Update 9/10/20: JCPenney has been bought by Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners, so the company’s near-term future is safe for now.
Update 9/1/20: A lot has happened since originally writing this post. JCPenney did indeed file for bankruptcy and they’ve been trying to sell the company ever since. Talks had progressed with a few companies, but those have reportedly stalled.
That’s therefore raising the prospect that JCPenney could be heading into liquidation. Seeing as the company’s future is so unclear and potentially hazardous, holding on to their gift cards is becoming increasingly risky. If you have any JCPenney gift cards, it might be time to reevaluate what you want to do with them, whether that’s redeeming them ASAP for personal use, reselling them at a lower rate than you’d originally hoped for in order to shift them or just holding on to them in the hope that a sale of the company does go through.
Reports are suggesting that JCPenney is planning on filing bankruptcy proceedings next week and closing some of their stores permanently.
This doesn’t mean they’re going out of business straight away, so their gift cards are still valid for now. Who knows how long they’ll be able to hold on though, so be careful if you’re holding a lot of their gift cards.
If JCPenney did eventually disappear, this would have a minor impact beyond just JCPenney gift cards. Happy Bride and Happy Graduation gift cards can be used at JCPenney and some stores have gift card racks that sometimes include Amazon gift cards. This would therefore be a sad loss following the loss of Happy Guy gift cards and therefore Home Depot as a somewhat similar opportunity.
It’s actually a little strange that JCPenney stores are closed right now. On the odd occasion in the last few years where I’ve walked through one from a shopping mall parking lot into the mall itself, they’ve always been completely empty with staff outnumbering customers 20-1. It therefore seems like the optimal place to socially distance right now.
[…] works out to be a 48% discount which is excellent value. The downside is that JCPenney filed for bankruptcy last month; while their gift cards are still valid and can be used online and in-store, […]