It’s easy for a gift card to get buried in your wallet among your credit cards and other discount and frequent shopper cards. New protections give you more time to spend that cash.
The fine print on gift cards was supposed to change August 22, 2010, but the Federal Reserve is delaying that deadline so the old cards won’t be thrown in the trash. Card companies will get until January 2011 to make the appropriate changes to include the fine print on the card.
Expiration
While the new rules won’t be on the card, you’ll still get the protections as scheduled. This means, your gift card won’t expire for five years after its loaded with money or re-loaded.
Fees
You also can’t be charged inactivity fees unless it’s been dormant for at least a year.
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