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Visa and Mastercard gift cards can be extremely useful tools to maximize rewards on credit card spend. These cards are sold both in fixed denominations and in variable-load forms where you can put anywhere between $20-$500 on the card. They are accepted almost everywhere that you can use credit or debit. Outside of periodic sales, there is almost always an activation fee on these cards, usually from $3.95-$7.95.
Much of the points and miles world regards these gift cards as only being useful for “manufactured spend,” or MS, where the gift cards are somehow liquidated into cash or money orders that can then be deposited. However, there are many additional ways to use gift cards and they can be a great tool for anyone trying to maximize rewards on spending. Note – Banks have different levels of tolerance for spending on gift cards. It’s best to start off small and ramp up your spending over time. Amex, in particular, is very sensitive about GC purchases. Be very careful with how much and how often you buy, or you risk claw back, pop-up prison and potentially, shutdown.
Regardless of how you use them, the first step is to find Visa or Mastercard gift cards that can be bought with a credit card, with low activation fees, and without risk of incurring cash-advance fees. This post solely focuses on options available within the United States. And even within the US, options will vary immensely by region, by county and by store.
Visa and Mastercard gift cards can be useful tools to maximize points and miles earning
Ways to Use Gift Cards
- Time-Shift Spend – Probably the best way to earn a lot of points in a short amount of time is by signing up for new credit cards with welcome offers and completing the timed spending requirements (ie, spend $3,000 in the first 90 days to get 60,000 points). Banks will sometimes target customers for spending offers on existing cards as well. However, many of us have gotten ourselves into periods where we might have competing spending offers and/or sign-up bonuses, pushing us to the limit of what we can spend in the next X amount of days. Gift cards can be a great tool in this case, allowing you to “time-shift spend.” For instance, if you’re $1000 short of a spending bonus and you have 4 days to go, you can buy $1000 in gift cards to complete the spending requirement and then use those gift cards for normal spending at your leasure. Warning – Do not attempt this with Amex cards, they are known to claw back welcome offers achieved using giftcard purchases.
- Earning category bonuses everywhere – This is one of my favorite ways to use gift cards (See: Chase Ink Cash: 5x reasons why it’s my favorite no annual fee card). Using credit cards that have good category bonuses (5x Office Supply, 3x-4x Grocery, 3x Gas, etc) you can buy gift cards at a retailer that qualifies for that category and then use the gift cards that you purchased for unbonused (or less-bonused) spend elsewhere. While it does require keeping track of multiple cards, some with partial amounts, it can be a fantastic way to get above-average return on almost all spending.
- Player 2 Spending – Most of us know the pain of having a player 2 who doesn’t care to care about category bonuses. My wife has a firm 3 card limit, meaning she doesn’t want to have to track more than 3 cards at a time in her wallet. So, we’ll go through times that she’ll have a gas card, a dining card (because both of those categories require preauthorizations that can be cumbersome on some gift cards) and use Visa gift cards that I purchase from office supply stores everywhere else. She doesn’t have to keep track of bonus categories and I’m comfy knowing we’re earning 5x on what she spends.
- Spending that requires debit cards – There are always a few spending categories that only accept debit cards, have a drastically reduced fee for using debit cards (ie taxes/utilities) or who only accept one flavor of credit card, but multiple types of debit (Costco, for example). There are a lot more options these days for earning 2%+ on debit spend, but most folks’ primary debit card will be lucky to get 1% back. By using gift cards, you can get 3x-5x transferrable currencies (or cash back) on spending that would otherwise be lightly-bonused, if at all.
- “Manufactured Spend” – This is the big kahuna for some, a completely frustrating wild goose chase for others. The most common version involves using gift cards to buy money orders at supermarkets or department stores and then depositing those money orders directly into a bank account. This is EXTREMELY region, store and even sometimes cashier-dependent. We had talked about trying to go through the different issuers’ gift cards and developing a reference source for them, but the problem is that there is just too much variability to map it all out…and it’s changing constantly. Check out our Guide to Manufactured Spending as well as Nick’s excellent article about how to attack it conceptually. Suffice it to say that experimentation, local MS buddies, time and patience are essential tools.
