New Gift Card Rules

This holiday season will be the first that shoppers will benefit from the new gift card regulations put in place back in August.

The new rules apply only to store gift cards and cards that bear an American Express, Discover, MasterCard or Visa logo and are clearly marked as gift cards.

New Gift Card Regulations:

1. Gift cards can't expire for at least five years after they're purchased. The money on cards may not expire for seven years.

2. If a card expires and there's money left on it, a replacement card can be requested at no cost.

3 . Inactivity and other fees are banned in the first year. Fees can be assessed only if they're clearly disclosed on the packaging.

4. After the first year, there can only be one monthly fee, such as an inactivity or usage fee.

5 . You can still be charged a fee to buy the card and for a replacement if a card is lost or stolen.