How to use Credit Card gift cards?

[Master Yuki]

I always see some Visa or MasterCard gift cards in walmart. I'm planning on buying one of those, so I looked it up online. But I get a lot of different answers about that, so I was wondering if you guys would answer my question? Thanks in advance

[SeriouslyMikey]

I know you can use them on pretty much any online store, but I've never used one in a physical store, so I have no idea. I'd suggest asking a retailer if they take them when you're buying a product, or ideally before you buy a product. 

[Master Yuki]

18 hours ago, SeriouslyMikey said:

I know you can use them on pretty much any online stores, but I've never used one in a physical store, so I have no idea. I'd suggest asking a retailer if they take them when you're buying a product, or ideally before you buy a product. 

What I mean is, how do u use that to buy stuff from online stores like amazon and stuff? I saw so many things about that, so I'm really confused.

[SeriouslyMikey]

Just now, Master Yuki said:

What I mean is, how do u use that to buy stuff from online stores like amazon and stuff? I saw so many things about that, so I'm really confused.

If I remember correctly, you just put in the details on the card where you'd put credit card info. 

[Master Yuki]

18 hours ago, SeriouslyMikey said:

If I remember correctly, you just put in the details on the card where you'd put credit card info. 

I saw that you have to activate it somewhere, or pay it monthly, or u won't get the full price of the card, and some other stuff.

[SeriouslyMikey]

4 minutes ago, Master Yuki said:

I saw that you have to activate it somewhere, or pay it monthly, or u won't get the full price of the card, and some other stuff.

Doesn't sound right, though I've gotten them as gifts from people. Found that a little odd as I have a debit card. 

[Master Yuki]

18 hours ago, SeriouslyMikey said:

Doesn't sound right, though I've gotten them as gifts from people. Found that a little odd as I have a debit card. 

So it's basically just plug and play? No need for personal infos, and extra payments and stuff? 

[SeriouslyMikey]

8 minutes ago, Master Yuki said:

So it's basically just plug and play? No need for personal infos, and extra payments and stuff? 

I don't believe so, no. You can always ask about them in store to be sure before buying.

[dalekphalm]

43 minutes ago, Master Yuki said:

I always see some Visa or MasterCard gift cards in walmart. I'm planning on buying one of those, so I looked it up online. But I get a lot of different answers about that, so I was wondering if you guys would answer my question? Thanks in advance

First things first:

 

Most "Credit Card" gift cards have fees. A lot of them. Check the packaging for into, or go onto the website of the particular card in question for full details. The fees themselves are generally pretty small, but they can add up if you're not careful.

 

Usually there's an activation fee, and a transaction fee every time you use it. There are also fees associated with if you want to check your balance via telephone, etc.

 

Some of them will have an online portal where you can check balance online (there may or may not be a fee associated with this).

 

Some of them may require you to create an online "profile" with your name and address, if you intend on using it for online purchases - check the packaging or the paperwork included for details.

 

For regular in-store purchases, all you need to do is make sure it's activated. This may be automatic when you purchase them, or you may be required to call an automated number or visit a web page for activation. After activation, you can use them in-store anywhere that accepts the particular brand of Credit Card (eg: VISA and MasterCard). A retailer cannot refuse a VISA Gift Card if they accept VISA Credit Cards, because functionally there's no difference.

 

Make sure to sign the back of the gift card - this is your proof of ownership.

 

Don't lose it. It's like cash. If you lose it, the money is gone.

[Master Yuki]

 

 

18 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

First things first:

 

Most "Credit Card" gift cards have fees. A lot of them. Check the packaging for into, or go onto the website of the particular card in question for full details. The fees themselves are generally pretty small, but they can add up if you're not careful.

 

Usually there's an activation fee, and a transaction fee every time you use it. There are also fees associated with if you want to check your balance via telephone, etc.

 

Some of them will have an online portal where you can check balance online (there may or may not be a fee associated with this).

 

Some of them may require you to create an online "profile" with your name and address, if you intend on using it for online purchases - check the packaging or the paperwork included for details.

 

For regular in-store purchases, all you need to do is make sure it's activated. This may be automatic when you purchase them, or you may be required to call an automated number or visit a web page for activation. After activation, you can use them in-store anywhere that accepts the particular brand of Credit Card (eg: VISA and MasterCard). A retailer cannot refuse a VISA Gift Card if they accept VISA Credit Cards, because functionally there's no difference.

 

Make sure to sign the back of the gift card - this is your proof of ownership.

 

Don't lose it. It's like cash. If you lose it, the money is gone.

