Gift Cards at Walgreens: The Complete List of Brands, Fees & Where to Buy (2026)

Walgreens sits on more corners than almost any other retailer in the country, which makes it one of the most convenient places to grab a last-minute gift card — but "convenient" and "has exactly what you need in stock" aren't always the same thing. The gift card rack near the front registers is bigger than most people expect from a pharmacy chain, covering everything from big-box retailers to restaurant chains to prepaid cards that spend like cash.

This guide breaks down exactly what Walgreens carries by category, what it costs (including the fees that matter), how denominations work, what Walgreens flatly doesn't sell, how the myWalgreens rewards program actually treats gift card purchases, and the questions people actually ask before making the trip.

Gift Card Denominations at Walgreens

Like most drugstore gift card racks, what you can spend on a card depends on whether it's a fixed-value brand card or an open-value prepaid card.

Fixed-value cards — Amazon, Target, Starbucks, and most other retail and restaurant brands — come pre-loaded at set amounts and can't be customized at the register. Typical denominations run $10, $25, $45, $50, and sometimes up to $100, though exactly which amounts are in stock varies by card and location.

Walgreens' own store-brand gift card is open-value, meaning you pick the amount — anywhere from $5 to $500, redeemable online or in-store for anything Walgreens sells.

Prepaid Visa, Mastercard, and American Express cards also let you choose an amount, generally in the $25–$200 range, printed right on the card packaging.

Stock and exact denominations vary store to store, so if you need a specific amount for a specific brand, a quick call ahead beats a wasted trip.

Are There Fees for Gift Cards at Walgreens?

Good news on this front: most of what's on the rack is fee-free.

Retail and restaurant brand cards — no fee. A $50 Amazon card or a $25 Starbucks card costs exactly $50 or $25 at the register. No activation charge on top. This covers the large majority of what Walgreens sells: retail, department store, restaurant, gaming, and streaming cards.

Prepaid debit-style cards carry an activation fee, charged on top of the loaded balance. This applies specifically to open-loop cards — Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. The fee is printed on the packaging before you get to the register, but as a general range:

If you're sticking to standard retail or restaurant gift cards, you won't pay anything beyond the card's face value. The fee only shows up on the prepaid, spend-anywhere cards.

Retail & Department Store Gift Cards

This is where Walgreens' selection genuinely surprises people — it's not just the obvious big names.

• Amazon
• Target
• American Eagle
• Barnes & Noble
• Bass Pro Shops
• Bath & Body Works
• Burlington
• buybuy BABY
• Cabela's
• DICK'S Sporting Goods
• Disney
• DSW
• eBay
• Foot Locker
• Gap
• The Home Depot
• HomeGoods
• Marshalls
• REI
• T.J. Maxx
• Williams Sonoma

Department store cards are also well represented: Kohl's, Macy's, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, and Saks Fifth Avenue all show up at Walgreens — genuinely unusual for a drugstore chain.

Walgreens' own store-brand gift card rounds out the category — usable in-store or online for pharmacy items, beauty products, groceries, and household essentials, in denominations from $5 to $500.

Restaurant & Dining Gift Cards

Walgreens' restaurant lineup is deep — noticeably deeper than CVS's, if you're comparing the two pharmacy chains directly.

• Starbucks
• Dunkin'
• Applebee's
• Chipotle
• Chick-fil-A
• Olive Garden
• McDonald's
• Domino's
• Texas Roadhouse
• Subway
• Bob Evans
• Bonefish Grill
• Buffalo Wild Wings
• Burger King
• Carrabba's Italian Grill
• Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen
• Chili's
• Cracker Barrel
• Dairy Queen
• IHOP
• Jersey Mike's
• Noodles & Company
• Outback Steakhouse
• P.F. Chang's
• Panera Bread
• Red Lobster
• Red Robin
• Ruth's Chris Steak House
• Sonic Drive-In
• Steak 'n Shake
• The Cheesecake Factory
• Whataburger

Almost all of these are fee-free fixed-denomination cards, typically $10–$50.

Gaming, Streaming & Entertainment Gift Cards

If Walgreens is your closest option and you're shopping for a gamer, this category holds up well.

