Visa gift card, what a fucking rip off

[Connonym]

So I got a $50 Visa gift card. Yay! right? Once you use it, no so much with the yay. I spent 20 on groceries and went to use the remainder to fill my gas tank only to discover "purchase cannot exceed value of card" You CAN'T spend more than the money on the card and pay for the rest with other funds. If you try that it will decline your purchase (and make you look like a tool). Guess who looked like a tool at the gas station? Yeah so it's pretty impossible to spend EXACTLY $50 so odds are you'll use most of it and then there will be a couple bucks left that you'll have to just leave there. Oh, and the other thing? Once you use the card you have to pay nearly $4 a month in fees for "card maintenance" (who knew little plastic cards needed maintaining?).

Of course nobody wants to look a gift horse in the mouth but I wonder if the giver knew that the $50 they spent on the card would really only result in about $40-45 being actually spent if they'd feel they got a good deal. I HATE credit card companies and all the little and big ways they like to say "fuck you" to the customer.

[Lex]

1. Sounds like this would've been better:

[Bake]

10. And they say he was a terrible president!

He's one of my favorites!

Bake

[Lil Missy]

2. I'd fill my tank for what is left. The go somewhere else.

[seaker]

3. I didn't know all of that...

When I don't know what to get, I give green folding money.
It is much more cost effective on many levels.:hi:

[cherish44]

4. They lose money every month they're not spent too

I think it's like $7 a month...

I should add I was able to use a $100 Visa gift card towards part of purchase of about $125 and paid for the rest with cash...I don't know...maybe it was just the place you were shopping at that didn't allow it?

[gmoney]

5. that does suck

Gift cards are kind of dumb anyway... "Here, I was too lazy to go to this store and select an appropriate gift, but I am pushy enough to tell YOU where to shop."

Didn't Seinfeld have a bit on that? "It's not a gift, it's an errand."

[Kool Kitty]

6. I have a VISA gift card with about $13.00 left on it.

Drat. Guess I'll go through that, too.

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. Use the last little bit at Target. Target's cash register allows for multiple payments.

I've finished off gift card with tiny bits left at Target.

[quakerboy]

8. You can use it for partial payment

You just have to have a clerk who has a clue.

They just enter a purchase for the amount on the card. Then the put in the remaining amount due and you pay that as you will.

[Chan790]

9. This might be helpful. (Some things I've learned as a retail clerk.)

You can actually spend the money for the card and pay the balance with cash, check or store gift card (and on very rare occasions debit or credit), you just have to know how to do it and not have an idiot for a clerk. There are two ways it can be done, depending on how the POS* register is set-up. Both require you to know the exact balance on the card, which can be obtained by calling the balance-inquiry number on the back:

1.) If your POS lets you enter an amount to deduct from the card, enter the exact balance. It'll then ask you how you want to pay the remainder of your transaction.

2.) Most POS will not allow you or the cashier to enter the amount to deduct from the card. In this case, using a calculator, determine the cash needed to complete the transaction. Pay that amount in cash first, then when prompted for a second form of payment swipe the card for the transaction balance which should be exactly equal to the card balance.

Many states have laws that prohibit card-maintenance fees on pre-paid credit and gift-cards. Check to see if yours is one. Law qua the card is determined by the state of purchase not the state of use. That's why any time I need to buy gift-cards I go back to CT, as NY has no balance-protection law.

*-POS=Point-of-service. Any register which looks like and functions as a computer making it capable of performing complex transactions, tracking inventory and transactions (like they have at Starbucks, McDonalds, Sears and most larger and chain stores these days.)as opposed to the old-style NCR or manual-button cash registers of my youth. (You've got to really look to find those, most places that have them are small one-location businesses...a lot of whom which don't accept credit cards.)

[VenusRising]

11. Did you talk to my husband this morning?

He went through hell just trying to activate the stupid thing this morning. Apparently, the call started out with "In order to prevent terrorism..." and then went on to ask him tons of personal information including his date of birth and SSN. Needless to say, he was fuming about the whole thing. And his was a gift card for $100 from his mom for his birthday.

It was not a good start to our morning.

[hippywife]

12. Why did you think you could use if for more

than the balance? :shrug: You could have used it inside the station with the other funds to pay for the gas before pumping but the card reader doesn't know you're doing that if you do it outside. It gets verification for the balance on the card.

[Blue Diadem]

13. You should have been able to use it. According to their website it's possible.

We used a couple towards a larger purchase in Jan. and had no problems with paying the difference and using the cards.



snip:

http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/prepaid/gift_card_faq.html#anchor_14

Using your Visa Gift card is similar to using a credit card. When you are ready to pay, give the card to the cashier and ask to sign the purchase receipt.
Most Visa Gift cards do not come with a PIN, so you should not push DEBIT. if using a keypad. This will cause your transaction to be declined. Instead, press the CREDIT button and then sign the receipt.
snip;

What if I want to purchase an item that costs more than the balance on my Visa Gift card?
To make a purchase in an amount greater than the available balance, you will need to use a second form of payment (credit card, debit card, cash or check) to cover the difference.
When ready to make your purchase, tell the cashier in advance the amount you would like applied to your Visa Gift card. The balance will then need to be paid with the second payment method.