How to check your gift card balance

Before you go looking for a balance checker, look at the card or the email it came in. The name on it tells you where to verify gift card balance details, and that is how to know gift card balance without guessing.

• A card from one store. The store holds the balance, so you check it on that store's website or ask at the counter.
• A card from a gift card company that works at several stores. That company holds the balance. Its name is on the card or in the email, and you check it on its website.
• Our Choice Gift Card. You check it on our check your balance page. That page is for our own card only and cannot see cards from other shops.

Most stores have a balance checker on their website, and the routine is similar everywhere. To check balance on gift card online:

1. Find the balance checker on the issuer's website.
2. Enter the card number.
3. Enter the PIN or security code.
4. Read the balance on screen.

Not sure how to find gift card balance details like the number and PIN? For an e-gift card they are in the email it arrived in. If the card came in another form, they are usually printed on the back. Copying them from the email is safer than typing, and it is the quickest way to look up gift card balance figures without a typo getting in the way.

If you are about to spend it anyway, just ask. At most shops, staff can check balance on gift card at the till or the service desk. Hand over the card or show the email on your phone, and they will tell you what is left. Think of it as a gift card balance inquiry that takes ten seconds. It also saves the awkward moment of a declined card with a queue behind you on a Saturday morning. For the two big supermarkets we have separate guides: the Woolworths gift card balance and the Coles gift card balance articles show where to ask and what to bring.

A few stores have their own guide on our site, and the rest follow the general steps above.

• Woolworths. Checked online or in store, with the full steps in our Woolworths guide mentioned above.
• Coles. Checked on the Coles website or at a Coles supermarket, as our Coles guide explains.
• Myer. The Myer gift card balance article explains where to look.
• Kmart. A Kmart gift card balance is checked with Kmart. Want to give one? The Kmart gift card is on our site.
• Bunnings. For a Bunnings gift card balance, go to Bunnings. To give one for the next backyard project, see the Bunnings gift card.
• JB Hi-Fi. A JB Hi-Fi gift card balance is checked with JB Hi-Fi itself. The JB Hi-Fi gift card suits the person always after new earbuds.

The Choice Gift Card is ours, so this is the one we can help with directly. To check my gift card balance on a Choice Gift Card, go to our check your balance page and enter the card number from the email. The balance appears straight away. From the same screen you choose one or more gift cards from 300+ brands, and the balance can be split over several of them. A bit for groceries, a bit for a night at the movies: nothing has to go to a single shop, and anything left stays on the card for next time.

It happens, and the cause is usually simple. Here is how to check gift card amount problems:

• Check the number. One wrong digit or a stray space is the most common reason a checker fails.
• Check the website. Make sure you are on the issuer's own site, not a different store's.
• Contact the issuer. If it still does not match, their customer service can look into it.

Keep the original email until the balance is fully spent. It is the one piece of paperwork that makes any question easy to sort out.