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…

Keeping my kids in shoes that fit and pants long enough to cover their ankles is stressing me out.  We didn’t even make it to November before everybody needed new school shoes.  And my boys, “Johnny Rotten and Jimmy Rotten” as Paul calls them, have suddenly hit an eating stride.  We had to buy a family size pizza the other day for the first time ever.  I’m scared for the teenage years.

But thankfully, I know three ways to use gift cards this Christmas to release some of that financial pressure.  You can do the same:

1. Stay within your budget.  Don’t feel embarrassed by the amount you put on the card. Stick to what you can afford and make the card more inviting using one of my many gift card suggestions.  For example, I’m having the kids make homemade bookmarks to package up with gift cards to the bookstore.  The activity will keep the kids occupied and help me deliver a sentimental gift without overspending.
2. Buy discount.  Props to Costco.  Not only can you buy an increasing number of gift cards at Costco, but you can buy them for less than face value.  I’m not lying.  Two $50 Baja Fresh gift cards will only cost you $79.99.  There isn’t much flexibility in that you have to buy the pair and you can’t choose a different dollar amount.  But you can split the gift cards into two gifts instead of one.
3. BOGO.  Almost daily I see a new “buy one get one free” gift card offer.  For example, Safeway is currently offering $10 off a future shopping trip of $50 or more with the purchase of $150 worth of gift cards in a single transaction.  Brooke is excited because her favorite spa (SkinSpirit) is offering a $25 gift card when you buy a $100 card. Similar deals are seemingly everywhere.  (One caution, however, is that the free card is often only valid for a limited time so check the time period before you purchase.)

Now listen, this is key.  Even if you’re not planning to spend that much in gift cards, you can still take advantage of the savings by gift carding yourself. 

• Do you eat lunch at Baja Fresh regularly?  Then buy a gift card at Costco and save yourself the twenty bucks.
• Before you go to Best Buy to get that new iPod, buy a gift card to Best Buy from Safeway.  Then go to Best Buy and purchase the iPod with the gift card you just bought.  No new expenditure–just collecting the free Safeway gift card on the way to the electronics store.

Taking advantage of these offers might require a little strategizing, but you’re leaving money at the checkstand if you don’t at least try.

I want to know about other gift card deals you’ve spotted.  Brooke is on me to start a forum of sorts to let you know about these gift card deals.  While we’re figuring out the technology, post a comment on to let us know what you’ve seen.