds of dollars a year for completing casual phone-based tasks like streaming music and surfing the web.

Can You Get the Full Money off a Gift Card—The Truth

Gift cards are prepaid cards meant to be redeemed at stores or online for intended products and services worth a particular value. Some gift cards are single-use, while others are reloadable, depending on the gift card policy of the issuer. Even if you end up with an unwanted gift card, no retailer would take them back and issue you a full refund. While certain store owners do agree to buy back your gift card, it's usually at a price much lower than the gift card value.

Know that getting the full value back on gift cards is rare. People have resorted to all sorts of tricks to convert gift cards to cash—for example, some customers would buy a random product only to return it later and be reimbursed in cash. While you technically get the full cashback, the method is downright tedious and certainly not possible in the case of gift cards offered by service-based companies like Chipotle, DoorDash, and Fandango.

If you’re looking to redeem your gift card for cash, you’ll have to be okay with receiving less than the value on the card. The question is—how to get the best deal on your gift card?

Source: Igal Ness

How To Get Cash Back From Different Types of Gift Cards

The options to get money off a gift card depend on whether you have an activated open-loop or a closed-loop card. Open-loop gift cards are accepted by multiple retailers (online and at stores) and have logos of one of the following major credit card networks:

  1. Visa
  2. Mastercard
  3. American Express
  4. Discover

Closed-loop cards can only be used at a specific store or group of stores. Gift cards associated with a specific brand, such as Nike, Roblox, Macy’s, Xbox, Apple, and Google Play, are all closed-loop cards.

Get a bird’s-eye view of the available cash-out methods for open- and closed-loop gift cards in the table below:

Type of Gift Card

How To Get Cash off a Gift Card

Open-loop gift card

You can encash an open-loop gift card by:

  • Using it to buy a money order
  • Transferring the balance to self (via online fintech services like PayPal or Venmo)
  • Reselling the gift card

Closed-loop gift card

You can cash out a closed-loop gift card by:

Invest in yourself
Get $20 from Stash & an $60 Mode Mastercard after you deposit at least $5 into a new account.
Earn an easy $4 TODAY!💸
Take full control of your subscriptions. Earn a $4 Mode MasterCard when you sign up and link your bank account to Rocket Money!

Mode Mobile Brings You a Guaranteed Way To Earn Quick Cash

Unspent dollars sitting on a gift card is tragic—but the bigger tragedy is not having cash when you need it. If you want to boost your side income, give Mode Mobile’s products a go. The company enables you to earn cash, gift cards, prepaid cards, and other rewards effortlessly. All you have to do is complete everyday tasks on your phone, such as:

  • Playing your favorite music
  • Reading the news
  • Checking the weather
  • Trying gaming apps
  • Surfing the internet
  • Charging the phone
  • Tracking fitness goals on the phone
  • Taking surveys
  • Sharing reviews after trying new apps

These activities may already be a part of your daily routine, but Mode Mobile enables you to rack up reward points for them. You can exchange your points for guaranteed cash and in-kind rewards. Benefit from the company’s services by:

  1. Downloading the Mode Earn App
  2. Getting a Mode Earn Phone

Source: Thirdman

How To Withdraw Money From an Open-Loop Gift Card

While open-loop gift cards cannot be used to withdraw cash from ATMs, you can encash it indirectly by purchasing a money order or using fintech (financial technology) services online—they’re both lucrative methods.

Purchasing a Money Order With an Open-Loop Gift Card

A money order is a prepaid financial document that carries a particular sum of money for a stated payee. You can use a Mastercard, Visa, or similar gift card to purchase a money order in your own name from a designated location, for example:

  • Superstores like Walmart and Target
  • Post offices
  • Credit unions

You have to pay a purchase fee of 45 cents to $2. Once you have the money order, visit any bank to encash it or deposit it into your account.

Using Online Fintech Services To Get Money off an Open-Loop Gift Card

Fintech companies like PayPal and Venmo help you manage online payments. You can link your open-loop gift card on these platforms and then transfer its balance to an attached bank account. The related charges for such transfers are 3%–5%.

While transferring your gift card balance to self is easy with Venmo, the process is a bit complicated with PayPal. You can make self-transfers using PayPay only if you have two accounts—click on this dedicated guide to learn about it in detail.

Source: Anna Shvets

How To Get Cash Back From a Closed-Loop Gift Card

While you can easily get more than 90% of the value for open-loop gift cards, the same cannot be said about closed-loop ones. The value of a closed-loop gift card depends on its popularity, current demand, and expiry date.