Gaming

• Xbox
• PlayStation
• Nintendo
• Roblox
• GameStop
• Steam
• Fortnite (Gearbox)

Streaming & Music

• HBO Now
• Spotify
• Google Play

Movies & Tickets

• AMC Theatres
• Regal Theaters
• Fandango
• Darden & Fandango Dinner & Movie combo card

App Stores & Digital

• Apple Store / iTunes

Phone & Mobile Gift Cards

One category Walgreens carries that a lot of competitor guides skip entirely: prepaid phone/mobile refill cards. If you're topping up a prepaid plan for yourself or a family member, this is a genuinely useful, easy-to-miss reason to check the Walgreens rack specifically.

• AT&T
• T-Mobile
• Verizon Wireless
• Net10 Wireless
• Simple Mobile

Prepaid Gift Cards

For the "I have no idea what to get them" gift, Walgreens' prepaid selection spends close to cash almost anywhere.

• Vanilla Visa Gift Card — usable anywhere Visa is accepted, activation fee applies
• Vanilla Mastercard — same idea, same fee structure
• American Express Prepaid

As with most drugstore gift card racks: you cannot use one gift card to buy another gift card at Walgreens. Purchases have to go on a normal payment method.

Where to Buy Gift Cards at Walgreens (In-Store vs. Online)

The most important practical fact in this guide: Walgreens.com only sells Walgreens-brand gift cards online. Every third-party brand covered above — Amazon, Starbucks, Target, all of it — is in-store only. There's no way to order an Amazon or Target card through the Walgreens website; you have to physically visit a store and pick one off the rack.

In-store, gift cards typically live on a rack near the front registers. Some higher-value or prepaid cards may be kept behind the counter — ask an associate if you don't see what you need out on the floor.

Do Gift Cards Earn myWalgreens Rewards?

Here's the part most competing guides either skip or get wrong, and it's the opposite of how some other retailers' loyalty programs work: buying a gift card at Walgreens does not earn myWalgreens Cash rewards, and you cannot redeem Walgreens Cash to pay for a gift card either. Gift card purchases are specifically excluded from the program on both sides of the transaction.

For context, myWalgreens normally pays out 1% Walgreens Cash on most purchases and 5% on Walgreens-brand products (beauty, household essentials, snacks) — but that accrual doesn't apply to the gift card rack. If you're buying gift cards specifically to rack up rewards, Walgreens isn't the play; that strategy works better at a retailer whose loyalty program doesn't carve gift cards out.

Gift Cards Walgreens Does NOT Sell

Knowing what's off the rack can save you a wasted trip. Walgreens avoids stocking cards for direct competitors and a specific list of other holdouts:

• Direct pharmacy competitors — CVS gift cards aren't sold at Walgreens, the same way Walgreens cards aren't sold at CVS.
• Major big-box and home retailers — Walmart, Best Buy, Lowe's, IKEA, Crate and Barrel, Menards, and Hobby Lobby gift cards are not stocked.
• Beauty retailers — Sephora and Ulta Beauty aren't on the rack, despite Walgreens carrying its own beauty section.
• Apparel & specialty — Nike, Victoria's Secret, and JCPenney are not sold.
• Restaurants — Taco Bell, KFC, and Baskin Robbins are notably absent despite the otherwise deep restaurant lineup.
• Groceries — Trader Joe's and Whole Foods gift cards aren't stocked.
• Costco — Costco Shop Cards are membership-gated and sold only at Costco itself.
• Cinemark and Redbox — Cinemark was never carried; Redbox gift cards are no longer sold in physical stores anywhere, Walgreens included (Redbox now handles eGift cards and codes through its own site only).

If a brand isn't at Walgreens, it's worth checking our full balance-check directory or our CVS gift card guide to see whether we've covered it, or where else it's carried.

Walgreens Gift Card Policies: Returns, Expiration & Fine Print

• No returns or exchanges. Gift card sales at Walgreens are final — double-check the brand and amount before you pay.
• Most retail and restaurant gift cards don't expire. Federal law generally protects standard gift cards from short expiration windows.
• Prepaid cards can be the exception. Open-loop prepaid cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex) may carry expiration dates or inactivity fees — check the terms printed on the card.
• Gift cards can't buy other gift cards at Walgreens, regardless of card type.
• Walgreens doesn't buy back gift cards for cash. A third-party gift card exchange marketplace is the better option if you want to offload an unwanted card.

