Can You Cash Out an American Express Gift Card? Answered

There is no direct way to cash out an American Express gift card. You cannot return an American Express gift card for cash or use it at an ATM or store checkout to withdraw cash, according to the terms and conditions for American Express gift cards. We also confirmed this information with customer service representatives.

Alternative Ways to Get Cash from a Gift Card

While you can’t directly get cash from an American Express gift card, there are a couple of workarounds you can try to get cash from your gift card. We explain these options below.

Selling Gift Cards

Some online gift card marketplaces, kiosks, and check cashing stores will buy your unwanted gift cards for cash. You typically won’t receive the full value of the gift card in return, but if you won’t use the gift card any other way, you can use this method to exchange it for cash. Most places will pay you anywhere from 50% to 90% of the gift card’s value. See our list of places to get cash for gift cards.

Money Orders

You may be able to purchase a money order with an American Express gift card and then redeem the money order for cash. The United States Postal Service, Western Union, and Walmart stores sometimes accept gift cards for money orders (as previously reported). When purchasing or cashing a money order, there will usually be a fee; typically the whole process costs $5 to $10.

For more information, see our research on what you need to get a money order, where to buy a money order, and where to cash a money order. We also have instructions on how to fill a money order out to yourself.