Uhhh, so basically, it's not plug and play? And I'm only gonna use it once, for g2a, just to be safe. After that, I'm probably never gonna use it again. I'd buy a g2a gift card, if they had one, but I don't think they do

[dalekphalm]

2 minutes ago, Master Yuki said:

 

 

Uhhh, so basically, it's not plug and play? And I'm only gonna use it once, for g2a, just to be safe. After that, I'm probably never gonna use it again. I'd buy a g2a gift card, if they had one, but I don't think they do

That depends on what you define as plug and play. You'll need to activate the card, that's for sure. As I said, whether this is done right at the register when you buy the card, or whether you need to further activate it via an automated telephone number, will depend on the card. Go into the store, turn the card around, and read the back. That fineprint will answer most of your questions.

 

It's still very easy to do. At most, it'll take 5 minutes of your time to set the card up.

[Master Yuki]

18 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

That depends on what you define as plug and play. You'll need to activate the card, that's for sure. As I said, whether this is done right at the register when you buy the card, or whether you need to further activate it via an automated telephone number, will depend on the card. Go into the store, turn the card around, and read the back. That fineprint will answer most of your questions.

 

It's still very easy to do. At most, it'll take 5 minutes of your time to set the card up.

I'm underage, will they still let me buy that? Are they gonna ask me stuff like my social security number or something? And if I'm done using it, do I just tear it apart? I'm sorry if I'm asking all these questions, I just wanna come there prepared.

[dalekphalm]

Just now, Master Yuki said:

I'm underage, will they still let me buy that? Are they gonna ask me stuff like my social security number or something? And if I'm done using it, do I just tear it apart? I'm sorry if I'm asking all these questions, I just wanna come there prepared.

Anyone can buy Credit Card gift cards. They're Pre-Paid, so there's no actual credit involved. And no, zero personal information* is required to buy one, let alone your SSN.

 

When you've used it up, just cut it up with a pair of scissors and throw the pieces in the trash. Or use a paper shredder if you have one that accepts credit cards.

 

*some may require you to enter your name and address in an online profile for online purchases specifically. This is because some etailers will compare your shipping address to the billing address of the credit card. I do not know which ones do this. Check the fine print on the back of the packaging to learn more.

[Master Yuki]

18 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

Anyone can buy Credit Card gift cards. They're Pre-Paid, so there's no actual credit involved. And no, zero personal information* is required to buy one, let alone your SSN.

 

When you've used it up, just cut it up with a pair of scissors and throw the pieces in the trash. Or use a paper shredder if you have one that accepts credit cards.

 

*some may require you to enter your name and address in an online profile for online purchases specifically. This is because some etailers will compare your shipping address to the billing address of the credit card. I do not know which ones do this. Check the fine print on the back of the packaging to learn more.

Last thing, about the payments you mentioned earlier, that won't concern me since I'm only buying it for a one time use only, right?

[dalekphalm]

12 minutes ago, Master Yuki said:

Last thing, about the payments you mentioned earlier, that won't concern me since I'm only buying it for a one time use only, right?

I'm not sure what you mean. Can you quote the specific piece of text by me that you're referring to?

[Master Yuki]

18 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

I'm not sure what you mean. Can you quote the specific piece of text by me that you're referring to?

It was ur first comment on this post, u said that there are activation fee, transaction fee, and calling fee

[dalekphalm]

Just now, Master Yuki said:

It was ur first comment on this post, u said that there are activation fee, transaction fee, and calling fee

Yes. What about those?

[Syntaxvgm]

typically they no longer work outside the continental united states, be aware of that. 

[Syntaxvgm]

29 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

Anyone can buy Credit Card gift cards. They're Pre-Paid, so there's no actual credit involved. And no, zero personal information* is required to buy one, let alone your SSN.

 

When you've used it up, just cut it up with a pair of scissors and throw the pieces in the trash. Or use a paper shredder if you have one that accepts credit cards.

 

*some may require you to enter your name and address in an online profile for online purchases specifically. This is because some etailers will compare your shipping address to the billing address of the credit card. I do not know which ones do this. Check the fine print on the back of the packaging to learn more.

Last time I checked, green dot money pak requires an SSN with credit history to activate. So if I kid or someone who's 18 with no credit history buys them, they are fucked. 

[dalekphalm]

Just now, Syntaxvgm said:

typically they no longer work outside the continental united states, be aware of that. 

I would normally clarify that they won't work outside of the country they're purchased in. But since the OP seems to be from the US, then yes, you're 100% correct

[dalekphalm]

Just now, Syntaxvgm said:

Last time I checked, green dot money pak requires an SSN with credit history to activate. So if I kid or someone who's 18 with no credit history buys them, they are fucked. 

