More than half of adults have unused gift cards. How do you use this money?

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Show gift card at Publix supermarket.

Jeff Greenberg | global photo collection | Getty Images

If you are like many Americans, you may get a small unexpected financial gain.

A new Bankrate.com survey finds that more than half of adults – 51% – currently have unused gift cards, coupons and store credits. In total, this adds nearly $15 billion in unused funds.

Average value of these unused credits per person: $116.

Moreover, many people – 73% – have left this money untouched for a year or more.

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There has been some progress. Last year, the average unused value per person was $167.

Ted Rossman, chief industry analyst at Bankrate.com, said people still have to come up with a plan to run that money.

“The less unused value, the better,” Rossman said. “I think a lot of people hold onto these things for too long and end up losing them.”

The survey found that millennials, in particular, were more likely to have unused credits sitting with no plans to use the money.

The good news, Rossman said, is that most gift cards don’t expire until after five years, if at all. But card holders are still vulnerable to losing this money because they may misuse, forget or lose the ability to trade the cards if the store goes out of business.

The best way to remedy this is to evaluate your outstanding store balances and make a plan for using the funds.

“If you can’t use it for yourself, at least use it for someone else,” Rossman said, either by buying a gift or swiping the card.

Most gift cards are reloadable, so even if you have an uneven amount like $9.22 left, you may be able to add more money to it and reload it.

Alternatively, you can also try to resell the card on websites like CardCash.com or Raise.com, which will allow you to get back up to 85% of its value.

The bottom line: “Don’t let it sit here,” Rossman said. “This is like the worst result.”

Bankrate’s survey of 2,387 US adults was conducted online between June 30 and July 2.

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