You can cash out a closed-loop gift card by:

  1. Exchanging it at a gift card kiosk—Gift card kiosks look like ATMs and are typically located outside popular supermarkets. You have to insert your gift card into the machine and wait for it to estimate your card’s value. It will then offer you a discounted amount in exchange for your gift card. The kiosk may also reject your gift card if it’s from a brand with low market reach. You can locate a gift card kiosk near you by using Apple or Google Maps, but know that not every city has one
  2. Selling it locally or online—You can liquidate both open-loop and closed-loop gift cards, but getting a good value on the card requires patience. For example, if you’re in urgent need of cash, you may have to sell your gift card to local retailers or pawnbrokers for 60% or less value. If you’re in no hurry, you can auction the card online at a price of your choice, although you may lose a percentage of your sales in commission. Common platforms for selling gift cards online include:
    1. Classified ad websites (Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Craigslist, etc.)
    2. Gift card resale and exchange websites (Raise.com, CardCash, Gift Card Outlets, etc.)

Source: Nick Pampoukidis

Need Side Cash? The Mode Earn App Is Your Stepping Stone

The Mode Earn App is a reward-based app that works on all Android devices. Once installed on your phone, the app will open a gateway of opportunities to earn rewards. You can check out the earning tasks, complete the ones you like, collect your reward points, and exchange them for redemption options on offer. The app offers earning tasks based on various hobbies and interests, so you can choose the ones you like and have fun while doing them.

The Mode Earn App can boost your income by up to $600 a year. Here are some of the app’s existing redemption options:

  1. Cash deposit via PayPal
  2. Prepaid Mastercards
  3. Gift cards—from top brands like Amazon, Walmart, iTunes, Starbucks, Sephora, Target, eBay, and more
  4. Game cards and in-game items, for example:
    1. Fortnite V-Bucks cards
    2. Mobile Legends diamonds
    3. PUBG gift cards
    4. PlayStation console cards
    5. Free Fire diamonds
  5. Airtime
  6. Electronics and gadgets
  7. Shopping discounts
  8. Digital assets like cryptocurrencies

The app makers regularly add new redemption options to suit the preferences of different users.

Check out the app’s stellar credentials on the platform:

  • A 4.4-star rating
  • Over 2.6 million user reviews
  • A history of more than 30 million downloads

The Mode Earn App is 100% free to use—no download or subscription fee. Go to Google Play and download the Mode Earn App today!

Source: Google Play

Rewards on Repeat—The Mode Earn Phone Earns You Double

The Mode Earn Phone is not a mere smartphone—the Android-based device doubles up as a premium money-maker. Start using the Mode Earn Phone, and you can earn over $1,200 a year—double what you can earn with the Mode Earn App installed on a different device.

Even basic activities like charging your phone or listening to the radio on the Mode Earn Phone can earn you twice as many points as the app alone. The device comes with the following components:

  1. A preloaded Mode Earn App
  2. An earn-as-you-go widget with 16 earning modes, including:
    1. Music Mode
    2. Charge Mode
    3. Games Modes
    4. Task Mode
    5. Fitness Mode
    6. News Mode
    7. Surf Mode
    8. Lock Screen Mode

The widget facilitates the earning process by enabling quick access to these lucrative modes 24/7. Besides the earning components, the Mode Earn Phone is also full-featured and compatible with all major carriers in the country.

Source: Mode Mobile

The Mode Earn Phone Is Affordable for All

You have two options to start using a Mode Earn Phone:

  1. Buy the device—for a one-time price of $109
  2. Start a free trial and subscribe to the phone—the subscription fee would be $9.99 per month, billed quarterly. The regular subscribers to the phone get a new model of the device every 18 months

Every penny you spend on the phone can be recovered within three months—all you have to do is utilize its earning modes regularly. You can also earn attractive cash rewards by referring the phone to your friends. Are you ready to exploit your phone habits for money? Buy or subscribe to the Mode Earn Phone now.

Featured image source: Cedaen Aran

Get Free Gift Cards In Minutes

Invest in yourself
Get $20 from Stash & an $60 Mode Mastercard after you deposit at least $5 into a new account.
Earn an easy $4 TODAY!💸
Take full control of your subscriptions. Earn a $4 Mode MasterCard when you sign up and link your bank account to Rocket Money!
TODAY get a FREE stock and $15!💰
Get 1 FREE stock worth up to $225 + a $15 Mode MasterCard after you sign up for Robinhood and fund your account with at least $1!
Kashkick
Get cash back from Kashkick when you read emails, complete surveys, take quizzes, refer your friend, and subscribe to special promotions!