HOUSTON -- Did you get a gift card for Christmas that you won't use? We have an option for you on this Try it Out Tuesday.
Inside a Randalls grocery store, you might see an unfamiliar yellow kiosk near the cash registers. It's called Coinstar Exchange and offers cash for gift cards.
We go in with a wallet full of cards from a coworker, and our first try is a card from Fleming's Steakhouse.
The card has a balance of $37.03. Coinstar Exchange offers us $22.96.
It's not an even trade, but it might be worth a swipe if the card has been sitting in your wallet or you don't plan to use it.
Coinstar tells KHOU 11 News it offers up to 85 percent of the value, and it varies according to each retailer.
Bill Allaz walked in with a $50 gift card to Best Buy. He accepted the offer of $32.50 from Coinstar.
"I wanted to get a little extra money today," he said.
The kiosk accepts about 130 cards, but didn't offer Ayo Codrington enough for hers. She had a $25 Bath and Body Works card. The machine offered her $15.
"I was hoping that it would be closer to $25," she said.
Ayo declined the offer and kept her card.
If you accept, you have to swipe your driver's license and then enter a phone number and email address to get your receipt.
Then you insert your card into a slot and it spits out a voucher that you present to to customer service and claim your cash.
Make sure you take care of the magnetic stripe. We had one card that couldn't be read. Be sure also to swipe all your cards in one transaction. It wouldn't let us go back and do it again on the same day.
There are more than 70 kiosks in Texas and 23 in the Greater Houston area.
Tap/click here to find the nearest Coinstar Exchange kiosk.
