How to Spend Leftover Gift Card Balances

Does anyone else have a stack of gift cards that they just can't seem to get rid of? Don't get me wrong. I love receiving gift cards, and I appreciate the many people they have come from.

But when that balance gets pretty small, I have a hard time spending those last few dollars. A couple weeks ago I had the goal to—get this—spend all my gift cards! I thought it would be a fun weekend activity, but in the end I didn't find anything I wanted to buy. And when I go grocery shopping and such, I either forget or think it will be too much of a hassle to try to pay with five gift cards. I bet cashiers loooove that.

Next I thought, oh hey, I'll buy stuff online! ... But most online checkouts don't allow you to determine partial payments from those cards. And there I was stuck again.

I'll tell you that I did NOT get those gift cards spent...although I did empty a Walmart one.

However, I finally found the best way for me to spend those gift cards and get them out of my wallet.

AMAZON!

I can always find something to buy on Amazon. So when I discovered that Amazon actually lets you buy an e-gift card for any amount—yes, ANY AMOUNT—and adds that gift card to your Amazon balance. It never expires and will automatically apply to your Amazon purchases if you want it to. So clean out your wallet and add some money to your Amazon account.

How to Spend Your Gift Cards.

1. Call the number or visit the website listed on the back of your gift card. Find out the exact balance of the gift card.

2. Go to Amazon.com and find the option to purchase an e-mail gift card. (Yes I link there.)

3. Next to "Amount," select "Set my own." Then type the amount of the gift card you'd like to empty. 

4. After clicking "Purchase" select "Pay with new card" and use the gift card info in the payment section.

 5. Confirm your purchase and check the e-mail you mailed the gift card to. Click "Redeem now." This will automatically take you back to Amazon and add the gift card amount to your balance.

6. Spend!