Turn gift cards into cash with Coinstar Exchange Kiosks!

If you are like me, you probably have a bunch of half used gift cards hanging around. There are very few options for these, but not anymore! I have always enjoyed using Coinstar (especially during the holidays, when I used saved up change to buy gift cards!), but now there is more to love with Coinstar Exchange Kiosks.

The kiosks are conveniently located next to the regular Coinstar machines at your favorite grocery store. I was sent a $25 gift card to try the service out for myself*.

I headed to my local Safeway store with this gift card and a few other gift cards I had with small balances, and easily located the machine.  See? Right next to the regular green Coinstar machine – I couldn’t miss it!

But before I continue with my experience, you HAVE to watch this video. My husband and I were laughing so hard when we watched it:

I began the process using the instructions on the screen,  which were easy to follow, and guided me through each step.  I typed in the store name, as instructed, and inserted the $25 Red Lobster gift card.

The total that I would receive in cash appeared on the screen.  For my $25 gift card, I would receive $16.25 in cash.  I was a little disappointed that the fee was so high, and that I wouldn’t get more cash for my gift card.  The good thing is that at least there is the option to turn gift cards into cash, especially if you have received a card to a place where you know you would never use it (ie: a restaurant you don’t like, clothing store that isn’t your style).

Next I decided to try the other miscellaneous gift cards I found in my purse.  Unfortunately it wouldn’t accept these as none of them had an amount over $20.  While this service provided by Coinstar is very convenient to use,  I think it would be awesome if I could “trade in” old gift cards with oddball amounts,  and I believe that one way Coinstar Exchange kiosks would be beneficial is to accept several cards per transaction (cumulative) – even those with amounts under $20.  I typically have so many cards with small amounts left on them, and to be able to load them in the machine for one transaction would be really helpful.  I will just hang onto them for my next shopping expedition and use them then.

Cons: It requires you to swipe your driver’s license and one of your credit cards to confirm your identity. I wasn’t too fond of this feature, since there are so many privacy issues around today, but I am sure Coinstar has this covered for their customer’s safety.

Overall, the Coinstar Exchange was very easy to use.  I was happy with how easily I was able to manage my transaction, and can definitely see using this in the future.