Note that the vast majority of cards discussed below are PIN-enabled. It’s important to know the PIN, even if not intending to use it, as you sometimes will be prompted to enter the PIN in order to complete the purchase. In some cases the PIN is the last 4 digits of the card and in other cases you have to manually set it
Current Visa and Mastercard Promotions
There are often promotions to save on purchase or activation fees, or instant rebates on gift card purchases. Current promos (if any) are listed here:
Online Options for Gift Card Purchases
Amazon.com
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| At Amazon.com (our affiliate link), the highest denomination is $200 and those come with a $6.95 activation fee. That’s high as an overall percentage. It might make sense though if you have a credit card which earns 5% on Amazon purchases. | Max value: $200 Max order size: None listed. Per card fee: $6.95 Can include your name on gift card? No Portal rebate available? No PIN enabled? Yes Cash advance fee? No Issued by: MetaBank Credit card category bonus: Amazon |
BJ’s Wholesale Club (www.bjs.com)
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| The image of the $200 Vanilla Visa on the BJ’s website shows an activation fee of $6.95, but they actually only charge $5.45. That’s still a high fee, but might be worth it if you’re looking to max out wholesale club spending when it’s a 5% category on cards like the Chase Freedom and Discover It. | Max value: $200 Max order size: Seemingly no limits, but unlikely that BJ’s will fulfill a $10,272.50 order for 50 of these cards. Per card fee: $5.45 Can include your name on gift card? No Portal rebate available? Possibly. Gift card purchases from BJ’s sometimes track online even though they’re excluded. PIN enabled? Yes Cash advance fee? No Issued by: Varies Credit card category bonus: Wholesale clubs |
GiantEagle.com
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| Online gift card purchases from GiantEagle.com don’t code as groceries as their online gift cards are processed by Blackhawk Network You don’t have to live in an area with Giant Eagle stores to have them mail gift cards to you. |
Max value: $200 Max order size: $2,747.50 (inclusive of fees) Per card fee: $6.95 Can include your name on gift card? No Portal rebate available? No PIN enabled? Yes (last 4 digits) Cash advance fee? No Issued by: Metabank Credit card category bonus: None |
GiftCardGranny.com
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| It’s not clear who processes payment for these cards (presumably Gift Card Granny, but that might not be the case), although the cards themselves are listed as being issued by MetaBank. | Max value: $500 Max order size: $Unsure Per card fee: $6.95 with $1.99 shipping per card. Can include your name on gift card? Yes Portal rebate available? Possibly. Gift Card Granny might be available on one or more shopping portals, but we don’t know if Visa gift card purchases will track. PIN enabled? Yes. Cash advance fee? Unsure Issued by: MetaBank Credit card category bonus: None |
GiftCards.com
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| Order online through a cash back portal in order to recover some or all of the fees. When first buying cards from GiftCards.com, it is recommended that you start slowly. If you buy too many in a short period of time, they may shut down your ability to buy more cards. |
Max value: $250 Max order size: $2500 (inclusive of fees) Per card fee: $4.95 + shipping. Shipping is either $1.99 per card for first class mail or $7.45 for an entire order with tracking. Can include your name on gift card? Yes Portal rebate available? Yes. Portal rates are sometimes better for Mastercard gift cards than for Visa gift cards. Find current portal rates here (but note that you’ll have to click into each portal to find Visa/MC specific rates). Cash back may be earned on up to $2K per month through portals (this changed in July 2020). PIN enabled? Yes. After activating online you’ll be given a 4 digit PIN and you can then change the PIN if you prefer. Cash advance fee? No Issued by: MetaBank Credit card category bonus: None |
GiftCardMall.com
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| Order online through a cash back portal in order to recover some or all of the fees. GiftCardMall is known to have an itchy trigger finger when it comes to cancelling orders. If you intend to place larger orders, you should increase order size slowly. |
