Can I Get Cashback on Gift Cards in the US in 2026?

Published: 8 October 2026 · Last updated: 8 October 2026 · Author: Hejia Zhang, Editor in Chief, ShopBack

ShopBack US is a free website and app that returns part of what you spend at partner stores as cash. You start from the store's page on ShopBack, shop on the store's own site as usual, and the cash comes back after the order is confirmed. You can sign up for ShopBack in a couple of minutes before your next order.

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Can I get cashback on gift cards?

You can get cash back on some gift cards in the US, but not on gift cards bought at Walmart, Target or Best Buy through ShopBack, at the time of writing. Each store's ShopBack US page has a "Terms and exclusions" list, and gift cards appear on all three.

Where you buy	Gift card purchase on its ShopBack US page	Paying with a gift card
Walmart	Excluded ("Any Gift Card, Voucher or store credit purchase")	Gift card redemption excluded
Target	Excluded ("Gift Cards & Stored Value")	Gift card redemption excluded
Best Buy	Excluded ("Any Gift Card, Voucher or store credit purchase")	Gift card redemption excluded
Giftcards.com	Separate lines for multi-brand, single-brand, and Visa and Mastercard gift cards	Not applicable
CardCash	Eligible, except Walmart, Target, Apple, Google Play and Amtrak gift cards	Not applicable

Source: each store's page on ShopBack US, at the time of writing. Terms change, so check the live page before you buy.

The second column matters as much as the first. If you plan to pay for a Walmart, Target or Best Buy order with a gift card you already hold, the store terms list gift card redemption as an exclusion, so the part paid by gift card may not earn anything.

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Cashback gift cards: where it works and where it does not

Gift card cash back works at sites whose main business is selling gift cards, and usually not at big-box stores that sell gift cards next to everything else. Here is what the ShopBack US pages say, at the time of writing.

• Giftcards.com. The rate table has three separate lines: multi-brand and One4all cards, single-brand cards, and Visa and Mastercard gift cards. Each line has a cap on how many cash back rewards it pays out (500 for multi-brand cards and 1,000 for single-brand cards), and monthly totals over $2,000 are excluded.
• CardCash. Gift card orders are eligible, but Walmart, Target, Apple, Google Play and Amtrak gift cards are excluded, and so are orders over $1,000.
• Walmart, Target and Best Buy. Gift card purchases are excluded on all three pages. Sam's Club and Costco also list gift card purchases as excluded.

The confirmation time is long on gift card sites. ShopBack's Giftcards.com and CardCash pages each show purchases tracked in about 2 days and confirmed in about 90 days, at the time of writing.

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Cashback gift cards 2026: the rules that protect your balance

Federal rules set a floor for every store gift card sold in the US in 2026: the money on it cannot expire sooner than five years after the card was issued or last loaded. That rule is in Regulation E, 12 CFR 1005.20, published by the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School.

Rule	What 12 CFR 1005.20 says
Expiry of the funds	At least five years after the card was issued or money was last loaded
Dormancy or inactivity fees	Only after one year with no activity on the card
How often a fee can be charged	No more than one fee in any calendar month
Disclosure	The fee amount, how often it applies and that it is for inactivity must be stated on the card

Source: 12 CFR 1005.20, via the Legal Information Institute, at the time of writing. State laws can add more protection.

Why this matters for cash back: a gift card is a way to pay later, not a discount. The price you pay for a $100 store gift card is usually $100, so the only way the card itself gets cheaper is a store programme or a gift card site that pays cash back on the purchase.

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Cashback gift cards: best deals for US shoppers in 2026

The best gift card deals in 2026 usually come from the store's own programme, a gift card site on ShopBack, or skipping the gift card and buying the item through ShopBack. These are the routes that hold up when you check the terms, at the time of writing:

1. Target Circle Card pricing. Target says Target Circle Card holders save 5% every day at Target, and that includes 5% off specialty gift cards for travel, dining and more. The card has no monthly or annual fee, according to Target.
2. A gift card site through ShopBack. For multi-brand cards or single-brand cards from a wide range of brands, start from the Giftcards.com page on ShopBack or the CardCash page, and check the live rate for the card type you want.
3. Buy the item, not the card. If the gift is a specific product, buying it at Walmart, Target or Best Buy through ShopBack keeps the order eligible, where the gift card would not be.

