Commentary / Barbara AnthonyOne of the most popular gifts at holiday time is gift cards. The old-fashioned, paper gift certificate has pretty much gone the way of the buggy whip and been replaced by plastic gift cards. Last holiday season alone, $25 billion of these cards were expected to be sold. Popular as they are, many of them come with strings attached that both the gift buyer and gift recipient need to know.There are two primary types of gift cards – ones that are only good at a particular retail store like Bloomingdales or Target, and ones that are accepted at multiple retail stores. This latter type usually has a Visa, MasterCard, or American Express logo on it, so it can be used at any store that displays those logos.Gift cards good only at a particular retailer usually have no expiration date and no fees associated with their use. Generally, they will not cost you any more than the value of the card you are buying – a $50 card only costs $50. If the card does have an expiration date, it must be disclosed either on the face of the card, on a sales receipt when the card is sold, or by accessing an Internet site or calling a toll-free number. In any event, the card has to comply with Massachusetts state law that says it cannot expire any sooner than seven years after purchase. It also has to be good for the full face value of the card during that time period. In other words, no maintenance fees can be deducted from its value.The other type of gift card that is very popular is one sold by shopping malls or other retailers that can be used anywhere Visa, MasterCard or American Express are accepted. This type of card often has various fees associated with it. There may be an initial purchase fee such as $4.95 that is charged on top of the value of the card. Then, there may be monthly maintenance fees or dormancy fees that kick in six months or a year after purchase. These fees can reduce the value of the card, often substantially, in a relatively short period of time. As a result, some people refer to these types of gift cards as the gift that keeps taking.Gift cards like this that bear a credit-card logo do not have to follow the same Massachusetts rules as store-specific cards. These cards are governed by federal law which says that the law of the state where the card issuer is located determines expiration dates and fees. Unfortunately, these card issuers locate in states with less protective laws that those we have here in Massachusetts.In November, the federal government unveiled proposed regulations that will take effect next August. Significant new rules include assessing dormancy fees only after a year of inactivity, and that year timeframe is reset every time the card is used; and setting expiration dates for a card after five years. Remember, those rules don’t go into place for another nine months, so cards you purchase now will follow the current rules.So what does all this mean for the gift buyer? While a store-specific card is less flexible than one that can be used almost anywhere, it is less expensive to buy and less expensive to maintain. The gift recipient also will not have to worry about using up the value of the card in a hurry to avoid maintenance fees. On the other hand, gift cards with credit card logos allow the recipient a wide choice of places to use the card, and if it has an American Express logo on it, there will no longer be any monthly maintenance fees – a concession just announced by AMEX.A final piece of advice – don’t toss gift cards in a drawer and forget about them. According to one financial consulting firm, as much as 10 percent of the retail dollars put on gift cards are never used. That amounts to about $2.5 billion a year in wasted money. You also run the risk of being dinged by fees, and if the card is a store-specific one, the store could be out of business by the time you decide to use it.And remember, under state law, you don’t have to use most gift cards down to the last penny