Max value: $250 Max order size: $10,000 (inclusive of fees) Per card fee: $5.95 + shipping. Shipping fees vary depending on the number of cards you purchase and they sometimes run promotions for free shipping. Can include your name on gift card? Yes Portal rebate available? Yes. Find current portal rates here (but note that you’ll have to click into each portal to find Visa specific rates). The cap is $2K in orders per month for portal rewards (see this post). PIN enabled? Yes Cash advance fee? No Issued by: Metabank Credit card category bonus: None |
HarrisTeeter.com
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| The activation fee of $5.95 is very high given the card’s low maximum denomination, earning 4x fuel points when Harris Teeter runs that promotion can potentially save you more than the fee when buying gas. Online gift card purchases from Harris Teeter don’t code as groceries as their online gift cards are processed by Blackhawk Network | Max value: $100 Max order size: $1,064.50 (inclusive of fees) Per card fee: $5.95 Can include your name on gift card? No Portal rebate available? No PIN enabled? Yes (last 4 digits) Cash advance fee? No Issued by: Metabank Credit card category bonus: Groceries |
IncommIncentives.com
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| Incomm Incentives appears to be set up to sell gift cards in bulk to businesses, so they might have some kind approval process to be accepted. They offer $500 cards for a $3.25 fee, so it might be worth considering if you have an eligible business. Note that these are Vanilla Visa gift cards, so these can’t be used for debit transactions over $50 at Walmart. | Max value: $500 Max order size: Seemingly none. This option is set up to buy in bulk (VanillaGift.com directs you to Incomm Incentives if trying to buy $10,000+ in Visa gift cards). Per card fee: $3.25 Can include your name on gift card? Yes Portal rebate available? No PIN enabled? Yes Cash advance fee? No Issued by: Varies (Vanilla). Credit card category bonus: Unsure. |
Kroger.com
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| While the activation fee of $5.95 is very high given the card’s low denomination, earning 4x fuel points when Kroger runs that promotion can potentially save you more than that fee when buying gas. Online gift card purchases from Kroger don’t code as groceries. That’s because, similar to Office Depot, their online gift card offering is run by GiftCardMall. | Max value: $100 Max order size: $1,064.50 (inclusive of fees) Per card fee: $5.95 Can include your name on gift card? No Portal rebate available? No PIN enabled? Yes Cash advance fee? No Issued by: U.S. Bank Credit card category bonus: None |
Meijer.com
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| Online gift card purchases are powered by Blackhawk Network which most likely means that they won’t code as a grocery purchase. | Max value: $500 Max order size: $5,095.50 (inclusive of fees) Per card fee: $5.95 Shipping fee: free trackable shipping Can include your name on gift card? No Portal rebate available? Unsure PIN enabled? Yes (last 4 digits) Cash advance fee? No Issued by: Metabank Credit card category bonus: Groceries |
OfficeDepot.com
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| Although in-store gift card purchases of Visa gift cards at Office Depot can earn you 5x on Ink Plus and Ink Cash cards, that’s sadly not the case online. That’s because Office Depot’s online gift card offering is powered by GiftCardMall and payments are therefore processed by them rather than Office Depot. | Max value: $500 Max order size: $5,095.50 (inclusive of fees) Per card fee: $5.95 Shipping fee: free trackable shipping Can include your name on gift card? No Portal rebate available? No PIN enabled? Yes (last 4 digits) Cash advance fee? No Issued by: Metabank Credit card category bonus: None |
Quill.com
