My Day in 10 Words

1. snow
2. sparkling
3. baking
4. tea
5. spices
6. laundry
7. peppermint
8. headache
9. cookies
10. mess

What 10 words would sum up your day?

Regifting a Gift Card

I was given a gift card Christmas of 2019 that I never used. One of my kids asked for a gift card to this very store for this Christmas. So, you can see where my mind is going. Why not just regift this gift card?

A couple of problems with regifting gift cards:

• wanting the gift card to appear to be brand new and not previously used
• wanting to increase the value on the gift card, if the gift card is a small amount
• wanting a new activation receipt with a current date to attach to the card, so the gift card doesn't look like something I had lying around 

I wasn't sure how much value was loaded onto this gift card, and I couldn't find the little activation receipt which would indicate the value and the date purchased. So I took the gift card to the store and asked if they could tell me the balance without destroying the scratch-off PIN area. No problem, the clerk said. She swiped the card to find the value. I wanted to add to that value to make it a bigger gift. Again, no problem. After adding some money to the original card, the clerk handed me a new activation receipt with the upgraded card value and a current date.

And now, as far as anyone could tell, this is a "new" gift card and not a leftover.

I don't know if all stores will provide a new activation receipt or will allow you to add value, if desired. But it's worth a call or visit to see if this is possible, if you happen to have a gift card that you'd like to regift to a recipient who you believe would appreciate the gift card. In my case, it's a family member receiving this gift card and would probably have no problem with me regifting this card to them. But I do like the card to look as much like a new gift as possible.