Two different clocks
People say "expiry" for two separate things:
- Expiry of the balance. The money stops being yours.
- Expiry of the offer. A promotional top-up or bonus attached to the card runs out, while the base balance survives.
Promotional balances expire far more aggressively than purchased ones — often in weeks. If a card was topped up with a bonus, check which part of the balance you are spending first.
What the rules broadly look like
The details are national and they change, so treat this as orientation and check locally:
- United States. Federal law sets a floor of five years from the date funds were last loaded, and restricts dormancy fees to cards untouched for at least a year. Several states go further, and a few effectively ban expiry on retail gift cards.
- European Union. A minimum validity of at least one year applies to single-purpose vouchers under the VAT rules, with individual member states adding stronger protections.
- United Kingdom. No statutory minimum. The expiry is whatever the terms say, which in practice is commonly 12 to 24 months.
- Australia. Three years minimum from purchase for most retail gift cards, and post-supply fees are banned.
The pattern is consistent even if the numbers are not: purchased balances get more protection than promotional ones, and fees are being squeezed out.
Dormancy and inactivity fees
A dormancy fee eats a balance that has not moved. Where they still exist they typically:
- Start only after 12 months of no activity.
- Take a small fixed amount each month.
- Have to be disclosed on the card or in the terms.
Any activity usually resets the clock — even spending a small amount. Which leads to the only habit that really matters here.
The habit that stops you losing money
Spend gift cards early, and spend them down to zero.
Not because sellers are sneaky, but because of how people actually behave. The way balances get lost is not usually a fee. It is:
- A £3.40 remainder that is never worth a trip, left forever.
- A card put somewhere safe and then genuinely lost.
- A brand that closes, or closes in your country.
If you cannot spend it soon, at least redeem the code to an account so the balance is somewhere you will see it. Checking the balance once a year takes a minute.
When a brand goes under
This is the risk nobody prices in. If a retailer enters administration, gift card holders are unsecured creditors, which in practice means near the back of the queue. Cards are frequently refused immediately, sometimes accepted at 50% of face value for a short window.
There is no clever protection against this. The only real defence is not to sit on a large balance for a long time.