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| Quill is an online-only office supply store owned by Staples and it sells essentially the same assortment of gift cards. It is necessary to register your account as a business in order to buy gift cards. They are frequent card linked offers that can make gift card purchases profitable, even with the activation fee. | Max value: $300 Max order size: $2,000 (inclusive of fees) Per card fee: $8.95 Shipping fee: free trackable shipping Can include your name on gift card? No Portal rebate available? Sometimes PIN enabled? Yes (last 4 digits) Cash advance fee? No Issued by: Metabank Credit card category bonus: Office Supply |
SamsClub.com
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| The $6.48 activation fee and the fact that it’s a Vanilla card means buying Visa gift cards from Sam’s Club online isn’t too enticing. However, there are often Amex Offers for Sam’s Club which can make buying them more worthwhile (and profitable) if you wouldn’t use the Amex Offer for organic Sam’s Club purchases. | Max value: $200 Max order size: Seemingly no limits, but unlikely that Sam’s Club will fulfill a $10,324 order for 50 of these cards. Per card fee: $6.48 Can include your name on gift card? No Portal rebate available? No PIN enabled? Yes Cash advance fee? No Issued by: Varies Credit card category bonus: None |
Simon Gift Cards Bulk program
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| If you wish to purchase Simon Visa Gift Cards that can be loaded with up to $1,000 per card, you need to first register and be approved for the Simon bulk ordering program (which requires manual verification from Simon’s end and making your first purchase in person at a Simon Mall location). You will then re-enter the verification process each time you add a new payment method to your account. Note that you should avoid using an Amex because Amex doesn’t award points for Simon Mall purchases. | Max value: $1,000 Max order size: $10,000 per day whether in a single or multiple orders (inclusive of fees) Per card fee: $5.49 Order processing fee: $10 per order Shipping fee: Varies. From around $10. Can include your name on gift card? Yes. Portal rebate available? No PIN enabled? Yes (last 4 digits) Cash advance fee? No Issued by: Metabank Credit card category bonus: None |
Simon / GiftCardMall.com
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| This option is different to Simon’s own direct sales of Visa gift cards. This portal is run by GiftCardMall and payments are processed by them which means that you can earn rewards on American Express cards which you can’t do when buying from Simon Mall directly. | Max value: $500 Max order size: $5,000 (before fees) Per card fee: $3.95 with $0.50 shipping per card ($0.50 is for non-trackable shipping, trackable shipping is $6.99 regardless of how many cards you order. Can include your name on gift card? No Portal rebate available? Unlikely. Although it’s processed by GiftCardMall, it’s on a subdomain. Clicking through to GiftCardMall from a portal and then manually adding ‘simon.’ before ‘giftcardmall.com’ probably won’t work, but could be worth a try. PIN enabled? Likely seeing as it’s issued by MetaBank. Cash advance fee? Unsure Issued by: MetaBank Credit card category bonus: None that I’m aware of |
Staples.com
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| If you pay with a Chase Ink Cash (or the Ink Plus, which is no longer available to new applicants), the $8.95 fee is more than made up for by the 5X Ultimate Rewards points earned (5 X 308.95 = 1545 points per $300 card). In fact, if you wanted to, you could cash in 895 of those points to reduce your net fees to zero and still earn 650 points per $300 card (i.e. ~2.2X). | Max value: $300 Max order size: 5 cards Per card fee: $8.95 Can include your name on gift card? No Portal rebate available? No PIN enabled? Yes (last 4 digits) Cash advance fee? No Issued by: Metabank. Credit card category bonus: Office Supply |
Target.com
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| A $6 fee means you’re paying 3% when buying a $200 prepaid card. | Max value: $200 Max order size: $2,060 (inclusive of fees). Per card fee: $6.00 Can include your name on gift card? No Portal rebate available? No PIN enabled? Yes Cash advance fee? No Issued by: TBBK Card Services, Inc. or MetaBank Credit card category bonus: Unsure. |
USPS.com
