Since my wedding in 2007, I’ve decided that gift cash cards are evil.
I’m not talking about product-specific gift certificates like iTunes cards, Home Depot, Amazon Gift Cards, etc. I’m talking about generic Visa/MasterCard cash cards like the Vanilla Visa or others.
Why the hate? These cards have limited use and are frustrating to spend. Often the cards can only be used for a limited time before fees are charged and God help you if you have to deal with customer service for anything.
Also, the giver and recipient of these cards lose some of principal when the card is used for stuff like online shopping (bet you’ve never done that). So that $100 (or whatever) you gave someone is probably going to be less and you paid a fee to buy the card in some cases.
You’d be better off writing a check or maybe even using PayPal to shoot money to someone. And cash is sometimes just more personal though I know you did the gift card because it was convenient. Convenient for you, not your recipient.
Gift cards are highly profitable to credit card companies, etc. because most people leave small or even large balances on them because it’s such a hassle to keep track of them. I’ve been there and learned this the hard way and have more or less become a master of squeezing out every last penny I can – and you can’t get it all.
Guess what? It’s a real hassle and not worth it for the few dollars that end up left on the card after trying to spend it. And remember you can’t use these things when a PIN is needed, so for example gas has to be paid for inside, not at the pump. Basically any transaction you do without a savvy real living breathing cashier is going to bring the pain.
The best solution if you get a gift card is to blow it all in one purchase. Do it as soon as you can and get the card out of your life. The instructions on many of the cards I get actually say this. This might be best done anywhere that deals with paying with two cards (not so much online). Often that means dealing with a person and explaining that you need two charges for X amounts.
My recent solution to this has simply been to convert whatever card I get to an Amazon Gift Card. That means I can buy whatever online and Amazon tends to sell rather a lot.
If you want to do this read the following carefully, because it’s trickier than you think.
- First, register your gift card at the bank so you can have your name attached to it (required). Info about this should be on the card somewhere.
- Then head over to Amazon.com and click their gift card tab. Go for the instant emailed option because you’re a savvy wired dude on the Internets who knows where your towel is at all times.
- Plug in your card info. No PIN is needed but get the name.
- Most important: subtract $1 from the total amount of your card and put that in the gift amount. If you fail to do this the transaction will fail and you’ll lose a dollar from the principal (perhaps recoverable via customer service, but probably not worth it).
- Submit the gift card purchase and wait about five minutes for Amazon to email you a handy-dandy code that can be applied to any purchase you make at their site (though some restrictions may apply for third-party sellers).
Congratulations! You’ve lost a dollar, but you’re done and free of the cursed gift card and can buy that new BBQ, PS3 or whatever using a credit card mixed with your gift card number!
Gift Cards Are Evil
Since my wedding in 2007, I’ve decided that gift cash cards are evil.
I’m not talking about product-specific gift certificates like iTunes cards, Home Depot, Amazon Gift Cards, etc. I’m talking about generic Visa/MasterCard cash cards like the Vanilla Visa or others.
Why the hate? These cards have limited use and are frustrating to spend. Often the cards can only be used for a limited time before fees are charged and God help you if you have to deal with customer service for anything.
Also, the giver and recipient of these cards lose some of principal when the card is used for stuff like online shopping (bet you’ve never done that). So that $100 (or whatever) you gave someone is probably going to be less and you paid a fee to buy the card in some cases.
You’d be better off writing a check or maybe even using PayPal to shoot money to someone. And cash is sometimes just more personal though I know you did the gift card because it was convenient. Convenient for you, not your recipient.
Gift cards are highly profitable to credit card companies, etc. because most people leave small or even large balances on them because it’s such a hassle to keep track of them. I’ve been there and learned this the hard way and have more or less become a master of squeezing out every last penny I can – and you can’t get it all.
Guess what? It’s a real hassle and not worth it for the few dollars that end up left on the card after trying to spend it. And remember you can’t use these things when a PIN is needed, so for example gas has to be paid for inside, not at the pump. Basically any transaction you do without a savvy real living breathing cashier is going to bring the pain.
The best solution if you get a gift card is to blow it all in one purchase. Do it as soon as you can and get the card out of your life. The instructions on many of the cards I get actually say this. This might be best done anywhere that deals with paying with two cards (not so much online). Often that means dealing with a person and explaining that you need two charges for X amounts.
My recent solution to this has simply been to convert whatever card I get to an Amazon Gift Card. That means I can buy whatever online and Amazon tends to sell rather a lot.
If you want to do this read the following carefully, because it’s trickier than you think.
Congratulations! You’ve lost a dollar, but you’re done and free of the cursed gift card and can buy that new BBQ, PS3 or whatever using a credit card mixed with your gift card number!