Children’s Place Bankruptcy: Use Gift Cards and Rewards by Dec. 12, and What You Can Still Return

Gift cards and rewards: about 30 days

The rules come from an interim order the bankruptcy judge signed on Nov. 12, 2026, which approved the store sales and set the customer policies for them. Interim means the court will look again at a final hearing on Dec. 15.

• Gift cards: accepted at the stores in the sales and on the company’s websites for 30 days from the order, about Dec. 12. After that, not there. They can’t be redeemed for cash at any time, whatever your state’s gift card law says.
• My Place Rewards: honored for the same 30 days. Then the program ends at those stores and online: no new points and no redeeming old ones.

The order applies these limits to the stores running the court-approved sales and to the websites. The company told the court it’s running inventory sales at all of its stores, so in practice, plan on the same deadline everywhere.

Don’t wait for the last day. A sale can be paused or a store can close earlier, and the order lets the company post changes to these policies at the registers and on its case website.

Returns: check your receipt date

• Bought Nov. 6, 2026, or later: final sale. Stores won’t take returns.
• Bought Oct. 23 to Nov. 6, 2026: returns may be allowed under the return policy in place when you bought it.

The order doesn’t give a rule for purchases before Oct. 23. If you have something older to return, ask at the store before the rules change.

Is my Children’s Place closing?

Not necessarily. The company says all stores and its websites are open, and it’s trying to sell the business to a buyer who would keep it running. It asked for bids by Dec. 9 and expects to finish the process by the end of December.

It also says some stores will close and that it will announce them as it decides. It hasn’t published that list. Meanwhile, every store is running discount sales, which the company expects to last through Feb. 28, 2027.

If no buyer comes through, the company has a liquidation firm lined up to run the sales. It says that’s a backup, not the plan.

The Children’s Place had 512 stores in North America when it filed, under The Children’s Place and Gymboree names.

If you’re shopping the sale

Discounts can be deep, but every sale is final. Check sizes before you pay, keep the receipt anyway, and use a gift card or rewards balance first, since those have the shorter clock.

For holiday gifts, remember the person you’re giving it to can’t return or exchange it either.

If you have questions

The company’s court-appointed claims agent, Omni Agent Solutions, runs the case website, where the order says policy changes will be posted. Its information line is (866) 205-3149 in the U.S. and Canada.

The deadline for most creditors to file claims in the case is Jan. 6, 2027, according to the case website. For a gift card, the simpler move is to spend it before the 30 days run out.