Jakub Latała: Can a gift card have an expiration date? Controversies surrounding gift cards

If we received a gift card for making purchases totaling a specific amount or for free as part of a promotional campaign, there is generally no obstacle to limiting its use to a specific time period. However, doubts arise when we purchase a gift card for an amount equal to its value, especially if, as a consumer, we were not explicitly informed of its expiration date.

Imposing an expiration date on such a card—after which it cannot be used or the funds refunded—may constitute an impermissible unfair term. This position has been adopted, for example, in rulings by the Regional Court in Warsaw (V Ca 343/23) and the Regional Court in Słupsk (IV Ca 420/20). The courts indicated that such provisions may be contrary to good practices and grossly violate consumers’ interests.

The Regional Court in Warsaw challenged the refusal to refund funds from an unused airline voucher after its expiration date. In its reasoning, the court emphasized that the business obtains an immediate financial benefit at the time the voucher is sold, while the consumer can only benefit from it in the future. In the court’s view, forfeiting unused funds led to an unjustified advantage for the business and could constitute a form of unjust enrichment.

The Regional Court in Słupsk pointed out that the absence of detailed regulations concerning vouchers does not mean that the business has discretion in determining the rules for their use. The validity period of the voucher itself does not constitute the main consideration between the parties, which opens the way for reviewing such provisions for abusiveness under Article 385¹ § 1 of the Civil Code.

In practice, many businesses still specify a maximum validity period for gift cards, after which they expire, even though it is usually difficult to find a rational justification for such a restriction.

Any limitation of a gift card’s validity period should be clearly and explicitly communicated to the consumer in each instance. Possible solutions include allowing the voucher to be exchanged for cash, amending the terms and conditions to introduce gift cards with no expiration date, or extending the card’s validity period with a clear and unambiguous indication of the new expiration date. Consumers, however, should remember that their claims are not open-ended, and general statutes of limitations apply to claims based on unjust enrichment.