SAN ANTONIO – If you have an expired gift card stashed in your wallet or sock drawer, you may be able to turn it into cash.
The State Comptroller's Office has $11.8 million in expired, or soon-to-expire gift cards or store credits in the Unclaimed Property Fund, awaiting the rightful owners' claims.
Under Texas Law, retailers and banks must send the money from expired gift cards to the state. The same is true of gift cards that have an expiration date in the future, but have not been used in three years.
The State Comptroller's Office supplied a list of the top 20 companies that reported forgotten stored credit cards to the state.
The largest chunk of unclaimed gift cards was reported by Men's Wearhouse, with $1.37 million unclaimed. Walmart reported $1.28 million unclaimed, and U.S. Bank, which issues Visa gift cards, reported more than $750,000.
Other reporting funds to the Unclaimed Property include HEB, Land's End, Burlington Coat Factory, Pampered Chef and Tiffany and Company.
If you think they state is holding money from an expired gift card, check first with the store to see if it's still good there.
Otherwise, contact the State Comptroller's Office through www.claimittexas.org.
If you did not register your card, your name will not appear in a search.
In that case, call 1-800-654-FIND. You will need to provide the gift card number.
You can also fax or scan copies of the front and back of unused or expired gift cards to: FAX 888-908-9991 or email to unclaimed.property@cpa.state.tx.us.