Dear Visa Gift Card, we need to talk…
Sorry happy girl, Visa gift card not accepted.
One of the reasons I love gift cards is because they’re convenient. But twice this week, a Visa gift card experience was anything but convenient. And that’s not okay. We need to talk.
First, my girlfriend went to Lucky Supermarket to do her regular shopping and to buy a $100 Visa gift card. But when she got to the register, the cashier told her she had to pay for the Visa gift card with cash. Drats! Though the policy is designed to prevent fraud, it turned my friend’s convenient errand into a big hassle. She had to get back in the car and drag her kids to the bank. When she stopped at Walgreen’s on the way back to Lucky, however, she discovered that she could buy a Visa gift card there without cash. So she did. That’s lost business for Lucky and lost time for Suzanne.
Second, my daughter tried to use a Visa gift card yesterday at Costco. She’d been saving and saving for an iPod Touch and finally hit her mark when we saw the coveted item on sale. But her “money” included a Visa gift card. When we got to the register, however, the Costco cashier told us that only AMEX gift cards are good at Costco. Drats! I’d been the tough guy for months making her earn this extravagance. I didn’t have the heart to pull the ripcord on her big moment. So I bought the Visa gift card from her so she could complete the purchase using my debit card.
So Visa, I get that it’s not really you. Store policies made life for two busy moms a little difficult. But the situation involves you. I’ll be hesitant to give or use a Visa gift card if the experience can’t be made more predictable. So help me help you. Where and how can Visa gift cards be purchased? And where can they be redeemed predictably?
Let’s talk…
When I got married, a couple we hang out with a lot got us a gift certificate to our favorite restaurant and an American Express gift card for appetizers at a nearby Mexican restaurant with yummy pupusas. I don’t remember any hassle with it, and there was no tip requirement. That was a year ago though – anyone else have these same issues with other company cards?
At Safeway, you don’t need cash to buy a Visa Gift Card, BUT you can’t use a Visa Credit Card to buy a Visa Gift Card. So, you can use your master card or discover card but not your visa card.
Don’t Visa cards charge you a fee anyway? Too much work and $.
Here here! Needs to be convenient! Giving cash would be easier than the Visa gift card…hope they make some changes!
Love Ally’s hair!
And to Erin…that’s not acceptable. A nice dinner out is EXACTLY the type of experience you want someone to have when you gift a Visa Gift Card. Embarrassing to have your gift card denied, frustrating to have to use your own money, and confusing not to know why the gift card didn’t work.
It makes absolutely no sense for Visa to impose a tip at a restaurant…Is the restaurant imposing the tip or Visa? Is it only at fine restaurants? What if I buy a t-shirt at Hard Rock Cafe? Will it charge me a tip for my t-shirt?
C’mon Visa Gift Card…spell it out for us.
I like the option of flexibility, but predictability is more important to me.
I caved when Ally fell apart at the prospect of having to watch yet another baseball game. I always feel guilty this time of year when she has patiently endured watching her brothers play 27 games and she doesn’t even enjoy the sport. But I wasn’t caving on the cash…Costco had the iPod Touch on sale for exactly the price she needed. 10 cents to spare.
And no apologies on the Visa gift card required. Any gift card is a gift and I will find a way to spend it.
I understand the up front fee. If you buy a gift card from a store, the store knows you’re headed back there and will probably spend more than the gift card when you shop. But Visa has to make a little money in the exchange because you can’t go “back to Visa” to buy more. That part I get…I just want using it to be more predictable.
I used the Visa GC I bought from Ally three times today. At the doctor office, they swiped it for my co-pay and it worked perfectly. At the Burger King drive-thru (don’t judge me…I have a sick kid), no go and I didn’t have the energy to wait for the cashier to figure it out. At the grocery store, I had to say “credit” instead of “debit” or “gift” on the card reader.
I just find it confusing.
Again Visa…help us have a more positive experience!
That hair on Ally looks like Monday-did you cave and take her on our rainy day off school? Sorry that Visa sucks-here we thought we were doing the right thing by going Visa but it sounds like a hassle. Plus they charge you a $6.00 fee-WHATEV! Maybe they need to throw in a VISA giftcard giveaway to repent for their lame “read the fine print” caveats:)
I, too had a not so great experience with the Visa gift card. We had received a $100 gift card for our anniversary. When we went out to dinner and wanted to use it on our bill that was over $100, the cashier told us it was denied. After using our credit card to pay for dinner, we did some investigating , only to discover that when you use a Visa gift card at a restaurant, the card will automatically take out 20% as a tip. Therefore our $100 card, was only worth $80. Beside the fact that we couldn’t use the full amount on our dinner bill, I object to Visa telling me how much of a tip I have to leave for my waiter. Isn’t 15% customary for a tip and not 20%? I will definitely rethink a Visa gift card in the future.