David Bach The Automatic Millionaire

The average shopper is expected to spend $88 on gift cards this holiday season. It's easy to understand why. Folks appreciate the convenience. Rather than struggling to figure out what to buy your friends or family members, you can simply let them decide for themselves.

Gift cards have also grown into a big business for retailers. This holiday season, sales of the cards will total $18.48 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. That's a 6.6 percent increase over last year.

Unfortunately, that revenue growth could come at your expense -- unless you follow these four tips.

1. When You Get the Card, Photocopy It.

Gift cards are just like cash. If you lose them and don't have a photocopy, you've just lost money. So don't wait. Make photocopies of your cards now. You never know when you could misplace them.

If you lose your card, most retailers will issue you a new one -- if you have a photocopy of the original card.

If you're giving a card to a friend, be a good pal and photocopy it for them. Better yet, save the gift receipt. They'll appreciate the gift and the fact that you thought of protecting them from a potential headache.

2. Check the Expiration Date.

Personally, I'm terrible about using gift cards. I fall into that 18 percent to 20 percent of people, who according to the Better Business Bureau, don't use the cards they get. But I've learned the hard way that many of these cards have expiration dates and eventually become worthless.

Before you buy a card for a friend, ask the retailer whether there is an expiration date. If there is, make sure you tell your friend about it when you give them the card.

Many big retailers are dropping expiration dates because of consumer complaints, and buyer objections have spurred some states to pass laws outlawing cards that expire.

3. Don't Lose the Change

Here's what drives me crazy about these cards. Retailers are counting on your shopping bill being more than what the card has on it, because it's virtually impossible to spend exactly what the gift card is worth. Shops used to give you change, but now most simply give you a store credit receipt -- which, again, is like cash. Make sure you photocopy that receipt.

If the receipt is for something like clothes or retail products (not something like a beverage), you might want to do your best to use it all, rather than lose some of it later.

4. Read the Fine Print

The banks and the credit-card companies also offer gift cards. They will even personalize them and give you a fancy gift box. I personally like the idea of these cards, because they give the recipient total freedom to spend the money as they want. But the fees to buy these cards are often high.

The purchase fee on some of these gift cards, according to Bankrate.com, is as much as $10 per card. If you buy one from American Express, the cost according to their web site is $3.95 per card plus shipping and delivery. My local bank, Commerce Bank, offers cards up to $500 for no fee if you're a customer. So check out the fees before shelling out for these cards.

Love 'em or hate 'em, gift cards are here to stay. These four tips can help you maximize their convenience while minimizing their cost.