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| A great thing about ordering from USPS is that they offer free trackable shipping, so the activation fee is the only cost added on. Stephen had problems trying to check out when logged in, so you might need to use the ‘Checkout As Guest’ option. | Max value: $500 Max order size: $5,000 (before fees) Per card fee: $5.95 with free trackable shipping. Can include your name on gift card? No Portal rebate available? No. Although it’s on a sub-domain of GiftCards.com, it doesn’t seem to track after clicking through from a shopping portal. PIN enabled? Yes. After activating online you can choose a PIN. Cash advance fee? No Issued by: MetaBank Credit card category bonus: None |
VanillaGift.com
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| VanillaGift.com is one of the few remaining options for buying $500 Visa gift cards online. Note that Walmart doesn’t accept Vanilla Visa gift cards as debit transactions for more than $50. | Max value: $500 Max order size: $10,000 (inclusive of fees) Per card fee: $5.95 Can include your name on gift card? Yes Portal rebate available? No PIN enabled? Yes Cash advance fee? No Issued by: TBBK Card Services, Inc., MetaBank, N.A. or Sutton Bank Credit card category bonus: None |
In-store Options for Gift Card Purchases
None of the following in-person options provide a way to recover fees through portals, nor do they offer gift cards with your name on them. That said, it is sometimes possible to earn rewards with card-linked offers. See: Card-Linked Programs & The Networks They Run On (AKA Which Programs Stack) and Stephen’s Top 6 Card-Linked Programs.
AAA
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| Check your local AAA office to see if they sell Visa gift cards. Often they’ll run no-fee promotions, especially late in the year. | Max value: $500 Max order size: ? Per card fee: Varies. Often $3 to $3.95 for members. Sometimes fee-free during promos. PIN enabled? Yes Cash advance fee? Possible Issued by: Metabank Credit card category bonus: Some AAA branches code as insurance. If you have a card offering a bonus for insurance payments, you might qualify for a bonus this way. Additional Notes: Some people have reported that buying gift cards from AAA is a cumbersome and time consuming process. Others have had no such problems. We’ve received at least one report of a customer being charged a cash advance fee when buying AAA gift cards. Make sure to lower your credit card’s cash advance limit below the amount you plan to spend. |
Credit Unions
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| Credit unions often sell Visa gift cards to their members sometimes with no fee at all. When they do charge fees, they’re often lower than elsewhere. One example of a credit union that offers Visa gift cards can be found here. | Max value: $500 Max order size: ? Per card fee: Varies. $3.95 is typical. PIN enabled? Yes Cash advance fee? Possible Issued by: ? Credit card category bonus: None. Additional Notes: Ask your credit union whether they accept 3rd party credit cards for these purchases. Many credit unions only allow credit cards to be used if you pay with a credit card from that credit union. Important: There is always a risk of being charged a cash advance fee. Make sure to lower your credit card’s cash advance limit below the amount you plan to spend. |
Discount Stores
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| Stores like Walmart, Target, BJ’s, and Sam’s Club sell a variety of Visa and/or MasterCard gift cards. Sam’s Club and BJ’s wholesale sell Vanilla brand cards. | Max value: $500 Max order size: Varies by store Per card fee: Varies PIN enabled? Yes. Cash advance fee? No Issued by: Varies (Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale sell Vanilla gift cards) Credit card category bonus: In some cases Walmart or Target may code as a grocery store for earning credit card category bonuses. For Sam’s Club, look for cards offering wholesale club bonuses. |
Drug Stores
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| Many drugstores sell Vanilla brand Visa and MasterCard gift cards loadable up to $500. | Max value: $500 Max order size: Often limited to one $500 card. Per card fee: $5.95 PIN enabled? Yes (Use any 4 digits upon first use to set the PIN) Cash advance fee? No Issued by: Bancorp Credit card category bonus: Earn 3x with Chase Freedom Flex, Chase Freedom Unlimited, AARP Essential Rewards Mastercard, Bank of America’s Customized Cash Rewards, Miami Marin’s Credit Card Earn 5x with Citi Custom Cash. Also cards like Discover It card, Chase Freedom, Chase Freedom Flex, Affinity Cash Rewards sometimes offer drugstores as a 5X quarterly category. |