I've never geard of green dot monkey pak?

 

Prepaid CC's that you buy at like Wal-Mart generally don't require any personal info or history to buy or activate. At least, not the ones you buy in Canada.

 

Why would you need credit history to buy a prepaid credit card/gift card? Seems rather odd.

[Master Yuki]

18 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

Yes. What about those?

Do I need to do those stuff too?

[Syntaxvgm]

Just now, dalekphalm said:

I've never geard of green dot monkey pak?

 

Prepaid CC's that you buy at like Wal-Mart generally don't require any personal info or history to buy or activate. At least, not the ones you buy in Canada.

 

Why would you need credit history to buy a prepaid credit card/gift card? Seems rather odd.

well for one, they are literally trying to get you not to spend the money. 

But the other part is terrorists might use them or something. 
Vanilla Visa for example, never had problems with those, but they often didn't work for things like PSN. GDMP worked for more things, have to activate. 

Fine for me, problem is a lot of people who use these are young kids who don't have access to a bank account and want to make online purchases. When I was young, I never had any problems with prepaid cards, shit I was able to use visa prepaid cards outside the country, but since they've really stepped up the rules and regulations on them as far as I've seen. 

[dalekphalm]

1 minute ago, Master Yuki said:

Do I need to do those stuff too?

Well you'll need to activate the card. This will have a fee most likely. There will also be a fee when you buy your game online.

 

Both fees will come off of the Balance of the Card, so it's not like you'll have to pay those fees out of pocket. But you will need to ensure that your balance has enough money for the game + the fees. Make sure to read the packaging to see the fees, and do the appropriate math to ensure you buy a big enough card.

 

With all of that in mind, you're trying to buy a game? Why don't you just walk into Wal-Mart of GameStop and buy a Steam Wallet card? You'll go through a lot less hassle.

 

I personally refuse to give G2A a single cent of my money, because they promote horrible business practices and are bad for both the Games Industry as well as the Software/OS industry. A lot of the keys they sell are grey market keys or are acquired through stolen credit cards.

 

Some people don't care, and if you're one of those people, by all means, use it. This is just a PSA in case you didn't know.

1 minute ago, Syntaxvgm said:

well for one, they are literally trying to get you not to spend the money. 

But the other part is terrorists might use them or something. 
Vanilla Visa for example, never had problems with those, but they often didn't work for things like PSN. GDMP worked for more things, have to activate. 

Fine for me, problem is a lot of people who use these are young kids who don't have access to a bank account and want to make online purchases. When I was young, I never had any problems with prepaid cards, shit I was able to use visa prepaid cards outside the country, but since they've really stepped up the rules and regulations on them as far as I've seen. 

Must be an American thing? I've never seen a pre-paid credit card that requires SIN (Canadian SSN equivalent) or credit history. Also, for sure, they want you to buy the card then forget about it. That's also why there are fees, to ensure it's almost impossible to spend the entire balance. So if there's $0.38 left on every card, and they sell 10,000 of them, they just made $3800, on top of fees.

[Master Yuki]

18 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

Well you'll need to activate the card. This will have a fee most likely. There will also be a fee when you buy your game online.

 

Both fees will come off of the Balance of the Card, so it's not like you'll have to pay those fees out of pocket. But you will need to ensure that your balance has enough money for the game + the fees. Make sure to read the packaging to see the fees, and do the appropriate math to ensure you buy a big enough card.

 

With all of that in mind, you're trying to buy a game? Why don't you just walk into Wal-Mart of GameStop and buy a Steam Wallet card? You'll go through a lot less hassle.

 

I personally refuse to give G2A a single cent of my money, because they promote horrible business practices and are bad for both the Games Industry as well as the Software/OS industry. A lot of the keys they sell are grey market keys or are acquired through stolen credit cards.

 

Some people don't care, and if you're one of those people, by all means, use it. This is just a PSA in case you didn't know.

Must be an American thing? I've never seen a pre-paid credit card that requires SIN (Canadian SSN equivalent) or credit history. Also, for sure, they want you to buy the card then forget about it. That's also why there are fees, to ensure it's almost impossible to spend the entire balance. So if there's $0.38 left on every card, and they sell 10,000 of them, they just made $3800, on top of fees.

How much extra loadbdo I have to purchase in order pay it without any trouble? Or does that vary? I'm trying to buy around $20-$25 worth of games, btw. And honestly, I'll take whatever's cheaper, and safe. I'd like to save as much money as possible.