9 Smart Ways To Get The Most Out Of Your Gift Cards

Gift cards are to gift-giving what dinner rolls are to holiday dinners. Unimaginative. Easy to obtain. Likely to get overshadowed by the pecan pies and Turduckens on the table.

But in the days after the big celebrations, while the leftovers lurk in the fridge, the rolls take center stage as the unsung workhorses of the season. They can make breakfast sandwiches! Stuffing! Snacks! And just like the plain old roll, the gift card is versatile, unsung, and pretty damn useful — especially when you can hack it so you can get maximum bang for (someone else’s) buck.

Ahead, how to make your gift cards work for you, so you can get exactly what you want.