Visa gift cards not accepted?

[BeachLove]

I was told to not buy a visa gift card as a gift. Apparently many places wont take them and they have hidden fees? Gas stations, etc. I'm talking about the ones where you buy them and it charges you a small fee during purchase. I'm wondering if these are issues of the past.

 

[worm761]

Gas stations won't take them. The fees are if the card sits dormant for a specified amount of time.

My DH's father and step mother send us prepaid Vanilla Visa's for Christmas every year. We spend them where we normally shop (Walmart, Target, GameStop, etc).

 

[wiigirl]

Gas stations won't take them. The fees are if the card sits dormant for a specified amount of time.

My DH's father and step mother send us prepaid Vanilla Visa's for Christmas every year. We spend them where we normally shop (Walmart, Target, GameStop, etc).

 

[weswife]

Hi, my kids used them a couple of years ago. They never had a problem using them for payment. It was prepaid MC, after making a purchase a hold fee was applied which was returned in a few days but a pain when tracking spending money. Last year I purchased Disney GC and it went much smoother.

 

[tvguy]

Gas stations won't take them. The fees are if the card sits dormant for a specified amount of time.

My DH's father and step mother send us prepaid Vanilla Visa's for Christmas every year. We spend them where we normally shop (Walmart, Target, GameStop, etc).

Gas stations that take VISA credit cards here will take the VISA gift cards. They will not, however, let you use them at the pump, you have to go into the cashier.

 

[pocomom]

Just gave one to my 11 year old daughter for camp expenses and it is working fine everywhere she is using it.

 

[donkeyandshrek]

DD got one for her bday. Was declined today at Sally's. ;(

 

[Wishes Count]

The real problem is you need to know EXACTLY how much money is on the card and TELL the cashier. If your purchase is $25 and you only have $17.89 on the card you need to tell the cashier the exact amount for them to put into the register. It will not automatically just take that amount off and the cashier has no way to see how much money is on the card. You either need to keep track or call the number on the back for the balance.

 

[zy144622]

I have used Visa gift cards many times. I have had to pay I inside for gas though. Knowing what is on the card is important by very easy to find out. # is on the back of card for basic automated system. Catch can be with a return. You may need the same for of payment used to buy an items to return it.

 

[wekhogan]

The real problem is you need to know EXACTLY how much money is on the card and TELL the cashier. If your purchase is $25 and you only have $17.89 on the card you need to tell the cashier the exact amount for them to put into the register. It will not automatically just take that amount off and the cashier has no way to see how much money is on the card. You either need to keep track or call the number on the back for the balance.

This is exactly true. Card will be declined if you try to charge more than the balance. You'd think it would just come up "balance due = $2.30", but there are some things, amazingly enough, a computer can't do.

 

[torinsmom]

I know when I put gas on my regular Visa, the charge shows as $38-$40 first and then changes to what I actually got, whether it be $10 or $60. If you don't have the hold amount on your prepaid Visa, it will definitely be declined. I've never had much trouble using them other places though. Just know your balance. If your purchase is more than your balance, use another method of payment first to bring the total slightly under your balance or you may be declined. I always save any prepaid Visas for the parks for parking, snacks, etc.

 

[Pooh2]

My son used one at Olive Garden and they said there was no balance when there was $50 on it. He used it later that night without any problem.

I had an issue with one at Marshalls, my card was for $25 but my purchase was for $27, the girl could not figure out how to do it!

So I no longer give them as gifts.

 

[AndreaDM]

I HATE these cards! MIL sends all of us one for xmas and birthdays every year. First of all, she pays a $5 fee on each one which is just dumb, and they are a pain to use at a lot of places. I end up buying the girls' cards and giving them cash then just using the cards at the grocery store when I know I will use more than the amount of the card. If you don't use the whole card and once and have a balance, then it becomes a real pain to use it. Stick with cash or a check!

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I hate the Visa gift cards. Besides the purchaser paying $5 for the privilege of buying each one, they are hard to use. DD tried to use one today - her total was 56.xx and she gave the cashier a $50 Visa gift card and a $10 bill. The card was declined. I called to find out why, and apparently we needed to instruct the cashier to take the $6.xx off first in cash so exactly $50 was due. The card was declined for insufficient funds since the system was trying to take $56.xx from the card and it only held $50. I gave DD cash for the card and will buy a Target or grocery store card with the Visa gift card.

 

[quikah]

I developed a strategy on how to use up these cards after all the mail in rebates started giving them out instead of checks.

I use them at the grocery store and ALWAYS do a partial charge for an even amount. For example if my bill is $43.25, I do a partial charge of $40 then pay the rest with a regular CC. This makes it a lot easier to keep track of how much is left on the card.

 

[Disney2013Girl]

A tip that someone might find useful:

If you find yourself with a visa gift card with odd amounts left on it (left over from a partial payment situation), find out the exact amount and then use it to buy an amazon e-gift card to apply to your amazon account. The next time you go to check out on amazon, it's like a surprise discount.

 

[wishing4PA]

I hate the Visa gift cards. Besides the purchaser paying $5 for the privilege of buying each one, they are hard to use. DD tried to use one today - her total was 56.xx and she gave the cashier a $50 Visa gift card and a $10 bill. The card was declined. I called to find out why, and apparently we needed to instruct the cashier to take the $6.xx off first in cash so exactly $50 was due.

I hate them too! And yep, that's how you do it. "I want to pay $6.xx in cash first, then $50 off this gift card." I may be too lazy, because to me that is a nuisance I'd rather not deal with!

I developed a strategy on how to use up these cards after all the mail in rebates started giving them out instead of checks.

Quikah, since you do this often, perhaps you can answer a question for me. I was going through my pre-trip folder and found a Staples rebate Visa GC that I had forgotten all about. I don't see anywhere if it required any activation. If it did, perhaps I did that already, but I just don't recall. Do you recall if this sort of card normally requires any activation? I'd call the number, but I have a feeling that question isn't covered by that automated system. If you don't know, I'll try calling them, though.
Thanks in advance!