The gift card guide / The average forgotten balance went from $116 to $244 in three years.
The average forgotten balance went from $116 to $244 in three years.
Up 30% in a single year. The cards aren't getting cheaper; the piles are getting taller.
Average unused balance per person who holds one, by survey year. Bankrate gift card surveys, 2021 to 2024 (2024 fieldwork August 19 to 21, 2,373 US adults, YouGov).
Nearly half of us hold at least one unused card. The amount on it keeps going up.
Go deeper: the numbers
Bankrate has asked the same question every year since 2021. The average unused balance per holder was $116 in 2021, $175 in 2022, $187 in 2023 and $244 in 2024. In 2024, 43% of adults held at least one unused gift card, voucher or store credit, which adds up to about $27 billion nationally.
These are survey self-reports, so treat them as estimates of a stock of value held now, never as a yearly loss.
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