Background
Toys “R” Us was an iconic toy, clothing, and baby product retailer. At its peak, Toys “R” Us operated 739 stores in the US and over 750 internationally (in 40 countries). In July 2018, after 70 years of operations, Toys “R” Us permanently closed all of its remaining U.S. locations. The chain’s online store shut down as well. Unredeemed gift cards became worthless.
WHP Global acquired the Toys “R” Us brand in 2021 and established a partnership with Macy’s in order to sell toys on the retailer’s website and to open hundreds of store-within-a-store locations. By the end of 2024, there are over 450 Toys “R” Us shops in Macy’s stores across the country.
The plans also include opening dozens of stand-alone “flagship” stores, as well as smaller stores in airports and on cruise ships. The first flagship store is located in New Jersey at the American Dream Mall. The second one opened inside the Mall of America in Minnesota. First of the smaller format stores opened in Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, and another one at Harlem Irving Plaza in Norrige, Illinois.
Re-emergence of Toys “R” Us Gift Cards
We’ve noticed that a number of retailers now offer Toys “R” Us gift cards, all them them specifically designated for Toys “R” Us at Macy’s and macys.com:
- Macy’s themselves, of course, have it in standard and holiday-themed design
- Many co-branded websites operated by Blackhawk Networks offer them too, including:
- Kroger Gift Cards and its twin Harris Teeter Gift Cards – purchasing them here should always earn 2x Fuel Points per dollar, and 4x Fuel Points per dollar during double points promotions, as explained in this guide
- Giant Eagle Gift Cards – purchasing gift cards via this site earns bonus myPerks points
- It does not seem that purchasing these from other BHN sites would result in any additional savings or loyalty points, but here are the links anyway (perhaps they’ll run some promos in the future):
- Staples.com – buying them from Staples would count as office supplies, if that’s one of your bonus categories; it can also trigger this PayPal Offer
- Meijer Gift Cards
- ShopRite Gift Cards
- USPS
- Blackhawk Networks’ rival, InComm Payments, now offers these as well, via their own site:
Blackhawk Networks and InComm Payments also supply physical gift cards to many retail chains. Some of them now carry Toys “R” Us @ Macy’s gift cards, which may be included in the upcoming holiday promotions, for example, one at Tops.
Tips & Ideas
As far as we can tell, these gift cards are not distinguishable from regular Macy’s gift cards, other than their design. They will not work at Toys “R” Us standalone stores, but they should work at Macy’s beyond their toy departments. If that’s what you had in mind, follow our Macy’s gift cards tag for great deals!