Guide · the law's exception
Amazon's gift-card terms contain a sentence most buyers never reach: balances are not returnable or refundable "except as required by law." That exception is real law, in roughly a dozen states — a requirement that retailers cash out small remaining gift-card balances when a customer asks. This guide explains what the exception is, what it can and cannot do for a trapped balance, and how to check your state's version.
The best-known version is California's (Civil Code §1749.5): a gift card with a remaining balance under $10 must be redeemed for cash on request. About a dozen states have some version of the rule — thresholds and mechanics vary (commonly in the $5–$10 range), and the list and amounts change as legislatures act, which is why this page names the mechanism and the anchor example rather than printing a 50-state table that could go stale under you.
How to check yours: search your state consumer-protection office (or attorney general) for "gift card cash redemption." One page of state government text is the whole research project — and if your state has the law, quoting its section number in a letter changes the letter.
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