Tips for Buying Gift Cards at Walgreens

• Check the packaging for fees before the register — retail and restaurant cards are free, but prepaid Visa/Mastercard/Amex cards carry an activation fee, printed right on the card.
• Don't expect myWalgreens rewards on the purchase — gift cards are excluded from earning Walgreens Cash on both ends of the transaction.
• Call ahead for a specific brand if you're making a special trip — stock varies enough by location that a phone call beats a wasted drive.
• Don't assume online availability — Walgreens.com only sells Walgreens' own gift cards, not the third-party brands on the in-store rack.
• Ask about the Corporate Gift Card Sales program if you're buying in bulk for a business, team, or office.
• Keep your receipt until the recipient confirms the card works — Walgreens won't reissue a lost or stolen card without proof of purchase.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Walgreens sell Amazon gift cards?
Yes. Amazon is one of the most reliably stocked cards at Walgreens, usually on the main gift card rack near the registers. Like every third-party brand, it's in-store only — Walgreens.com doesn't sell it online.

Can I buy Walmart gift cards at Walgreens?
No. Walgreens doesn't carry Walmart gift cards — you'd need to buy those directly from Walmart or an online marketplace.

Does Walgreens sell Target gift cards?
Yes, in-store. They're not available through Walgreens.com, so call ahead to confirm your local store has them in stock if you're making a special trip.

Can I get Costco gift cards at Walgreens?
No. Costco Shop Cards require a Costco membership to buy and are sold only at Costco locations or Costco.com.

Does Walgreens sell CVS gift cards, or vice versa?
No. The two pharmacy chains are direct competitors and don't stock each other's gift cards, similar to how you won't find Walgreens cards at CVS. See our CVS gift card guide for what that chain carries instead.

Can I buy Redbox gift cards at Walgreens?
No. Redbox gift cards are no longer sold in physical stores anywhere, including Walgreens — Redbox now handles eGift cards and promo codes exclusively through its own website.

Are there fees for buying gift cards at Walgreens?
Only on prepaid, open-loop cards — Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Standard retail and restaurant cards (Amazon, Starbucks, Target, etc.) have no purchase fee.

Do gift card purchases earn myWalgreens Cash?
No. Gift card purchases are specifically excluded from earning Walgreens Cash rewards, and you can't redeem Walgreens Cash toward buying one either.

Can I buy gift cards at Walgreens in bulk?
Yes. Walgreens runs a Corporate Gift Card Sales program for business and bulk orders — ask a store associate or check with Walgreens directly for details.

Do Walgreens gift cards expire?
Most retail and restaurant gift cards sold at Walgreens don't expire. Prepaid debit-style cards can carry expiration dates or inactivity fees — check the terms on the specific card.

Can I return a gift card I bought at Walgreens?
No. All gift card purchases at Walgreens are final — no returns, refunds, or exchanges once the transaction is complete.

How do I check the balance on a gift card I bought at Walgreens?
That depends on the brand, not on Walgreens — check the balance directly with the card's issuer. If it's a brand we cover, our balance-check directory has direct links and phone numbers for dozens of popular cards.

Final Thoughts

Walgreens' gift card selection runs deeper than most people expect — 85-plus brands across retail, dining, gaming, mobile phone refills, and prepaid cards, most of them fee-free. The two things worth remembering: stock genuinely varies by location, so call ahead for anything specific, and gift card purchases sit outside the myWalgreens rewards program entirely, on both the earning and redemption side.

If you're weighing Walgreens against the other major pharmacy chain, our CVS gift card guide covers the same categories for CVS's rack — worth a look if either chain is a toss-up for your trip. And once you've got the card in hand, checking its balance is a separate step from buying it — for cards like Amazon, Starbucks, Visa, or Target, we've got direct balance-check guides with official links and phone numbers so you don't have to go hunting.