Toys R Us has gone into liquidation in the US. If you're holding onto some Toys R Us or Babies R Us gift cards, now would be a good time to cash in.

Scary story time: You give someone a thoughtful gift certificate, maybe for a massage at the spa they have been eyeing, or for the drawing class they have been talking about wanting to take. You lay out the cash, give them the card. They are thrilled! They thank you. And then, they don't use it.

Apple's system for reading codes from their gift cards looks simple but, behind it, there's quite a bit of complexity. The simple process of holding a card up to a camera for the code to be read involves lots of validation and other steps to make the process as seamless as possible. Equinux wanted to create their own promo cards, using the same system, and went on a deep dive to reverse engineer Apple's system in making their own cards.

Australians spend a whopping $2.5 billion on gift cards annually. These items are essentially store credit that can be used at participating stores in the same way as cash. However, unlike money, they usually have a strict expiration date. Is this legal? Let's find out...

Gift cards are a handy way to give a gift when you're not totally sure what someone wants. However, when you give them, you're kind of giving your recipient extra work. In some cases, you might want to skip them.

Apple's Renew program pays you in Apple gift cards and good Earth vibes to recycle old iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other devices. Here's what you can expect to get back if you send in your used stuff.

It's all too easy to go over your budget when shopping on Amazon -- especially when you factor international shipping into the equation. One thing that might help: Amazon Allowance, the company's relatively unknown gift card funding program.

You're on your way to the relatives' for the holidays and it hits you -- you forgot a gift for that one family member that always seems to fly under the radar. If you can swing by a supermarket, however, you still have a chance to grab something relatively nice.

There's nothing worse than losing free money, and gift cards are hard to get back once they're gone. Here are a few ways you can avoid this problem in the future.

Hey Lifehacker, I'm looking at buying a Windows Phone device and I'm wondering: do they have any gift card sales the way iTunes and Google Play frequently do?

Attention gamers: Dick Smith is offering 10 per cent off all Xbox Live And PSN Cards from tomorrow (29 April). Hers's what to buy with the extra dosh.

When Google first started selling Google Play gift cards in Australia last August, only Woolworths-owned outlets had them. 7-Eleven also subsequently started offering them, and now you can find them in more than a dozen different chains.

With another long weekend looming it's a good time to kick back and enjoy a new movie or some new music. Fortunately, there are lots of gift cards on sale this week so that you can get your hands on some discounted tunes or movies -– and even some cheap calls to loved ones.

Woolworths and Big W are now selling the Android equivalent to iTunes gift cards in Australia. Better late than never, we suppose...

Gift cards get a bad rap because they're not really a gift, but rather a placeholder for one. When you give a gift card you come across as lazy and unthoughtful even when you have good cause. Fortunately, all it takes is a little message that explains your reasoning to turn a gift card into something really exciting. Dr Susan Newman, writing for Psychology Today, explains why.

Queue-phobic? JB Hi-Fi is encouraging customers to grab gift cards from stores and walk out with them, then pay for them at home via credit card.

Facebook tells you one of your friends is celebrating a birthday today. You can write on his or her wall, like everyone else, or go the extra mile and send 'em a gift card. With Wrapp, you don't even have to pay for the gift card.

Until next Wednesday, Big W is selling $50 gift cards from Hoyts, Best Restaurants and Adrenalin for $40 each. As we noted earlier in the week, gift cards can be handy but you shouldn't let them hang around too long -- if the provider goes broke, they become essentially worthless.

Money off on gift cards is rare, so this could be worth snapping up: members of the NRMA, RACQ, RACT and AA Northern Territory can order Wish Gift Cards (usable in any Woolworths, Big W, Dan Murphy's, Dick Smith and other Woolworths' group outlets) for 5 per cent off.