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Nearly half of all Americans sitting on unused gift cards

Americans sitting on thousands of dollars of unused gift cards
Americans sitting on thousands of dollars of unused gift cards 01:45

MIAMI - Every year billions of dollars are spent on gift cards.

For shoppers, like Mickey Freund, it's an easy present.

"I have teenage granddaughters and I don't like to shop, so therefore I use the gift cards," Freund said.

Even though people like giving them and receiving them, people often don't use all the money. A survey from Bankrate finds 47% of U.S. adults have unused gift cards, vouchers, or store credits. The average American is sitting on $175, that's up from $116 last year.

"About a third of people have either let a gift card expire or lost a gift card. A lot of times people are just their own worst enemy, they hold on to these things too long, the store goes out of business" said Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at Bankrate.

There are websites like Raise, CardCash, and GiftCash that allow you to sell the card and receive anywhere from 70% - 90% of the value in cash. Another option: give the card to someone else, even if there's a small remainder left.

"You can even reload a lot of these gift cards. So even if you have one of these weird remainders like $6.23, you could actually load that up in many cases to a more socially acceptable amount, and then give that as a gift," Rossman said.

Experts say if you receive a gift card it's important to make a plan to spend it because the cards only become a gift when you use them.

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