If I Don’t Claim a Costco Gift Card, What Happens?
If you don't claim your Costco gift card, a few things might happen to it. You may lose money by not using it. Costco will most likely send it to a charity. What's more, if you don't use the gift card by its expiration date, it will expire. Costco doesn't let customers roll over an unused balance after the expiration date.
A gift card is a form of currency. But if forgotten, it becomes like any other unclaimed money: something you could have put to good use for another purpose but instead went unclaimed for no good reason. Here's what happens if you don't claim a Costco gift card.
1. Your Gift Card Will Expire
It's important to know that if you don't use the entire amount on a gift card by its expiration date, the value left on the card will be forfeited. Costco is one of the stores that have such an expiration policy. The terms of its gift cards state that the card will expire after some months from when it was issued to the customer.
2. It Can Be Sent to a Charity
The Costco gift card is a gift for anyone who shops at Costco. However, if you don't use the gift card within a certain period, your gift card will eventually become a donation to a charity. The conditions for this vary slightly depending on which state you live in.
3. You Might Lose Money
If you don't claim your Costco gift cards, you may lose money. Costco will close any account with an unclaimed card balance after a certain time. How much you lose depends on the length of time between when the card was issued and when it was supposed to be claimed.
4. It Could Affect Costco's Business Decisions
The Costco company issuing the card will use statistics to determine how many people never claim their cards and base its business decisions on those numbers. If enough people don't claim their cards, Costco might decide that its current system isn't working and may change it.
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