I had eight gift cards rattling around in my purse, each of which had a balance of $4 or less on it. I was incapable of tossing them out, because a buck is a buck, right? I just never found myself in a place where I needed exactly $2.38 or precisely $3.97 or some such. What to do with them, then? Let them languish in my purse in perpetuity among the Matchbox cars and lipstick and Haribo Roulettes? Then it hit me. I felt like a genius.
Now, before I tell you my idea, I’ll be the first to admit I know I’m probably not the first person to think of it, but I figured if I didn’t realize it before, maybe some of YOU didn’t know you could do this. So, at the risk of looking terribly silly, here’s my lifehack:
Use your small balances to buy custom Amazon.com gift cards in the exact amount left on the card.
It’s just that easy! On Amazon.com, you can specify any amount for a gift card from $0.50 on up to infinity. ..not that I’ve tried infinity, but I figure you probably can should you have infinity at your disposal. You send the gift cards to YOURSELF, plug all the codes into your Amazon account, then VOILA! you have a nice little amount to use toward your next Amazon purchase. Because -if you’re anything like me- you’ll have a purchase to make there, soon.
How to get value from empty gift cards and/or hotel key cards
So if you’ve accrued a few of those gift codes and are looking for something to do with the empty gift credit cards and/or hotel key cards, look no further than the Pick Punch. This ridiculously handy device has changed my guitar-playing husband’s life. Essentially, it’s a giant hole punch in the size/shape of a guitar pick. I used to buy a bag of 100 guitar picks for him every year at Christmas, and by February, they were all scattered to the four corners of the globe. The Pick Punch has made it so that he never runs out of picks. EVER. You can get -according to The Evil Genius’s calculations- five perfect, standard-sized, medium weight guitar picks from one spent credit card, gift card, or hotel key card. With holidays around the bend (don’t even look at me like that. If Dollar General can have Halloween decorations out, I can start mentioning gift giving for those of us who buy ahead of time!) this is a good one to keep in mind for your favourite guitarist or bassist.
There are a lot of imitators out there now, but the The Original Guitar Pick Punch
I bought for my husband years ago is still going strong, so I can wholeheartedly put my recommendation behind it!
There you have it folks. My lifehack. Am I the only one who hadn’t thought of this before?
Reader's Thoughts...
Becki Miller says
You just changed my life! What a ding dong I’ve been! Carrying these silly things around – what a brilliant idea! Thank you
Rebecca says
HAHA! Thanks, Becki!
Alvin J says
This was extremely helpful…thank you so much for this bit of USEFUL information!
Anonymous says
I need some help with this!
Carol at Wild Goose Tea says
I think I knew this. But I had totally forgotten this. What a perfect meal for a working woman who lives alone and still likes to eat well.
Tracy - 2suitcasesandaguy.com says
Awesome! On both counts. Thank you!
Terri A says
Thank you! Just applied $6.19 to my Amazon account. Greatest idea ever!
Rebecca says
That just made my day, Terri!
Sherri Jo says
I love you. No seriously. I had about 15 gift cards laying around… all with $4 or less on them and I just bought 5 of my favorite candles on amazon using this method. Duh! Marry me?
Rebecca says
That’s flippin’ fabulous, Sherri Jo! What scents did you get?
Susan says
Genius for both suggestions! Also because I feel you about finding guitar picks EVERYWHERE. I’m just glad the pug stopped eating them. Now I need to ask the husband if that nifty tool will punch the picks the size he likes. The man is picky (ha, no pun intended.)
Rebecca says
Pick punch makes a couple of shapes and sizes nowadays! They have a triangle and a large one, too. Maybe even a couple others to boot?
rachel says
yeah. you win. 🙂
Kirsten/ComfortablyDomestic says
Genius, genius, genius! You are a GENIUS!! Why didn’t I ever think of this hack? Probably because you’re the genius.
kristy @ the wicked noodle says
So…I’ve had $690 in gift cards sitting around! I order from Amazon ALL THE TIME and never did it occur to me to just cash them in immediately. Not only does that mean I’ll never lose them but I’m also sparing myself the hassle. yay!!!
Anne says
Great idea. Another way to use the small balances is to put them toward a larger purchase. Not every store will let you do that, but my local grocery stores don’t have a problem with it. I just applied a 97-cent balance from an AmEx gift card toward my grocery total at Hannaford, and then just paid the rest with cash. Worked like a charm!
TiffH says
Most stores will also let you do a partial payment. Here’s how. Look up your balance, write the amount with a sharpie on the card. Then say there’s $x.xx on this can you take that off first? Normally they type in the specific amount and then swipe the card, then you pay the balance left with your debit, credit card, or cash. I do this all the time with gift cards with 2 or 3 dollar balances. Same with restaurant gift cards…. They normally can pull up the balance though. This will work on store gift cards, and in-store credit gift card (because you returned something without a receipt), and visa/mc gift cards.
Rebecca says
Many stores do, Tiff, but not all! There are some smaller groceries and online retailers where I’d like to use the cards where they can’t split it between payment methods. I’m so glad that method works for you most of the time! Most of the time, I don’t remember to check balances on the little beasties until I’m on the road, and I do a ton of amazon shopping, so this method works best for me!
TiffH says
Yes, I’ve had trouble using them at smaller stores too. I Should have mentioned that. I didn’t mean to step on any toes, just wanted to be helpful., mainly for the people who were asking about store specific cards. Getting an amazon gift card for people who shop on amazon is definitely a brilliant idea.
Rebecca says
I felt no toe-stepping happening! I just wanted to mention that while that’s awesome at some retailers, not all extend that courtesy! (I can think of a local grocer who is very accommodating in many ways but just can’t do that at the register because they’re not set up that way!) But you are absolutely right about reminding them to use store gift cards that way! Thank heavens retailers can look up their own in-house gift card balances.
kristy @ the wicked noodle says
I can’t begin to tell you how thrilled I am to learn this!! Brilliant!!
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
Love this!! This is why I hate gift cards. Definitely gonna do this!
Anna says
I’m confused – you can purchase amazon gift cards with other gift cards you already have? If so, this may be life-changing!
(My mom told me recently she mistakenly threw away several gift cards she had been holding onto forever. That was bound to happen, but she was very upset! They are such a pain to keep track of.)
Rebecca says
You can use visa, MasterCard, Discover, and Amex gift cards to buy amazon.com gift cards because they’re basically pre-paid credit cards!
Becca says
So you can use gift cards from other stores/restaurants to buy Amazon gift cards? I’m either going to be super excited or super disappointed!
Rebecca says
Ahhhhh, Becca- this only works on credit card gift cards like visa, MasterCard, Amex, and discover!
Amy @Very Culinary says
Omg. Life changing.
Daina says
Agreed – brilliant. I can’t remember how many cards expired that had minimal balances on them. Although I had one recently with $3.24 on it, and I made a purchase at Wendy’s that came to $3.23. I let the last penny go.
Lauren @ Healthy Delicious says
This is completely brilliant.
Rebecca says
Thank you!!