Toys R Us gift cards will expire Saturday as the company prepares to close all its US stores.

The toy chain's loyalty-based "rewards dollars" and "endless earnings" will also expire Saturday.

If customers don't use their gift cards and loyalty points by the deadline, the rewards will lose their value.

When Borders began liquidating its stores in July 2011, about 17.7 million gift cards were left outstanding.

Customers filed a lawsuit to recoup their losses, but a judge ruled that the gift cards — worth an estimated $210.5 million — would not be refunded.



Toys R Us gift cards will expire on Saturday as the company prepares to close its more than 700 US stores.

If shoppers don't use their gift cards by the expiration date, then the cards will lose their value. The toy chain's loyalty-based "rewards dollars" and "endless earnings" will also expire Saturday.

Toys R Us is in the midst of liquidating its US business after an unsuccessful attempt to restructure the company through bankruptcy. Gift card holders are now among a vast group of creditors — including Toys R Us suppliers — that will be looking to get paid back through the liquidation process.

"To say the vultures are circling is probably an understatement," Larry Perkins, the CEO and founder of the advisory firm SierraConstellation Partners, told Business Insider last month. "It's highly unlikely that there will be any meaningful piece of the business that remains," after a liquidation, he said.

Shoppers often fail to recoup the money left on unused gift cards during retail bankruptcies.

When Borders began liquidating its stores in July 2011, about 17.7 million gift cards were left outstanding. Several customers filed a lawsuit to recoup their losses, but a judge ruled that the gift cards — worth an estimated $210.5 million — would not be refunded. Many expectant parents have already lost out out on their "endless earnings" rewards dollars. Toys R Us pays out endless earnings in the form of a gift card 12 weeks after parents' due dates. The company has already stopped issuing new gift cards, leaving many expectant parents empty-handed.

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