Shoppers are being warned to spend any Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Burton gift cards they have as soon a possible.
The alarm has been raised as Arcadia Group, which owns the fashion stores, is reportedly on the brink of collapse with 15,000 retail and head office jobs at risk.
The group is preparing to appoint administrators from Deloitte as soon as next week, according to Sky News sources.
If Arcadia plunges into administration it will be up Deloitte to decide whether they accept gift cards or not.
An administrator's first port of call is what is in the best interests of the company.
In some cases they will accept gift cards but later but a stop to it.
It is not known what will happen with gift cards if Arcadia goes into administration but a source told The Sun they will still be accepted.
Website Moneysavingexpert.com says: "We've long said we're not fans of gift cards because you've no protection if the company it's for goes into administration.
"Administrators can decide to stop accepting gift cards in this situation, meaning they could become worthless.
“Once again, today's news is a sad reminder that even huge businesses can go bust and gift cards might not be the most practical gift you can give to your loved ones at Christmas.”
If the administrators later decide to stop accepting vouchers, you can register a claim with them for its value.
You can also register a claim if the company can't be saved and is later liquidated.
However, you may not get this money back if other creditors are owed money too or you may receive a portion of the money back.
But if the amount on a gift card was for more than £100 it may be possible to claim the money back if it was bought with a credit card.
This is because the card company is jointly liable under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
The person who bought it for you will need to claim the money back.
The news about Arcadia's possible demise follows reports that a £30million emergency loan was rejected by lenders earlier this month.
If the insolvency is confirmed, the business could go up for sale and a number of stores could face permanent closure.
Potential bidders include Boohoo - which recently acquired the Oasis and Warehouse brands.
In a statement on Friday, Arcadia said it is working on "contingency options to secure the future of the group’s brands".
The company has more than 500 shops in the UK, with the majority in England currently closed due to the lockdown which ends on December 2.
As well as Topshop, Arcadia also owns Topman, Evans, Miss Selfridges and Wallis.
During the first country-wide lockdown, Arcadia furloughed the vast majority of its 15,000-strong workforce across more than 500 outlets.
It later axed 500 head office roles after admitting sales had taken a significant hit on the back of closures.
The news comes as Arcadia's owner Sir Philip Green is planning to head for a festive break at an exclusive Indian Ocean resort in the sunny Maldives.
Green – who owned department store BHS before it collapsed in a scandal – will be sunning himself at the One & Only Reethi Rah resort, where some villas cost £30,000 a night.
Green did not respond to calls from the Mirror.
