Ok, I know many of you have gotten gift cards for your holiday presents or even for your birthday. I have a guest blogger today, Kwame Kuadey of GiftCardRescue.com, to offer some tips about the plastic pimps cards. Giftcardrescue.com allows you to exchange or sell your unused giftcards. We all know gift cards can be the key to purchasing your dreams or the way to get SCAMMED! Some people say gift cards are the new fruitcake.

Here are Kwame’s tips:

Tip 1: Some gift cards do charge monthly fees and others have expiration dates, especially the bank issued gift cards like Visa and Mastercard. It’s important to understand what fees are assessed and when before buying a gift card. Some card issuers deduct $2.50 per month once a card hasn’t been swiped for a year.

Tip 2: To avoid losing the gift card or forgetting you ever received it, it is best to use them quickly.

Tip 3: If the card issuer goes out of business, call to see if you can use the card at an upcoming liquidation sale. If not, call a competing store and see if it will accept it as a courtesy for a one-time discount.

Tip 4: If you recieve a gift card and don’t like the store, exchange your unwanted card for a new one or trade it in for cash at giftcardrescue.com..

What do you think about Kwame’s tips? Did you get any gift cards? I think the most piece of advice is to use them quickly. What are your tips for handling gift cards? Are gift cards the new fruitcake? P.S. Y’all know Kwame was on Shark Tank, right?