The Discover Gift Card can be replaced for $5 after expiration, if requested within 90 days of the expiration date. The Wells Fargo Visa Gift Card expires but can be replaced for $7.50 or a check for the remaining amount can be issued for a $15 fee.

Among retailer-issued cards — which unlike bank cards can usually be used only at one store — the Morning News found only one with an expiration date: Macy's. Its cards expires two years after the last time that value is added to a card.

Expiration dates and maintenance fees were common on most retailer cards just a few years ago. But the Montgomery County, Md., annual report card credits their increasing disappearance to recent enforcement by the FTC against Darden and Kmart and tougher state laws, including Utah's. Eighteen states have outright bans against expiration dates, but not Utah.

The National Retail Foundation said according to a recent survey it conducted, 92 percent of the nation's top retailers now have no expiration dates or dormancy fees on their gift cards — but the group still recommends that consumers read and understand terms of cards before buying them.

Another problem that may surprise some consumers are purchase or activation fees. Virtually no retailer-issued cards have them. But all the bank-issued cards examined do have such fees, which ranged from $3.95 to $6.95 on top of the face value of the card.

Sometimes fees varied depending on where the same card was sold. For example, an American Express Gift Card sold at Albertsons or online had a sales and activation fee of $3.95, while a similar card sold at Harmon's had a $4.95 fee.

Acceptance problems

A major advertising point for gift bank cards is that they can be used anywhere that Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover are accepted. But fine print in their terms sometimes warns that is not always the case.

Most of the cards include warnings that customers may have trouble if the gift card does not have enough value remaining to cover all of a purchase. They say some merchants have trouble splitting the cost, and the consumer may need to know before the purchase exactly how much is remaining on the card to attempt to do so.

Also, some bank cards warn that many pay-at-the-pump gas stations are programmed to pre-authorize purchases of at least $75, even if that much is not actually bought. If a gift card is not worth that much, it may be denied.

Similarly, the cards warn that some restaurants pre-authorize amounts for meals plus 25 percent, to allow for tips on cards, which could lead to some gift cards being denied or having such amounts put on hold for days.