I Found $140 in Old Gift Cards in a Drawer — Here's How I Actually Cashed Them Out
I was cleaning out a junk drawer before a move and found six gift cards I'd completely forgotten about — a couple from birthdays two Christmases back, one from a store that closed near me so I had zero reason to use it, and a $25 restaurant card for a place I don't even like. Add them up and it came to just over $140 sitting there doing nothing. I figured I'd try converting them to actual cash instead of letting them keep gathering dust, and it took less time than I expected.
Checking Balances First — The Step People Skip
Before listing anything, I verified every card's exact balance. Two of mine had different amounts than what I remembered — one had already been partially used at some point I'd forgotten about. Most retailers have an online balance checker right on their site, or a number on the back of the card you can call. This step matters more than it seems; listing a card with the wrong balance is the fastest way to get a sale cancelled or delayed.
Raise — Where I Got the Best Price, But Had to Wait
Raise works as a marketplace — you list your card at a discount off face value and wait for a buyer to bite. I listed my Amazon card (the highest-value one, $60) at 91% of face value and it sold within about four hours. My restaurant card, less in-demand, sat listed for three days before someone bought it. Raise takes a cut from the sale price, and you set your own asking percentage, so there's a real tradeoff between listing high and waiting longer versus pricing lower for a faster sale.
CardCash — Faster, Slightly Lower Payout
For the store-that-closed-near-me card and one I just wanted gone quickly, I used CardCash instead. This isn't a marketplace — you submit the card, get an instant offer, and accept or decline right there. The offer came in noticeably lower than what I got on Raise (roughly 78% versus Raise's 91% for a comparable brand), but the money hit my PayPal within two business days with zero waiting for a buyer. Worth it for cards I wasn't precious about the exact payout on.
🎁 Turn Spare Time Into Extra Cash Too
Free to join, no gift cards required — a solid pairing if you're already looking for ways to turn small unused value into real money.
👉 See How It WorksWhat Actually Determines How Much You Get
Brand demand matters more than anything else. My Amazon card sold near the top of the price range because everyone wants Amazon credit. A niche regional retailer card I had barely moved even at a steep discount — nobody wanted it enough to justify a bid. As a rough pattern from my own sales: well-known national brands landed in the 85-92% range on the marketplace side, while the two niche/regional cards I sold went closer to 65-70% even after multiple price drops.
A Word on the Riskier Route
I looked briefly at peer-to-peer crypto-trading routes for gift cards, since they occasionally come up in this space. I didn't use one, and I wouldn't recommend it as a starting point — the buyer verification is thinner, disputes are harder to resolve, and the savings over a platform like CardCash weren't meaningful enough to justify the added risk for six drawer-forgotten cards. If you're already comfortable navigating crypto exchanges for other reasons, it exists as an option, but it's not where I'd send someone doing this for the first time.
Quick FAQ
Is it actually safe to sell gift cards through these apps?
On established platforms like Raise or CardCash, yes — I didn't run into any issues across six cards, and both use identity verification and encrypted transactions on their end.
How much should I expect to get?
Popular brands (Amazon, Walmart, major retailers) tend to land 85-92% of face value on marketplaces. Less common brands drop closer to 60-80%, and instant-offer sites like CardCash typically pay a bit less than a marketplace in exchange for speed.
What gift cards can I actually sell this way?
Most major retail, restaurant, and department store cards are accepted. General-purpose Visa/Mastercard gift cards sometimes work too, but check each platform's accepted list before assuming.
Conclusion
Six forgotten cards turned into just under $115 in actual cash after fees, out of that original $140 in face value — not a perfect conversion, but real money that was otherwise never going to get spent. If you've got a drawer like mine, it's worth the twenty minutes it takes to check.
More real-numbers money guides like this are up on Tech & Rewards.