Gas Stations / Convenience Stores
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| Some gas stations and convenience stores (which sometimes conveniently code as gas stations for credit card purposes) sell Visa and MasterCard gift cards loadable up to $500. The ability to pay with a credit card varies from region to region and store to store and is often limited to Vanilla brand gift cards. | Max value: $500 Max order size: Often limited to one $500 card. Per card fee: Usually $5.95 PIN enabled? Yes (Usually you can use any 4 digits upon first use to set the PIN) Cash advance fee? No Issued by: Bancorp Credit card category bonus: A number of cards offer up to 5% cash back at gas stations (found here). Note that some category bonuses are restricted to payments at the pump — those will not work for buying gift cards. Also watch for gas station quarterly category bonuses with cards such as Chase Freedom Flex, and Discover. |
Grocery Stores
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| Many grocery stores sell Visa and MasterCard gift cards loadable up to $500. While Visa cards operate normally, U.S. Bank Mastercards do not automatically work as debit cards at Walmart registers. A workaround is to hit the red cancel button almost immediately after swiping so you can change the payment type to “debit”. | Max value: $500 Max order size: Varies by store Per card fee: $5.95-$6.95 PIN enabled? Yes. PIN usually comes in the package. If it doesn’t, call 1-866-952-5653 to set the pin. Cash advance fee? No Issued by: U.S. Bank (usually) or Metabank in some cases. Credit card category bonus: A number of cards offer up to 5% or even 6% cash back at grocery stores (found here). Also watch for grocery stores as quarterly category bonus with cards such as Chase Freedom Flex, and Discover. |
Lowe’s
| The home improvement giant sells Visa and Mastercard gift cards with values up to $200. They will run frequent promotions that give Lowe’s eCredit back with the purchase of each card (these can then be used or resold). See this post. | Max value: $200 Max order size: Varies by store/cashier Per card fee: $6.95-7.95 PIN enabled? Yes (Last 4 digits) Cash advance fee? No. Issued by: Metabank Credit card category bonus: Hardware/Home Improvement |
Office Supply Stores
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| Stores like Staples and Office Depot sell Visa and Mastercard gift cards with values up to $200. | Max value: $200 Max order size: $2,000 (inclusive of fees), though during promotions you may be limited to 1 card. Per card fee: Usually $6.95-7.95 for $200 cards PIN enabled? Yes (last 4 digits) Cash advance fee? No Issued by: Metabank. Credit card category bonus: 5X Chase Ink Cash (or Ink Plus, which is no longer available to new applicants), Amex Simply Cash, Discover Business. Other category bonuses can be found here. Additional Notes: If you pay with a Chase Ink Cash card, the $6.95 fee is more than made up for by the 5X Ultimate Rewards points earned (5 X 308.95 = 1034.75 points per $200 card). In fact, if you wanted to, you could cash in 695 of those points to reduce your net fees to zero and still earn 339.75 points per $200 card (i.e. ~1.7X). Keep in mind that office supply stores may also sell “Everywhere” Visas, which have lower fees, but aren’t as widely accepted. |
Simon Malls
| Notes | Details |
|---|---|
| Many Simon Malls sell gift cards. Visa gift cards aren’t always on display so you may have to ask for them. | Max value: $500 Max order size: There’s a $10,000 daily limit (inclusive of fees) per day. See this post for details. Per card fee: $3.95 (usually) PIN enabled? Yes (Last 4 digits) Cash advance fee? No. Other issues? Amex cards do not earn rewards nor spend credit towards welcome bonuses when buying gifts at Simon Mall. Issued by: Metabank Credit card category bonus: None |
Expired Visa and Mastercard Promotions
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I bought $200 VISA gift cards at Staples and Office Depot and registered them with my name, address, and PIN. Can I get cash back when I use my card at 7-11 after swiping it when it asks: “Cashback, $5, $10”?
