The Dreaded Simon Gift Card

[seashoreCM]

Can anyone recommend the best way to use the darn thing so we can get rid of it all at once? The fine print stated that you can't purchase something over the amount on the card, or it won't be accepted. e!

It is unconscionable to not let you spend the balance on the card (say, the last couple of dollars) because your purchase that day is more than that balance and you will pay additional cash as needed.

Unrelated useful hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/gift3.htm

OT: It is a bad bargain to buy the tankful up front when renting a car since you can never use up all the gas without the danger of running out in the middle of the road.

 

[cats mom]

I agree - I just dont understand why people bother with fees, expirations, and cards that the balnce can be lost (due to magnets etc)... I love the good old fashion CASH!!! MIL gave the kids tiny little boxes (I think she got them at WalMart) and put CASH in them!! Perfect size, doesnt expire, can be washed (not recommended btw!!)

Those tricky marketers have the public fooled into purchasing gift cards!!

I'm with ya
That or stick with non-expiring funny money.

I took DD8 to Toys r us the other day. We had a TrU gift card that she got maybe 6 months ago and a few of the old Geoffrey Dollars from many, many years ago.

Got to the rgister and the $5.00 gift card had been zero-ed out.
They charge $2.50 a month maintenance fees after so many months of non-use. I checked when she got it and it had the full $5.00 then, but I have no idea when it was originally purchased... maybe it was re-gifted or something, so was almost ready to expire when she received it? We certainly had not had it for 2 years (which is when he said they start charging fees)

The kid at the register had to call a manager since he had never seen Geoffrey money before - but it still worked just fine once he got it OK-ed.



Sorry for the slightly OT rant

 

[patsal]

It's not the cards that are a problem, it is the cashiers that do not know how to process them correctly. So long as you keep track of the purchases that you make so you know how much is left on the card and you tell the cashier that you need the payment broken up with say $12.33 on the Visa debit card and the rest as cash there will not be a problem. You will encounter difficulty if you do not know exactly how much is left on your card--say you tried $12.35 or the whole balace it would be declined for insufficient funds and you'd have to call the number on the back to get the exact amount on the card before proceeding with the transaction. It is time consuming and difficult if you do not keep extremely close track of it or if you don't want to be bothered with tracking these details.
These cards cost the purchaser extra money as compared to a store specific gift card becasue of the flexibility of "anywhere the Visa logo is" but they are a pain because of how careful you need to be. I stopped buying them, and I am very careful to write on it or attach reciepts if I receive one.

 

[Robinrs]

Anyone who doesn't want theirs can send them to me!

I just used one to buy my son a PS2 and 4 DVDs! I had a whopping $8 left and used it to buy a speaker for my son's ipod a speaker at FYE. The cashier typed in the $8 then I paid the balance.