Gift Card Exchange Kiosk Near Me + How to Get the Most Money

Let’s go to a gift card exchange kiosk for instant cash for gift cards + other places to trade gift cards online instantly

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What is a gift card exchange kiosk?

A gift card exchange kiosk is a physical machine that allows you to turn unwanted gift cards into instant cash. The process is simple: insert your gift card into the kiosk, and it will give you a quote for how much cash you can get in return. These kiosks are becoming increasingly popular as they offer a convenient way to turn unwanted gift cards into cash.

Find a gift card exchange kiosk near me

It’s easy to find a gift card exchange kiosk near me (you). Just click the button below to find one in your area.

How to use a gift card exchange kiosk

Using a gift card kiosk is simple. First, find a kiosk at a participating grocery store or other location. Then, insert your gift card into the machine and follow the prompts.

The kiosk will give you a quote for how much cash you can get in return for your gift card. Once you accept the quote, the machine will print a voucher for you to take to the store’s customer service desk and trade for cash.

Before you go, check the gift card balance so you know that the machine is giving you fair value for your gift card balance. Of course, you’ll pay a fee for this service, but ideally, you’ll get 60% – 80% of the face value of the gift card.

Trade in gift cards quickly – tell me now!

We’re going through how to change out your gift cards to something you’ll actually use. But if you’re in a hurry, then here is our top pick for how to exchange your gift cards…

What is a Coinstar gift card exchange kiosk?

A Coinstar gift card exchange kiosk is a machine that would allow you to turn your unwanted gift cards into cash. Unfortunately, this service at their kiosk is no longer available. 

Please don’t believe others if they say you can still do this at a Coinstar exchange kiosk; you can’t.

But you can still turn in your coins and get eGift cards at the Coinstar kiosks.

How does a Coinstar gift card exchange kiosk work?

You can find these machines in grocery stores across the county (usually by the front customer service desk). You can dump your loose change into the machine and either…

• Donate your coins to charity (fee free)
• Get an eGift card (fee free)
• Get cryptocurrency
• Get cash
  
  

What is the fee for Coinstar?

This kiosk is providing a service to you and me, and it’s a business, so of course, they need to make money, and they do this by charging fees.

As I mentioned above, donating to charity or getting an eGift card is fee-free, but be ready to pay for the other options.

• Get cash for coins – you’ll pay 11.99%
• When trading coins in for cryptocurrency – A transaction fee of 4% and a cash exchange fee of up to 11% apply to each crypto purchase. (fees vary by location.)
  
  

How much does Coinstar charge for $10, $25, or $50?

Let’s break down how much you’ll actually pay in fees for that 11.99%

• $10 in coins = $1.20 in fees – you’ll take home $8.80
• $25 in coins = $3 in fees – you’ll take home $22.00
• $50 in coins = $6 in fees – you’ll take home $44
  
  

What is a Gift Card Bin exchange kiosk?

Gift Card Bin is a similar setup to Coinstar; however, this one has a big advantage – it’s still open for gift card exchanges!

(Update – January 2024: Gift Card Bin is no longer in operation).

Sadly, I cannot find any physical locations to sell gift cards too anymore. So my best advice is to use CardCash – you can get PayPal money from selling your gift cards to them in just a few minutes. See below for details).

How to open up a PayPal account:

If you don’t already have a PayPal account then no worries, you can easily sign up right now and immediately connect it to your game apps so you can start depositing real money today. Here’s how you open an account:

• Go to the Sign Up page.
• Choose the account type you want (personal or business, most likely you’ll choose a personal PayPal account) and click Sign Up Now.
• Enter your information, including your email address, and next choose a password (it must contain at least eight characters and is case sensitive). You will need these to log in to your PayPal account.
• Click Next.
• Click Agree and Create Account.

Get a PayPal Account

Places with gift card exchange kiosks (maybe)

You can find gift card exchange kiosks all over the country. But if you live in a rural area, you may have to travel ways to find one. But, for the most part, you can find a gift card kiosk near me at…

• Walgreens
• Target
• Walmart
• Kroger
• Giant
• Safeway
• CVS
• Checking cashing stores
• Local grocery stores and supermarkets
  
  

Easy Savings & Free Money

• Sign up with ibotta and get $10 sign up cash as a new customer!
• Earn points on ANY receipt from ANY store and redeem for gift cards with the fetch rewards app.
• Sign up with Inbox Dollars and get paid to read emails, watch videos, and take surveys. Easy peasy!
• Get free gift cards & cash for the everyday things you do online at Swagbucks. Use the link and get a $5 bonus
• Save money on gas by signing up with Upside; it gives you up to $.25 cents cash back per gallon! Use the code AFF25 when you sign up; you’ll get a $.25 cents per gallon bonus!
• Sign up with Cash App and get a $5 bonus when you use code “NRTZMHV.” You have to complete the sign up requirements to get the bonus! Read how to do this here with point #1.

Trade gift cards online instantly

If you can’t find a close enough gift card exchange kiosk, never fear; you can do it online! There are lots of places online to sell an unwanted gift card.

