Starbucks books unspent gift card value as revenue
Starbucks booked gift card value that had been sold and not yet spent as revenue. That is a line on the company's books. It does not say whether the card in your hand can be spent today. Booking unredeemed value as revenue and whether a register will take the card are two different records.
A large unspent gift card balance in New York
New Yorkers are holding a large amount of unspent gift card balance. The figure in the discussion is fifty-five million dollars. A consumer group wants the unused-balance rule changed. That is a question about the rule. Whether your card can be used now still depends on this card's own balance and terms.
Can the Starbucks gift card you are holding still be spent
The number on a company's books and the card in your hand are two different things. Lowe's deactivating a card with a zero balance after ninety days stays on the Lowe's page for the United States and is not applied to other brands. Whether another brand has the same period is on that brand's own terms, not something you can read out of this revenue line.
Fifty-five million is the unspent total for New Yorkers, not the balance of your card. Booking unredeemed value as revenue does not change whether your card can be used today. What matters is this card's own terms, and whether this check can read an amount.