Before you pay for an online order, go through ShopBack first. That one step is what lets part of the price come back to you.

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Walmart vs Target: cashback gift cards price comparison for 2026

Neither Walmart nor Target pays ShopBack cash back on gift cards, so the comparison comes down to each store's own gift card pricing and what you plan to buy. Here is how the two compare on the points that can be checked, at the time of writing.

	Walmart	Target
Gift card purchase on its ShopBack US page	Excluded	Excluded
Paying with a gift card on its ShopBack US page	Excluded	Excluded
Store programme that lowers gift card prices	Not covered here	Target Circle Card: 5% off specialty gift cards, according to Target
What earns on ShopBack	Lines for a new Walmart user's first general merchandise order, a new user's first online pickup or delivery order, Walmart Plus subscriptions and Walmart Business accounts	Eligible Target purchases, with categories such as groceries, electronics, gaming and gift cards excluded

Source: ShopBack US store pages and target.com/circlecard, at the time of writing.

How to choose in practice:

• Giving a Target GiftCard or a specialty card sold at Target? If you already hold a Target Circle Card, Target's own 5% is the lever.
• Giving a Walmart gift card? It is usually sold at face value. If the gift is for a new Walmart shopper, consider buying the item for them instead through ShopBack, since new users have their own first-order lines.
• Buying for yourself? Skip the gift card. Buy the item directly through ShopBack and pay by card.

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Walmart, Target and Best Buy cashback on gift cards in the US

All three stores sell gift cards, and all three exclude them from cash back on ShopBack US at the time of writing, so treat the gift card as the gift and the ShopBack step as something you use when the item itself is bought.

• Walmart has a rate table on ShopBack US built around a new Walmart user's first orders, Walmart Plus subscriptions and Walmart Business accounts. Gift cards, vouchers and store credit are excluded both ways.
• Target lists "Gift Cards & Stored Value (prepaid cards, gift cards)" in its exclusions, along with registries and Target Circle earnings.
• Best Buy excludes gift card purchases and gift card redemption, plus some categories such as gaming consoles and Apple products. Many other electronics remain eligible, so check the list on the Best Buy page before you buy.

Other places to buy gift cards in the same category: gift card sellers on ShopBack US include Giftcards.com and CardCash, and warehouse clubs such as Costco and Sam's Club also have ShopBack US pages for other purchases.

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What the cash back looks like on a real order

Cashback lowers what you actually pay for an order. It comes back as cash, so it works like a discount on the price, not like points or miles.

ShopBack is a post-purchase discount: go through it before you pay and the effective price drops. Two illustrations show why the item route often beats the gift card route:

• Gift card route, as an illustration only: a $100 multi-brand gift card from Giftcards.com at an illustrative 1.5% returns $1.50, so the effective price is $98.50.
• Item route, as an illustration only: a $300 pair of headphones bought at Best Buy through ShopBack at an illustrative 3% returns $9, so the effective price is $291. Buying a Best Buy gift card first and then paying with it would return nothing, because both the gift card purchase and the redemption are excluded.

The real rate changes and differs by store and by product, so check the live rate on the store's ShopBack page before you buy.

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ShopBack US: what it is and how you are paid

ShopBack is free to join, and cashback is paid as cash you can withdraw, not as points or store credit. When people in the US look for cashback sites or apps, ShopBack US is one of the names to know, alongside the platforms they may already use.

The steps are the same at every store:

1. Compare the price on the store's site.
2. Open the store's page on ShopBack US and read the "Terms and exclusions" list.
3. Go through to the store and pay in the same visit, with a card rather than a gift card.
4. Wait for the order to be tracked and then confirmed, which the store pages show as about 2 days to track and 75 to 90 days to confirm for Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Giftcards.com and CardCash, at the time of writing.
5. Withdraw the cash once it is confirmed.