Sell gift card on CardCash

CardCash – offers discounted gift cards from over 1,300 brands. People sell their unwanted gift cards to them (get paid by PayPal, ACH, or check). And then people buy them at a discounted price. Sometimes they even offer site-wide discounts on cards. I.e., 20% off specific categories.

You can sell your unwanted gift cards and trade gift cards in for something you’ll actually use. It took me literally 2 minutes to turn an Urban Outfitters gift card (that I’ve had in a drawer for years) into a Target gift card!

Now, you can sell your gift card or trade it, but you do get slightly more value when you trade it (vs. selling it for cash). It’s was only maybe $1.50 more for a trade, so not a huge difference.

When I did it, I inputted my gift card info into the online form; I told them what I wanted to trade it for. They validated my gift card balance and then emailed me a Target Gift Card in a matter of 30 minutes (if that, it was probably more like 15 minutes).

Sell gift cards online at EJ Gift Cards

EJ Gift Cards is another online buy/sell site for unwanted gift cards. It’s similar to others sites, but let’s go through the process.

1. Enter your gift card brand name and face value, and submit
2. They give you back a buy value; you can decline or accept.
3. If you accept, they send your money via PayPal.

When I messed around with different retailers and card values, they only offered slightly more than 50% to 60% of the face value, which isn’t as good as CardCash. But it’s still a viable option.

They do have a handy page where you can check the balance of your gift card, so check that out to speed up the process.

Sell gift card on GiftCash

GiftCash is an online platform that buys and sells giftcards at a discount (similar to CardCash). All you have to do is…

1. Click on “sell card”
2. Type in “Visa” and the balance amount and click “get offer”
3. They’ll come back with an offer that you can accept or change your mind
4. If you accept, you’ll be prompted to make an account
5. Choose a payment method. You can opt for bank transfer and cryptocurrency
6. Fill in your info and then follow the prompts.

I went partway through the process to see how much a $30 Visa gift card would be worth, and they offered $27.30 for it, which is 91% of the face value; pretty good!

Download the Prepaid2Cash app

Prepaid2Cash is a simple and quick way for cardholders to access their prepaid card and gift card funds. Most Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover branded prepaid cards can be used to get cash through direct deposit.

They also accept store gift cards such as Walmart, Nordstrom, Best Buy, etc. “You can get up to 92% of the gift card’s value, though the exchange rate varies by brand.”

After verifying your card details and submitting your transaction, you can select to receive your payment instantly (within 15 minutes) by using your debit card. They take 15% + $1.50 for instant delivery, or you can choose the next business day for just 7.5% + $1.50 fee instead.

Sell it on Raise

Raise is an online marketplace for selling and buying gift cards. And yes, you can sell your Visa gift card here.

To do so, just create an account and list your card. You’ll be prompted with a suggested selling price (lower than face value), which will then tell you how much you’ll get for the card at that selling price. Raise does take 15% of the sale as a fee.

So, for example, you could have a $30 Visa card, list it for $29, and then Raise will say, “you’ll get $24.65 from this sale” once it has sold on the marketplace.

Set the price, submit it for review (it takes 1-2 days), and wait for someone to buy it.

Once someone buys it, you can receive your funds by check, PayPal, or ACH direct deposit within 3-5 days from when you request a payout.

Gameflip

Gameflip – if you can’t tell by the name, it’s a place for people to buy/sell gaming equipment, and gift cards happen to be part of that genre. Popular gift cards on Gameflip are Steam cards, PSN, Xbox Live, Amazon, iTunes, and Google Play cards.

You list your card for sale, and then other customers buy it (unlike other sites where they buy it from you). “To sell gift cards quickly, set the price between 2% and 15% off the original amount. Depending on the popularity of your gift cards, you may need to adjust the asking price to attract buyers.” Which is pretty good.

This is an international site, so if you decide to buy a gift card, make sure it’s valid in the US before purchasing it.

ClipKard

ClipKard is another gift card exchange website (similar to CardCash), but it seems that they don’t accept cards from as many retailers as CardCash. I emailed them to get their retailer list, which they said they had, but no one emailed me back. So maybe lacking in the customer service department.

Online gift card buyers that I do not recommend

CardSell by CardSwapper is another app similar to the one above, but it doesn’t have very good ratings, only 2.8 out of 5. Reading through the reviews, they sound like legitimate and reasonable problems. Since there are many other options, I’d say skip this seller to avoid problems.

Jour Cards is an online platform that sells and exchanges gift cards. However, if a website misspells Wal-Mart (one of the largest retailers worldwide) on multiple occasions, I’m not sure I would trust them to handle a financial transaction. That’s just my opinion; you are more than welcome to give them a try.

Reddit gift card exchange, everyone knows Reddit, but trading GCs online with strangers, without any middle person, seems like asking for trouble. I will pay a bit extra to have someone deal with strangers. BUT that’s just me. If you’re comfortable trading/selling on the open marketplace, then go right ahead.

