> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.giftcardfactory.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.giftcardfactory.app/campaigns/gift-card-reminders.md).
# Gift Card Reminders
Turn unused gift cards into profit
Gift Card Reminders automatically sends reminder emails to customers about their unused or expiring gift cards. This helps recover unredeemed gift card value and drives customers back to your store.
### How It Works
The campaign runs on a schedule you define. Each time it runs, it queries your Shopify store for gift cards that match your selection criteria, then sends a reminder email to each eligible customer.
**Each reminder email costs 1 campaign credit.**
### π‘Common Use Cases
**Expiring Gift Card Alert** β Run daily with the expiry trigger set to 30 days, so every customer gets one reminder exactly 30 days before their gift card expires. Perfect for: Making sure customers don't lose their gift card value by forgetting to use it before it expires.
**Post-Holiday Follow-Up** β Use fixed dates to target gift cards created during Black Friday / Christmas, sent 60 days later. Perfect for: Re-engaging holiday gift card recipients who haven't returned to shop yet.
**Monthly Unused Balance Nudge** β Run monthly with dynamic dates (created 60-90 days ago) and a minimum balance of $10. Perfect for: Gently reminding customers about gift cards that have been sitting unused without over-emailing.
**Recipient Reminder** β Set email recipient to "Recipient or customer" and target gift cards created 14-30 days ago. Perfect for: Reminding the actual gift recipient (not just the buyer) that they have a gift card waiting.
**High-Value Recovery** β Set a high minimum balance (e.g., $50) and target gift cards created 30+ days ago. Perfect for: Prioritizing outreach to customers with significant unredeemed value.
### Creating a Campaign
Navigate to **Campaigns > New Campaign > Gift Card Reminders** to create a new reminder campaign.
#### Title
Give your campaign a descriptive name (e.g., "30-day expiry reminder" or "Monthly unused gift card nudge"). This is for your own reference β customers won't see it.
#### Schedule
Configure when and how often the campaign runs:
* **Start date** β The first date the campaign should run
* **Start time** β Hour and minute (in 15-minute increments)
* **Timezone** β The timezone used for scheduling
* **Repeat** β Optional recurrence:
* **Non-recurring** β Runs once at the specified date/time
* **Recurring** β Runs repeatedly at a set interval (e.g., every 1 day, every 2 weeks, every 1 month)
#### Selection Criteria
Define which gift cards should trigger a reminder. Only **enabled** gift cards are included.
**Minimum Balance**
Set a minimum remaining balance (e.g., `5.00`). Gift cards with a balance below this amount will be skipped. Leave empty or set to `0` to include all balances.
**Trigger Type**
Choose what date property determines which gift cards are selected:
**Option 1: Send based on created at date**
Select gift cards by when they were created. Two sub-modes are available:
* **Dynamic date** β Relative to the current run date. You specify a "from" and "to" in days ago. For example, setting "from: 61" and "to: 60" means each time the campaign runs, it picks gift cards created between 61 and 60 days before that run. This is useful for recurring campaigns that should always target a specific age range.
* **Fixed date** β A specific calendar date range. Gift cards created between the "from" and "to" dates will be included. This is useful for one-time campaigns targeting a known batch of gift cards.
**Option 2: Send based on expiry date**
Select gift cards by when they expire. Two sub-modes are available:
* **Dynamic date** β Send the reminder a set number of days before expiry. Each run includes only gift cards expiring **exactly** that many days after the run date β for example, with "30 days", a run today includes only gift cards expiring exactly 30 days from today. Pair this with a recurring daily schedule so every gift card gets exactly one reminder, 30 days before its own expiry date, with no duplicates.
* **Fixed date** β A specific expiry date range. Gift cards expiring between the "from" and "to" dates are included, no matter when the campaign runs. This is best for one-time campaigns β for example, a reminder scheduled for late December targeting all gift cards that expire on March 1st. Avoid combining it with a recurring schedule: the same gift cards would receive a reminder on every run.
#### Email Recipient
Choose who receives the reminder email:
* **Customer assigned to gift card** β The customer linked to the gift card in Shopify
* **Recipient assigned to gift card** β The recipient field on the gift card (if one was set when the gift card was created/sent)
* **Recipient or (if not found) customer** β Tries the recipient first, falls back to the customer if no recipient is available
#### Delivery
Choose how the reminder email is sent:
* **Shopify Email** β Uses Shopify's built-in email (default, no additional setup)
* **App Email** β Uses Gift Card Factory's email sending (requires email configuration in Settings)
* **Shopify Flow** β Triggers a Shopify Flow event instead of sending directly (you build the email in Flow)
* **Klaviyo** β Triggers a Klaviyo event for use in Klaviyo flows
You also select an **email template** for the reminder. Available template types:
* **Gift Card Reminders** β Pre-built template designed for reminders
* **Custom** β Any custom template you've created
**Template Variables**
The following variables are available in your email template:
* `gift_card.last_characters` β Last 4 characters of the gift card code
* `gift_card.initial_value.amount` β Original gift card value
* `gift_card.initial_value.currency` β Currency code
* `gift_card.balance.amount` β Current remaining balance
* `gift_card.balance.currency` β Currency code
* `gift_card.expires_on` β Expiry date (if set)
* `gift_card.image` β Gift card image URL
* `customer.email` β Customer's email
* `customer.first_name` β Customer's first name
* `customer.last_name` β Customer's last name
* `customer.id` β Shopify customer ID
* `recipient.name` β Recipient's name
* `recipient.email` β Recipient's email
Read more about different delivery options in [Sending Customer Notification](/misc/sending-customer-notifications.md) section.
### Campaign Dashboard
After creating a campaign, access its dashboard from the campaigns list. The dashboard shows:
#### Metrics
* **Reminders sent** β Total reminder emails delivered
* **Remaining balance** β Combined balance of gift cards that were reminded
* **Gift cards redeemed** β Number of reminded gift cards that were subsequently used
* **Redeemed value** β Monetary value of those redeemed gift cards
* **Order total** β Total order value from orders where reminded gift cards were used
Each metric includes a line chart showing trends over a selectable time range (7 days, 30 days, 90 days, 1 year, or year-to-date).
#### Campaign Runs
A table showing each time the campaign ran, including:
* Run number and date
* Status (In Progress, Finished, Error)
* Number of emails sent
* Number of skipped gift cards
#### Settings
The campaign configuration can be edited directly from the dashboard using the settings panel.
#### Activate / Deactivate
Toggle the campaign on or off. When deactivated, the campaign will not run on its next scheduled time. When reactivated, the next run is recalculated based on the schedule.
### Tips
* **Expiry reminders** β Schedule a recurring daily campaign with the dynamic expiry trigger (e.g., 30 days) so each gift card gets a single reminder 30 days before it expires
* **Expiry blast for a known batch** β If all your gift cards expire on the same date (e.g., reward cards from a seasonal campaign), use the fixed expiry date mode with a one-time schedule and pick the send date freely
* **Re-engagement** β Use dynamic dates with a recurring schedule (e.g., weekly) to remind customers about gift cards created 60-90 days ago that haven't been fully used
* **One-time blast** β Use fixed dates with a non-recurring schedule to target a specific batch (e.g., all gift cards from a holiday promotion)
* **Minimum balance** β Set a reasonable minimum (e.g., $5) to avoid sending reminders for nearly depleted gift cards
* **Space out your reminders** β Be mindful of how often the same customer receives a reminder. Sending too many emails in a short period can feel overwhelming β a well-timed single reminder is more effective than frequent ones
