The $3 billion problem
Americans waste an estimated $3 billion a year on unused gift cards — left in drawers, lost in inboxes, or screenshotted and forgotten in camera rolls. Most don't expire on paper, but inactivity fees, store closures, and promotional cards with short expiry windows quietly drain real value every year.
The cards that hurt most: restaurant gift cards (often 12-month expiry), hotel and travel certificates from credit card rewards, promo gift cards from referral programs, and the random $10 Starbucks card a coworker sent you last Christmas.
How Snaap tracks gift card expiry
Auto-reads the expiry date from screenshots
Screenshot a gift card — physical or digital, from email, an app, or a photo of the back of a plastic card — and Snaap's on-device AI reads:
- Expiry date (when one is visible)
- Card balance at time of screenshot
- Merchant or brand
- Card number / barcode for in-store use
Smart reminders before expiry
For cards with expiry dates, Snaap notifies you:
- 3 days before — plenty of time to plan a purchase
- 1 day before — last call
- Morning of expiry — use it today
For cards without explicit expiry, Snaap surfaces them periodically as gentle reminders. Useful for the $25 Sephora card you forgot existed.
Group by merchant for easy lookup
All your Starbucks credits in one place. All Amazon gift cards together. When you're at checkout, find the right card in seconds instead of scrolling through your camera roll.
What gift cards does Snaap handle?
- Retail gift cards — Amazon, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Sephora, Ulta
- Restaurant gift cards — Starbucks, Chipotle, Olive Garden, Outback, local restaurants
- Hotel and travel certificates — Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton, Hyatt, Airbnb credits
- Streaming and digital credits — iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, PlayStation, Steam, Xbox
- Promotional gift cards — bank rewards (Chase, Amex, Capital One), credit card sign-up bonuses
- Referral credits — Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart referral rewards
- Physical gift cards — snap a photo of the back, Snaap reads the balance and PIN
Why on-device matters for gift cards
Gift cards contain payment-grade data:
- Full card numbers (usable for in-store and online purchases)
- PINs and activation codes
- Remaining balance information
- Recipient names and personalization
Uploading any of that to a third-party server is asking for trouble — gift card numbers are essentially cash equivalents. Snaap processes everything on your iPhone. Your card details stay yours.
Beyond gift cards
Snaap's same on-device engine handles the rest of your expiry-sensitive screenshots:
- Vouchers and promo codes with expiry reminders
- Boarding passes and travel docs
- Concert tickets and event QR codes
- Your full screenshot library, auto-tagged and searchable
Frequently asked questions
Do gift cards actually expire?
In the US, federal law (CARD Act) requires gift cards stay valid for at least 5 years, but many physical and promotional gift cards expire sooner. Restaurant gift cards, hotel certificates, and promo gift cards from referrals frequently expire within 6-12 months. Inactivity fees can also drain balance after 12 months in many states.
Does Snaap track gift card balances?
Snaap tracks the balance shown on your original screenshot. It doesn't query merchant servers for live balance updates (that would require uploading your card info — opposite of Snaap's privacy-first design). For live balance, check the merchant's app and screenshot the result to update Snaap.
Will Snaap work with digital gift cards from Amazon, Apple, Starbucks?
Yes. Screenshot the gift card from the email, the merchant app, or wherever you received it. Snaap reads the expiry date and balance from the image and reminds you before it expires.
What about physical gift cards?
Take a photo of the back of the card. Snaap reads the card number, PIN, and any expiry date or balance printed. Then when you're at the merchant, tap to access the card number for entry at checkout.
What if a gift card doesn't have an expiry date shown?
Snaap will surface the card periodically as a gentle reminder — useful for that $25 Sephora card you forgot about. You can also set a custom reminder date if you know when inactivity fees kick in.
Is Snaap really free?
Yes. The core gift card and reminder features are free with no account required. Snaap Pro ($2.99/month or $19.99/year) adds custom categories, unlimited indexing, and priority support.