Places that no longer buy/trade giftcards

While offering a gift card trade-in service seems like a no-brainer for customer satisfaction, it must not be a profitable business as many places have discontinued this option.

For example, you can no longer trade/sell gift cards at…

• Target Mobile Stores
• GiftCard Granny
• Coinstar kiosk
  
  

Turn your gift cards into cash in person

There are lots of ways to turn your gift cards into cash in person. Let’s go through them, and you can pick the best option for your situation.

Sell To A Friend

This is probably the easiest way to turn your unused gift card into cash because there are no transaction fees, and you can negotiate a fair price. This is a great solution if you have a friend or family member who could use an online payment method.

It’s typical to knock a few dollars off the face value of the card to entice someone to buy it. For example, if you have a $25 gift card, you could offer it up for $20 to a friend who has cash.

Sell It On Facebook Marketplace

This is a great option if you want to sell your Visa gift card for cash without transaction fees. You can list it on Facebook Marketplace.

To list it:

1. Go to the marketplace tab on Facebook and click “sell something.”
2. Choose “product or service.”
3. Then choose “other.”
4. Put in the details of your gift card, including the brand, value, and any other relevant information.
5. When you meet up with a buyer, you’ll want to verify funds on the card together (i.e., dial into the balance inquiry and put it on speakerphone) so they know they are getting a legit card, and as the seller, you should only accept cash.
   
   

Re-gift your Visa Gift Cards

This is a great way to get rid of unwanted gift cards. If you have a gift card that you don’t want, simply find someone who would appreciate it and re-gift it to them.

Not only are you making someone else’s day, but you’re also getting rid of a gift card that you don’t want.

Fair warning, if you give them a gift card with an odd balance amount, say $22.47, they may think something fishy is going on. They’ll most likely know that you used part of it or scrambled at the last second to come up with a gift. It’s not a good look. So try and only gift cards with an even balance on them in increments of five – $20, $25, $50, etc.

If you’re looking for the perfect gift, Gift Card Granny is a great place to get a gift card. You can get a physical card or choose eDelivery. You can upload any photo and customize it however you want, which makes it a lot of fun. The giftcards can be sent in as fast as 15 minutes, so perfect for a last-minute gift!

Offer to buy the group dinner & get repaid in cash

This is a great way to get cash from a restaurant gift card and be a good friend. If you’re out with friends and go out to eat, you can offer to pay for it (with your gift card) and just have your friends repay you in cash, or they can Venmo you their portion.

This only works if you know the people well enough that they will actually repay you, but it’s a great solution if you do things as a group often.

Places online to earn free gift cards

Swagbucks – online surveys

Swagbucks – is a free platform where you earn gift cards for doing what you normally do online. They have thousands of ways to get points (called SB), which are redeemable for Amazon gift cards or PayPal Cash. Like answering surveys, printing out coupons, shopping online, and more. They’ve paid out over $793,000 to their members, so sign up now and get your $5 free bonus!

Survey sites are probably the easiest way to get free gift cards, which is great news, as there are a lot of options. So if you spend a lot of time waiting (at doctors offices, on the subway, or whatever, you should check out the 25 best survey sites for free gift cards.

Fetch Rewards – scan grocery receipts

Earning points with fetch is super easy, and the great thing is that you earn points on the whole receipt, not just on a few items. I’ve only been using it a short while, but I’ve already cashed out my rewards for a Target gift card. You can redeem your points for; enter sweepstakes, restaurant gift cards, entertainment experiences, and you can even donate them to a nonprofit!

I go through all the best ways to use Fetch Rewards right here.

MyPoints – online shopping portal

MyPoints members get up to 40% back with every purchase with MyPoints at over 2,000 top retailers like Walmart, Best Buy, Home Depot & Amazon. With alerts in your browser, it’s easy to earn points and find coupon codes when shopping online.

You can redeem your points for gift cards or get free PayPal money instantly. And when you sign up with MyPoints (click here), you’ll get a free $10 Amazon gift card when you spend $20 online shopping!

What if I have a very low balance on my card?

According to ClassAction.org, many states have laws where they’ll give you cash for the balance if it’s under a certain amount.

“In some states, you can actually redeem gift cards for cash once they reach a certain amount – typically between $5 and $10. If you live in one of these states, simply take the gift card to the retailer and request that you receive cash for the remaining balance.”

States where stores must give cash on request if the gift card balance is below…

• California $10
• Colorado $5
• Maine $5
• Massachusetts – 90% of the original balance must be used already
• Vermont $1
• Washington $5
• Oregon $5
• Montana $5
• New Jersey $5
  
  

Gift card exchange kiosk FAQs

How can I find a gift card exchange kiosk near me?

It’s easy; just click the button below…

At the end of the day

So if you have any unused gift cards lying around, be sure to stop by your local gift card exchange kiosk! You can get a good chunk of extra cash back for them, and it’s a much more convenient option than mailing them in or selling them online. Who knows? You might even stumble upon a kiosk that offers a bonus for exchanging your gift cards!

What gift cards are you going to take to a gift card exchange kiosk?