National Use Your Gift Card Day: Your Guide to Celebrating 🎉

Don’t let those gift cards hide in drawers and collect dust for years. Instead when National Use Your Gift Card Day rolls around, use the day to redeem it and get yourself a little something special. Image courtesy of Kudoboard.

If you've ever wondered who decided we needed a whole day dedicated to using gift cards, you're not alone. National Use Your Gift Card Day has a surprisingly practical origin story—and it all comes down to helping people avoid losing money they didn't even realize they were sitting on. After all, how many of us can relate to getting gift cards, only to forget we have them at all. Well, this holiday was invented to encourage customers to go use those gift cards, and treat themselves to something in the process!

The Beginning

National Use Your Gift Card Day was created in 2016 by a group of gift card industry professionals who noticed a troubling trend: billions of dollars in gift card value were going unused every year. People were receiving gift cards, tucking them away for safekeeping, and then completely forgetting about them. Some cards eventually expired, others got lost in the shuffle of daily life, and many simply sat dormant while their recipients waited for the "right moment" to use them.

The holiday was established to fall on the third weekend in January—strategically placed just a few weeks after the peak holiday gift-giving season when wallets and drawers are typically stuffed with fresh gift cards. The timing serves as a timely nudge: "Hey, remember all those cards you just got? Use them!"

The Problem It Addresses

According to various industry reports, consumers leave substantial amounts of gift card value unredeemed each year. Sometimes it's forgetfulness, sometimes it's procrastination, and sometimes people genuinely lose track of cards altogether. The problem became significant enough that it caught the attention of consumer advocates and the gift card industry alike.

National Use Your Gift Card Day was designed to combat this waste by creating awareness and giving people a concrete reason—and a specific date—to finally redeem those cards collecting dust.

The Scale of Unused Gift Cards

The problem of unused gift cards is surprisingly significant. Industry reports from recent years have estimated that billions of dollars in gift card value go unused annually in the United States alone. Some estimates have suggested that anywhere from $1 billion to $3 billion or more sits unredeemed each year, though exact figures vary by source and methodology.

Percentage of Cards Going Unused 

Various consumer surveys have indicated that roughly 10-19% of gift card recipients never use their cards at all. Additionally, many cards that do get used have small remaining balances left on them that never get redeemed—sometimes called "breakage" in the industry.

Why Cards Go Unused Common reasons include:

• Forgetting about the card entirely (the most frequent cause)
• Losing the physical card
• The remaining balance being too small to seem worth using
• Cards expiring before being used
• Not being interested in the specific retailer
• Saving the card for a "special occasion" that never comes

The Industry Perspective 

For retailers, unused gift cards actually represent profit—they've received payment without having to provide goods or services. This "breakage" is factored into many companies' financial projections, though regulations have been tightened in recent years to protect consumers from unfair expiration dates and fees.

Why National Use Your Gift Card Day Matters

Beyond just being a quirky observance, the day serves several important purposes:

It reminds people to check their wallets, drawers, and email inboxes for gift cards they might have forgotten about. It encourages people to treat themselves without guilt, since gift cards are meant to be enjoyed, not hoarded. It helps consumers avoid losing money to expiration dates or forgotten balances. And it promotes smarter gift card management, encouraging people to keep track of what they have and use it before it's too late.

Someone took the opportunity to give you a gift card, so you may as well cash it in for a treat! Don’t let your gift cards go unused, and instead get into the spirit of this holiday and spend those unused gift cards!

How It's Celebrated Today

While National Use Your Gift Card Day isn't a federally recognized holiday (you won't get the day off work, unfortunately), it has gained traction on social media and among retailers. Many businesses use the day to remind customers about their gift card programs, offer special promotions, or encourage people to check their balances.

For consumers, it's become a lighthearted excuse to finally book that massage, grab that coffee, or buy those shoes they've been eyeing—all guilt-free, because they're just following the spirit of the holiday.

The Takeaway

National Use Your Gift Card Day started as a practical solution to a real problem: people losing money simply because they forgot to use what was given to them. While it may not have the historical weight of holidays like Thanksgiving or the Fourth of July, it serves a genuinely useful purpose in our modern, gift-card-filled world.

So when January 18th rolls around each year, consider it your official permission slip to stop saving that Starbucks card for a special occasion and just enjoy your latte today. That's exactly what the day was created for.

Do stores run promos or sales for the holiday?

Can you expect to find extra sales to celebrate National Use Your Gift Card Day?