Visa Gift Card Experiences?

[moi]

I'm curious... I see a some recommendations here for using a Visa gift card to protect one's privacy when purchasing DL products. Just wondering if I could get details of what people's experiences have been like with different vendors?

I tried it once using a local mall gift card that supposedly could be "used anywhere you'd use a regular Visa card", and had really bad luck. The vendor had to try multiple times to get the charge authorized and ended up sending me a nastygram saying "please don't use that card with us ever again".

I wonder if it's just that particular card, or maybe because I used it very soon (couple hours) after I had registered my address with the card issuer, maybe the data didn't have time to propagate thru their computer system?

[Repaid1]

IF you have a regular bank account, girt cards are free (from My experience) My wife works at Chase, never had the same problem..Works just like a Visa...Try again..

[underwhere]

Depends on what you mean by "free". Lots of things come free with a $25,000 minimum balance, for example.

The best deal I have found so far on prepaid cards are those offered by Simon. They don't charge any load fee, but the range of fees associated with the card really add up fast if you use the extra services they allow. The good news: They don't charge you a dormancy fee for the first six months. The bad news: you can't actually view their Terms and Conditions or fee schedule without possessing a card first (or possibly going into a Simon property to view them there at the service desk). A prior inquiry I made to them for an unrelated issue indicated that these cards do not come with a name embossed on the card, and were known, as a result, to sometimes cause issues with online purchases depending on the card processing the online merchant employed.

Several banks these days allow you to create a "temporary card" for online purchases. Such an account number is linked to your debit card, but only for a fixed specific amount of money at your choosing. The advantage is that the merchant does not get your real debit account number, so issues involving identity theft are minimized, as are issues involving potential duplicate transactions.

I will say this: Avoid "Green Dot" cards. They do not even honor their own terms of service conditions. Some time ago when I was not able to get a credit card due to my own financial difficulties, I had acquired one and used it for two specific online purchases. Although the cardholder agreement stipulates that they will not charge you a monthly fee when the available balance on the card is zero, they still did. Given that the original load fee was $9.95 and the reload fee was $4.95, not to mention the monthly service charge I shouldn't have been charged when my balance on the card was zero, I subsequently determined that this was a company I never wanted to do business with again, and I will recommend you not do so either.

I hope this information helps you.

[moi]

Doh!

Actually the card I had trouble with was a Simon card! This was about 2 years ago, maybe they've got things working better since.

I'm not too worried about ongoing fees, for one thing they're strictly limited by law in the state where I live. Also, once I've purchased the card I'd use most of its value quickly anyway.

[PampersPete]

Depends on what you mean by "free". Lots of things come free with a $25,000 minimum balance, for example.

The best deal I have found so far on prepaid cards are those offered by Simon. They don't charge any load fee, but the range of fees associated with the card really add up fast if you use the extra services they allow. The good news: They don't charge you a dormancy fee for the first six months. The bad news: you can't actually view their Terms and Conditions or fee schedule without possessing a card first (or possibly going into a Simon property to view them there at the service desk). A prior inquiry I made to them for an unrelated issue indicated that these cards do not come with a name embossed on the card, and were known, as a result, to sometimes cause issues with online purchases depending on the card processing the online merchant employed.

Several banks these days allow you to create a "temporary card" for online purchases. Such an account number is linked to your debit card, but only for a fixed specific amount of money at your choosing. The advantage is that the merchant does not get your real debit account number, so issues involving identity theft are minimized, as are issues involving potential duplicate transactions.

I will say this: Avoid "Green Dot" cards. They do not even honor their own terms of service conditions. Some time ago when I was not able to get a credit card due to my own financial difficulties, I had acquired one and used it for two specific online purchases. Although the cardholder agreement stipulates that they will not charge you a monthly fee when the available balance on the card is zero, they still did. Given that the original load fee was $9.95 and the reload fee was $4.95, not to mention the monthly service charge I shouldn't have been charged when my balance on the card was zero, I subsequently determined that this was a company I never wanted to do business with again, and I will recommend you not do so either.

I hope this information helps you.

Just recently I got a Green Dot Wal-Mart Money Card. So far no problems. I even have direct deposit on it from my employer. I'll keep an eye on their"fees". So far,the only"fee"they impose is a monthly $4.94 fee for not putting $1,000 a month on the card.

[lil_baby_wet_n_squishy]

The prepaid non refill gift cards tend to be more trouble then they are worth. Some places will have trouble using them as they don't process the same as a regular credit card as they have a low limit on them. Also you will often end up losing out on money at the end if you have a small amount left. Most tend to have fees that will eat away at them if you don't use them right away.

Simon mall cards are the worst out there in terms of fees. Your best bet if you really want to use one is to get one direct from either visa, master card or american express.

[hidden]

i got a prepaid $50 visa card and used it on fetware.com with no problem. tried to use it on amazon.com but didn't work. guess it depends on the vender and what card you get i guess. I didn't get anything in the mail, like a statement, about what it was used for.

[pinkplaydough]

i got a prepaid $50 visa card and used it on fetware.com with no problem. tried to use it on amazon.com but didn't work. guess it depends on the vender and what card you get i guess. I didn't get anything in the mail, like a statement, about what it was used for.

Same here. Everything worked out flawlessly for me.

[Wetdl]

BUMP!

Been a while since these posts, thought I would ask around again, any other experiences?

I will soon be home for a while to get packages, so I am thinking about another cloth diaper and onesie.

The reason I may get a "Gift Card" is no statement, no additional credit card showing up on credit report.

The fees are just one more cost, hard to avoid.

I have not tried, but I don't think Paypal lets you link to a "Gift Card".

Also I don't think I can get a prepaid /reloadable card, not linked to my name and address.

I would love to be wrong on either of these.

Money orders work, but add a week to the purchase, also may places want only Paypal.

If anybody has already been through this and has an option I would love to hear more.

PPDough -thanks, Fetware is likley to be one of the places I go.