any FREE ways to get cash out of VISA/MASTERCARD/AMEX gift cards?

[richardycc]

We got a bunch of different Visa/Amex gift cards with 'cash' value in them, is there a free or close to free way to convert them back into cold hard cash?

ways I have already thought of:

1: Ebay, get killed by fees,usually sold for less than face value.
2: buy a money order at post office, but not sure if they will let people buy it with a gift card without PIN.
3: prebuy onboard credit for our upcoming cruise, but we are afraid if we miss the boat/trip cancelled, etc then we might lose our credit,etc.

are there any other ways?

 

[Dulanic]

Why not just use them over time? Use it for grocerys or whatever? The you save your own cash and is basically the same as turning them into cash.

 

[richardycc]

Originally posted by: Dulanic
Why not just use them over time? Use it for grocerys or whatever? The you save your own cash and is basically the same as turning them into cash.

the problem is that we have a lot of these cards laying around, close to $2000, it will take us a long time to use them all up, I'd rather turn them into cash and maybe collect some interest for us instead of Visa/Amex.

 

[XZeroII]

Why not just tell people to stop wasting their money and give you some *****ing cash instead of buying a stupid card.

"It's just like money, only not as good!"

Just use them over time. How long does it take to spend $2,000 on groceries, gas, and other misc. purchases?

 

[whistleclient]

website that gives you cash for gift cards

link

not sure if this will help you

 

[mattocs]

Post office won't do money orders with credit. Debit and cash only I belive.

 

[jadinolf]

I don't think you can buy a money order with these cards.

 

[brtspears2]

At least they are usable at any store that accepts those cards. Good luck trying to extract the last few cents off each card though. I had the problem at a Best Buy using Cingular rebate gift cards:

"I would like to put $23.98 on this card, $1.23 on this card, and I will pay the rest in cash...."

You could try to pawn them off on ebay or a gift card buyback site, but you will take a loss.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Just use them for everyday purchases. You're not going to find a way to cash them in for free, so you'll end up taking a loss to get cash.. which negates any interest you may earn.

 

[everman]

Originally posted by: mattocs
Post office won't do money orders with credit. Debit and cash only I belive.

The cards act like debit cards, not credit. Try the money order, the worst that happens is they say no.

 

[keeleysam]

Open a Google Checkout account, and send yourself money. There are no fees.

 

[uberman]

Call the number on the card. Put a pin on them. Withdraw cash from ATM.

 

[montanafan]

Just make sure to use them within 6 months. Most of them start deducting a fee each month after that. I got a Visa card that deducted $2.50 each month after the first six.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: keeleysam
Open a Google Checkout account, and send yourself money. There are no fees.

That's illegal if I remember correctly, had read about it once.

OP: I would either sell them or just continue using them for everything, it's the simplest way.

 

[xanis]

Is it possible to go to the bank you got it from and use it on the ATM machine?

 

[SVT Cobra]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo

Originally posted by: keeleysam
Open a Google Checkout account, and send yourself money. There are no fees.

That's illegal if I remember correctly, had read about it once.

OP: I would either sell them or just continue using them for everything, it's the simplest way.

Hmm. I do not doubt it is illegal but what does it say in GC's TOS?

 

[dquan97]

Originally posted by: SVT Cobra

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo

Originally posted by: keeleysam
Open a Google Checkout account, and send yourself money. There are no fees.

That's illegal if I remember correctly, had read about it once.

OP: I would either sell them or just continue using them for everything, it's the simplest way.

Hmm. I do not doubt it is illegal but what does it say in GC's TOS?

GC actually prevents ppl from doing this...

 

[SVT Cobra]

Originally posted by: dquan97

Originally posted by: SVT Cobra

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo

Originally posted by: keeleysam
Open a Google Checkout account, and send yourself money. There are no fees.

That's illegal if I remember correctly, had read about it once.

OP: I would either sell them or just continue using them for everything, it's the simplest way.

Hmm. I do not doubt it is illegal but what does it say in GC's TOS?

GC actually prevents ppl from doing this...

Oh I see, I haven't actually used GC yet.