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More Good News For Gift Card Fanatics

Posted on February 29, 2008

Part of the Friday Frugality Series - Previous in series Next in series

Last month I worte an article titled Maximizing Savings By Playing The Gift Card Market which has proven to be one of my most popular. Consider this a Friday Frugality Follow-up (man, I just loves me some alliteration ).

According to a report from my local CBS affiliate, KPIX channel 5-

Since January 1st California merchants have to give you cash back for anything under $10 if you ask for it. Merchants count on you not using it. Last year $8 billion went unused on gift cards, so a law was passed to give ‘you’ the cash back but as we found, the law isn’t always followed.

Unless you know to ask for it, stores usually won’t offer it but if you ask for it, they legally have to give you the cash back.

Many consumer friendly businesses would already honor a request for cash back from a gift card when it was such a minimal amount, but this is excellent news for Californians, despite it being a government edict.