Gift cards make for an easy present. Your loved ones can get exactly what they want to buy, without you having to put in the effort of having to look for the perfect present. It’s also a smart way of sticking to your budget and not overspending. Receiving a gift card, however, may be confusing at times. Most cards do not have the balance printed on them, and looking for it may require a little effort.

Here are three ways to check your gift card balance from any retailer:

Visit the brand’s website
Check the fine print on your card, or the literature along with it. It usually mentions a website to visit to activate the card and check your balance. Visit the website and type in the required information, such as your card number, expiration date, or access code. Once you submit this information, the website will return with the available balance on your card, and ways for you to spend it. If this does not work, retry the process again, and check the details you are filling in carefully. If you are still confused with the whole process, try calling the store or visiting them to find out if there are any potential technical issues or other problems restricting your access.

If your card does not mention any websites or ways of checking your balance, you may have to rely on one of the following methods.

Call the gift card company
Gift cards generally enlist a toll-free number on the back of the card that you can call to check your balance. Some cards may even have two numbers, one for balance inquiries and another for customer service. Locate this number and make a call. It may lead you to a live operator or an automated response. In either case, follow the directions carefully and input the necessary information until you are directed toward your desired response, which is your gift card’s balance details.

Visit the store
If neither of the above options is available, visit the store. Approach the customer service representative and hand them your card. They can generally scan the card and help you with the required information free of charge. They may even print this out for you in the form of a receipt. Keep this receipt handy, especially if you still have a remaining balance on the card.

How long do gift cards last?
According to federal law, gift cards cannot expire for five years from their day of activation. However, it may lose some of its value after 12 months, as fees may be charged for inactivity or dormancy.

Where can I buy a gift card?
There are two types of gift cards you can purchase – open-loop or closed-loop. An open-loop gift card can be used at any location. For example, a Visa or a Mastercard gift card that may be redeemed at any store counts as an open-loop gift card. On the other hand, a closed-loop gift card can only be redeemed at the store or brand that it was purchased from, such as Starbucks or Home Depot.

Popular places to buy gift cards include Netflix, Visa, Grubhub, Sephora, H&M, Hulu, Airbnb, Etsy, Apple, Spotify, and more.

Can I get cash in exchange for the gift card value?
Gift cards generally only allow debit transactions to be performed in exchange for products or services, and cannot be exchanged for cash. While you cannot withdraw money from gift cards, it is possible to reload some of them with more money for gifting or itemizing your expenditure.

However, it is possible to sell your gift cards online with reputable gift card resellers such as Raise, CardCash, or GiftCardBin to exchange your card for hard cash.

When buying or using a gift card, here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Look for authorized sellers
  Buy your gift cards right at the source, and not via a third-party seller. Make sure you receive a bill or invoice for this transaction as well, as further evidence of the authenticity of your gift card.
• Check the gift card for authenticity
  Don’t purchase a card with a tampered barcode strip, or tampered pin, as this may be a sign that the card has been used/sold in the past.
• Don’t fall for the “Pay with gift card” scam
  More recently, fraudsters have been calling unsuspecting customers and asking them to pay urgent bills (such as utility bills, bank charges, or postal delivery fees) via gift cards. If someone calls you and directs you to make such a payment, that is a scammer. They ask for details such as the gift card number and your pin, which gives them access to the balance on the card. This method is quite popular since it is more difficult to trace than bank transactions.