It’s officially November, meaning Christmas is creeping closer and closer. Many of us will have started buying gifts here and there in order to avoid the mad panic in the run-up to the big day itself next month.
However, people all over Britain are being urged to check their wallets, drawers and email inboxes for one key thing that could help cut the cost of Christmas gifts this year – which as we all know can be very pricey. Keep an eye out for any forgotten gift cards and make sure they’re used before they expire, as new figures reveal hundreds of millions of pounds are going unspent each year. Research from credit card company thimbl.com shows high street giants M&S and John Lewis alone are sitting on over £300 million worth of unredeemed gift card balances, according to its latest company accounts.
M&S reported £215.1 million in outstanding gift cards in 2025, while John Lewis Partnership shared a further £105 million in unredeemed vouchers.
This is money that may just go to waste entirely, if shoppers miss their expiry dates.
Despite the cost-of-living pressure, spending on gift cards keeps rising. The Gift Card and Incentive Card Market Intelligence Report 2025–2029 has predicted the UK gift card market will grow 8.3% this year to £8.8 billion, expanding to £11.7 billion by 2029.
Figures from the UK Gift Card & Voucher Association (GCVA) show sales increased 9.5% in the first half of 2024, with digital cards up 17%, as more people opt for easy-to-send e-gifts.
But research shows millions of those gifts go unused. Ipsos polling found 11% of UK adults had vouchers that expired before they could use them in the past 12 months, worth an average of £75.30 per person, rising to £86 among younger shoppers aged 16–34.
How long do gift cards last?
Joe Lytwyn, personal finance expert at thimbl.com, said: “Even small sums quickly add up. Unused gift cards often get forgotten in emails, gloveboxes or kitchen drawers, and once the expiry date passes, the retailer keeps the balance. So if you’ve got an old voucher from last Christmas, check the date right now. That £20 Costa or £50 M&S card could be the easiest money you’ll save all year.”
There isn’t a law setting a minimum expiry period, according to the experts at Which?. This means that retailers can choose how long their last. Vendors such as B&M, Costa, Vue and Ticketmaster, expire after 12 months, while others such as Apple Store, Starbucks, Theatre Tokens and National Book Tokens have no expiry at all.
Joe added: “The best way to make sure you don’t lose out on gift card value is to stay organised. Add your cards to your phone wallet or retailer app so you get reminders before they expire, and try to spend smaller balances first, as most retailers don’t give change on leftover amounts.
“Always check the expiry and inactivity rules, and if you’ve got a card you don’t want, re-gifting it or swapping it through a trusted platform like Cardyard means it doesn’t go to waste.”
