Use It or Lose It: Eddie Bauer Gift Cards Will Become Worthless in Idaho Soon

If you had to guess, how many unused gift cards do you have laying around? They may be stashed in a junk drawer. Maybe you’ve got a few in an old wallet. It’s easy to forget to use them when you have your payment information saved for online shopping or rely on tapping to pay from your phone. 

Capital One estimates that the average American has $244 in unused gift cards waiting to be used. Unfortunately, about 12% of those gift cards will become worthless plastic when the business associated with them closes permanently. That’s about to happen in just a few days. 

READ MORE: Boise Towne Square Mall May Be Adding 3 New Tenants Soon

As we previously reported, Catalyst Brands, which has the license to operate Eddie Bauer retail locations in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy and plans to close all brick-and-mortar locations. They hoped that a buyer would come in to rescue the stores, but Retail Dive reports that the auction for the physical locations was canceled due to a lack of interest.  

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If you love the Eddie Bauer brand, this does NOT mean you’ll lose access to their popular outdoor clothing. Eddie Bauer’s online store and wholesale operations will continue, which means you’ll find their clothing at retailers that carry the brand.

However, if you have an Eddie Bauer gift card, time is running out for you to use it. Court documents show that the stores will stop accepting gift cards after Thursday, March 12. The stores will also stop honoring Rewards Points and accepting returns after March 12. 

It appears that the location at Nez Perce Plaza in Lewiston is already permanently closed, which means the only place to cash in those physical gift cards now is the location at Boise Towne Square Mall.