No, you can’t, unfortunately.
[…] following these tips, you can effectively manage and maximize the use of your Visa gift cards. Whether you’re using them for personal use or gifting them to […]
Seems this list could use some updating. Incomm/Sutton/Pathward has replaced some of these cards and they are a lot less problematic than Blackhawk Networks/Meta
Hey there! Sale is back at Vanillagift.com. No fee gift cards. Use code VGCYBER23.
Found via Google search. https://www.vanillagift.com/catalog should show the banner
[…] Visa and MasterCard Gift Cards […]
Hi there! Quick question for you – I noticed that you informed another commenter that there is no card you know of with a grocery bonus that doesn’t award category bonuses on GC purchases. And I’m curious if this also extends to cards specific to the retailer. As an example, the Walmart credit card gives 5% back in store. The terms and conditions say that prepaid gift card purchases don’t qualify for the 5% back. Is there a way that you know of for Walmart to actually verify I have purchased prepaid gift cards, or will it still ring up as a grocery store/discount store to the issuer regardless. Thanks!
Walmart credit card by Capital One earns 5% on Walmart.com, including pickup and delivery. But it only earns 2% on in-store Walmart purchases. Keep that in mind.
NICE info, Thank you for your “share!”
Bit of a problem.. I tried to go to…GiantEagle.comThe request is blocked. by Microsoft showing in the search bar after landing on no page, BLOCKED!
Well there are others, so I’ll go with them!
Again THANK you!
[…] Visa and MasterCard Gift Cards […]
[…] Visa and MasterCard Gift Cards […]
“a risk of being charged a cash advance fee. Make sure to lower your credit card’s cash advance limit below the amount you plan to spend”
I understand why we wouldnt want to get charged a cash advance fee or rate for using a credit card — but being a NEWB at this sort of thing, can someone tell me, or direct me to an explanation of how to get the CC bank to lower the cash advance limit, and how does this assure that the load on the new GC will be recorded as a purchase? Isnt this up to my credit card banks discretion? Or is this a hack that I just dont know about??
THANKS!
This is fantastic information! Thank you!
[…] Gift cards are a common redemption option that allows you to redeem your gift cards for hotels, entertainment, restaurants, or shopping across multiple brands. […]
I see you note whether or not there is a cash advance fee. How does one get a cash advance on these cards?
Almost universally, you can’t. The cash advance fee refers to whether or not you’ll be charged a cash advance fee by your credit card when purchasing the gift cards (used to be more of a concern with certain products).
The limit on gift card purchases is 2K. Staples will only let you do 9 $200 gift cards at once when because the purchase fee is included in the 2K limit, thus 10 cards will code as being MORE than 2k (2,079.5, for example) However, a way around this is to buy the the 10th card separate from the first 9. The total gift card purchased are exactly equal to 2k. Did this with the Staples MC sale and had no problem using this technique to get 10 2oo k cards.
Forgive me for my ignorance but I thought that Visa/MC gift cards arent eligible to earn points and are coded as cash advances. Since US merchants provide L3 data. Is this the case or am I wrong? Would definitely wanna take advantage if its not enforced.
Nope, there’s no card thag I know of with a grocery bonus that doesn’t award category bonuses on GC purchases. Most grocery stores don’t provide L3 data (and even places that do, like office supply stores, don’t code gift cards as cash advances, ie, gift card deals at Staples with the Ink card.)
But this mainly applies only to VISA/MC cards right? As Ive heard Amex can do clawbacks on points for GC.
So Simons Malls purchases would just code as regular purchases for VISA/ MC just dont use amex for simons malls correct?
Correct
I don’t think officedepot.com has had $500 Visa gift cards for YEARS