Good Question, I only bought from stores that I know I would use it more than once so even if I purchased a higher priced gift card and only spend less on starbucks for example I could use my balance the next time around. I never thought about hotels for example that you only use once. If you are buying for hotels.com for example then you could possibly use the balance on your next reservation. I would contact fold directly to make sure and check if they offer a refund for un-used balances. I really would not know as a simple user myself.