How To Use A Visa Gift Card In Store

When you're looking to buy someone a gift merely don't know what to get, money expert Clark Howard wants you to be very skeptical about e'er purchasing a Visa gift card.

3 Big Problems With Visa Gift Cards

Clark doesn't similar retail souvenir cards either, but information technology's these prepaid gift cards that are a real concern. Here's why…

Problem #1: Fees

Showtime, the cards aren't cheap. Visa gift carte buy fees vary by bill of fare, merely the Target Visa Gift Card carries a $v purchase fee for a $fifty gift menu, bringing the total to $55.

If yous gave the recipient cash instead, you would save the $5 purchase fee.

The fees don't stop there. Some Visa gift cards have monthly maintenance fees after a year of inactivity, and then y'all want to read the fine print to look for cards that say there are "no fees subsequently purchase."

Look for Visa gift cards with no fees after purchase

Visa gift cards are sold at major retailers similar Walmart, Amazon and other stores with gift card displays — grocery stores, convenience stores, drug stores, etc.

Some banks, including U.S. Bank, also sell Visa gift cards to their customers.

Problem #2: Non Always Easy to Use

Clark's second problem with Visa souvenir cards is that a lot of people say it's difficult to use up the entire balance on the carte, especially when there's only $5 or $ten left.

Although the cards tin be used at millions of retailers where Visa debit cards are accepted, both online and offline, there are times when purchases are declined.

For case, a fellow member of Team Clark received a Visa souvenir card that was disabled at gas pumps and had to go inside the station to use it.

Restaurants can also be tricky. Some of them authorize an additional temporary 20% gratuity charge to your bill, simply the actual charge is the price of the repast plus any gratuity you add.

If your bill is $50 before tip, your $50 gift card may be declined due to the preauthorization hold.

Hotels and car rental companies also place preauthorization holds. You lot must always make sure you have enough money on the card to encompass the purchase amount and the hold.

Explanation of pre-authorization holds from the terms and conditions:

When making a purchase at a merchant that provides certain services or accepts tips, a preauthorization hold may exist placed on your bill of fare for the estimated total price of your transaction.

This estimated total price will be for an amount greater than the initial purchase, xx% or more, to permit for tips, incidentals or boosted services and will reduce your available rest.

CLARK TIP: If you accept a gift card with just a few dollars left on it, spend information technology at the grocery store. They tin usually handle split transactions without a problem.

Problem #3: Souvenir Card Fraud

Finally, thieves dearest gift cards. On his show, Clark shared how he heard a story from someone who went to use a new Visa souvenir card, but the value had already been emptied.

Visa gift cards can be replaced if they're lost or stolen, just there may exist a fee involved — sometimes $5 or more than.

This is merely ane more than reason Clark prefers credit over debit or gift cards. If you report a credit card lost or stolen, no money typically comes out of your pocket.

Clark's Central Takeaway

"The marketing is then clever for the piece of trash Visa products, but they're pieces of trash for a reason," Clark said. "They're vastly, overwhelmingly and completely inferior to giving somebody cash when you don't know what to give them."