Thanks to a piece of plastic from nearly two decades ago, TikToker Jordan (@jorlala) had one of the most unexpected customer experiences of her career as a barista.
One day, a lady came in with what looked like a relic. It was a gift card from 2006. The gift card had the anniversary date and years on it, making it clear just how long it had been around.
Apparently, the lady had been gardening, and the gift card had fallen out of her pocket. So, of course, she just had to come and see if it still worked.
She ordered $20 worth of stuff, and the gift card covered her entire total. When Jordan checked the gift card, she saw that there was a remaining balance of $17, which meant there was almost $40 on the gift card.
One of Jordan’s coworkers collected gift cards, so she wanted to take a picture of this rare 19-year-old gift card to show it to him. The lady promised to give it to her when she was done using it.
Jordan was impressed that the lady had been able to hold onto the gift card for so long. She still can’t believe that it worked.
In the comments section, many TikTok users chimed in with their own stories about finding ancient gift cards, proving this isn’t as uncommon as you’d think.
“Last year, I was cleaning my old purses and wallets. Found a $50 Kohl’s gift card from 2007 in one of the wallets. It was still good to use. I knew it was from 2007 because that is what it said on the back of the card,” commented one user.
“Happened to me with a Shoe Carnival gift card I found while cleaning. It was so old I almost threw it out. I called the number, and it had $75 on it,” shared another.
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“My daughter and her husband went to a Benihana with a gift card that was about 25 years old. After a chat with the manager, they got to use it,” added a third.
Sometimes, it really does pay off to hold on to things. That forgotten gift card shoved in the back of a drawer or buried deep in your purse might just turn out to be a hidden treasure.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