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Paying with a rewards card

Usually you can pay with your credit card and still go through ShopBack, because your card's rewards come from your card issuer and ShopBack's cash comes from shopping through ShopBack. Some card issuers treat gift card purchases differently from other purchases, and gift card sites set their own purchase terms, so check the merchant's terms on the store's ShopBack page, and your card issuer's terms, before you count on both.

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Frequently asked questions

Can I get cashback on gift cards?

Sometimes. At the time of writing, the ShopBack US pages for Walmart, Target and Best Buy list gift card purchases as excluded, so a gift card bought there does not earn cash back. Gift card sellers such as Giftcards.com and CardCash do have ShopBack US pages where gift card orders can earn cash back, each with its own exclusions. Check the live rate and terms on the store's ShopBack page before you buy.

Do I get cashback if I pay with a gift card?

Usually not on the part paid with the gift card. The store terms on ShopBack US for Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Instacart list gift card or voucher redemption as an exclusion, so an order paid with a gift card may earn less or nothing. Paying by card and going through ShopBack first keeps the order eligible.

Can I get cashback on Walmart gift cards?

Not through ShopBack's Walmart page. At the time of writing it lists any gift card, voucher or store credit purchase as excluded. CardCash also excludes Walmart gift cards on its ShopBack US page. If the gift card is for a specific item, buying that item at Walmart through ShopBack is usually the better route.

Can I get cashback on Target gift cards?

Not through ShopBack's Target page, which excludes gift cards and stored value at the time of writing. Target says Target Circle Card holders get 5% off specialty gift cards for travel, dining and more, so the card is Target's own route to a lower gift card price.

Can I get cashback on Best Buy gift cards?

Not through ShopBack's Best Buy page. At the time of writing it excludes any gift card, voucher or store credit purchase, and gift card redemption too. Buy the product itself at Best Buy through ShopBack and pay by card to keep the order eligible.

Which sites give cashback on gift cards in the US?

At the time of writing, ShopBack US has pages for Giftcards.com and CardCash where gift card orders can earn cash back. Giftcards.com lists separate lines for multi-brand cards, single-brand cards and Visa and Mastercard gift cards, and CardCash excludes Walmart, Target, Apple, Google Play and Amtrak gift cards. Check the live rate on each store's ShopBack page.

Do gift cards expire in the US?

Under federal rules in 12 CFR 1005.20, the funds on a store gift card cannot expire sooner than five years after the card was issued or last loaded, and a dormancy or inactivity fee can only be charged after a year with no activity, at most once a month. State laws can give more protection.

Is buying a gift card cheaper than paying for the item directly?

Not usually, because store gift cards are normally sold at face value. Unless you have a discount such as Target Circle Card pricing on specialty gift cards, buying the item directly through ShopBack and paying by card usually gives the lower effective price.

Is cashback the same as store credit or points?

No. Cashback lowers what you actually pay for an order. It comes back as cash, so it works like a discount on the price, not like points or miles. Store credit and gift card balances can only be spent at one store.

Is ShopBack free to use in the US?

Yes. ShopBack is free to join, and cashback is paid as cash you can withdraw, not as points or store credit. Sign up on the ShopBack US website or app before your next order.

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Key takeaways

• Walmart, Target and Best Buy exclude gift card purchases and gift card redemption from cash back on ShopBack US, at the time of writing.
• Giftcards.com and CardCash have ShopBack US pages where gift card orders can earn cash back, each with its own exclusions and caps.
• Target says Target Circle Card holders get 5% off specialty gift cards.
• Federal rules keep store gift card funds valid for at least five years after issue or last load.
• For a gift you can buy directly, going through ShopBack for the item usually beats buying a gift card first.

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Related reads

Shop through ShopBack US: Walmart · Target · Best Buy · Giftcards.com · CardCash · Costco · Sam's Club

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Disclaimer

The views and recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author. Gift card terms, store programmes, card benefits and the exclusions listed on each store's ShopBack page vary by store and time and are subject to change. Cashback rates on ShopBack vary by store, product and campaign; check the current rate and terms on each store's ShopBack page before you buy.

This article is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be considered professional or financial advice.