Shoppers can feel better about the gift of plastic: Under both state and federal law, recipients are less likely now to be penalized for not spending the cash on the cards right away.

Under an Oregon law enacted in 2008, the value on a gift card can no longer be reduced because too much time has passed since its purchase, according to the Oregon Department of Justice website.

Additionally, you may not be charged a fee to use the card, such as an inactivity fee, a maintenance fee or a service fee.

Oregon law did allow retailers to include expiration dates on gift cards as long as they were in at least 10-point type on the card. But federal legislation that went into effect last year takes this issue a step further. Now, cards may not expire for at least five years.

And if you don’t know which store suits your gift recipient, take heart. Websites exist where people with unwanted gift cards can sell them for a percentage of their cash value, such as GiftCardGranny.com or PlasticJungle.com.

But there is still no way around that age-old problem if the recipient loses the card.

Contact: www.doj .state.or.us/finfraud/giftcards.shtml.

— Heidi Hagemeier, The Bulletin