General Information & Getting Started
You can buy Mastercard Gift Cards online at MastercardGiftCard.com. You can also buy them at participating retail locations.
To view orders, sign in to MastercardGiftCard.com with your user ID and password, and view past orders under My Account. You can also click Track Orders and use your Email Address and Order Number.
Yes, Mastercard Gift Card sells Gift Cards for email delivery. Please select email as a delivery type on your choice of card and follow steps to purchase. Once you have purchased, your email Gift Card can be accessed as a Mastercard Gift Virtual Account.
Your expiration date is nine years from the date of purchase. This expiration date is listed on your account for your reference. Funds do not expire. Contact Mastercard Gift Card customer care for a replacement account number upon account expiration.
How Can I Get Visa Gift Cards For Free
There are lots of ways when it comes to earning a virtual prepaid Visa gift card at no cost to you.
But the most efficient way is by using the sites Swagbucks. They always pay out on time and are one of the best earners on our list.
For those simply looking for the company that pays the most, we recommend either Survey Junkie or Vindale Research.
With these top survey sites, you can make extra money completing surveys for PayPal cash and then use the money to buy a Visa virtual card.
If youre finding that one of the methods on our list doesnt work for you, try another one until you do find one that does.
For me personally, when I have a few minutes at home or am waiting in line, I can take a paid survey or two for some easy points.
These methods also serve as a great way to help you reach your personal finance goals.
And even if you dont want to claim your free Visa gift card, you can always cash out for another gift card. An Amazon gift card is also a popular choice.
We hope youve enjoyed this list of 10 best ways to get a Visa gift card for free. Have other ways to earn? Let us know in the comments below.
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S To Buying Gift Cards With Paypal
If you select the Gift option , you will be prompted to enter the recipients name, email address, title, and message. Note that all gift cards are delivered v electronically, whether you purchase one for yourself or as a gift.
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Where Can You Buy International Visa Gift Cards
As weve mentioned earlier, its only possible to use Visa gift cards at sellers that are based in which the country youve bought your gift card. This means that if youve bought your Visa gift card in the US, then it can only be used there.
However, you can still purchase gift cards from online or physical retailers such as Amazon, JCPenney, or Walmart for example.
Sell Your Gift Card Using An App
Using an app to convert your gift card to cash is super easy. The downfall is that this method tends to net you fewer dollars due to the higher commissions rates.
Its not always going to be the most expensive option though. As with every method, its best to check it out for yourself and compare.
Two popular gift card apps are:
Youre not locked into selling your gift card to them after getting a quote so theres zero obligation. It never hurts to get a second opinion on your gift cards selling value.
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Pending Transactions Are Affecting The Balance
Every time you swipe or enter your Visa gift card number into a payment system , the system checks to see if the card has sufficient funds to complete the transaction. During this authorization check, the system will place a hold on the funds needed for the purchase. If the transaction is cancelled or later declined, then the pending amount is released. If the transaction is completed, then the pending amount is finalized and the card balance is reduced by the dollar amount of the final purchase.
Sometimes holds are not released immediatelyit can take several hours or several days to remove a pending charge depending on how each merchant system works. During that time, your gift card may decline if pending charges are tying up a portion of the gift card balance that you know should be available.
If your card is not working and pending charges are still affecting the card balance, wait a few days and try again. If you want to understand the process more, heres an article on why it takes so long for charges to clear.
Waiting Period On The Card
Gift cards ordered from Giftcards.com are usable as soon as the card is registered. But some drug stores and gas stations sell gift cards that are not usable for a specified waiting period .
Because thieves sometimes use stolen credit cards to buy gift cards, the waiting period gives banks, stores and victims a moment to detect and report compromised cards. If the theft is reported before the gift cards are used, the gift cards can be cancelled before the funds are depleted.
If you purchased a gift card at a store and try to use it immediately, but find that the card doesnt work, check the receipt or gift card packaging to see if a waiting period is specified.
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Did You Lose Your Visa Gift Card
If you happen to lose a Visa gift card, you should report it immediately to the card issuer. Youll need to provide the lost or stolen Visa Gift card number for cancellation and replacement.
So it may be a smart idea to write the number down somewhere in case you do lose it or have it stolen.
Want to earn free Visa Gift cards? Check out my article on the best 33 gift card apps!
What Is The Difference Between A Pending Transaction And A Posted Transaction
Pending transactions are authorized transactions with a hold for the purchase amount until the transaction clears. Posted transactions are purchases that have cleared on your card. There are some pending transactions that are more or less than the amount you actually spent. Some retailers place a pre-authorization amount to ensure the account is active and that you have enough money to cover the purchase. Once the transaction posts to your account, the pending transaction will be removed within a few business days, and you can use the funds again.
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What Is A Prepaid Visa Card
Lets first quickly go over what a prepaid Visa card actually is.
Usually, a Visa card is linked to your bank account, and you will be able to spend money that you already have in your bank account.
A prepaid card is a bit different. In the words of Visa itself:
They explain that you can get the benefits of having a Visa card without worrying about credit checks, expiring funds or overdraft fees.
What this means is that because the card is not linked to your bank account, but it is a card that you have preloaded with funds, you will not be able to spend more money than you have. This can happen on a regular card, but not on a prepaid card.
So you can get a prepaid Visa without having a bank account, and you can load money to it, and then spend this money.
Be aware that there are a couple of different prepaid Visa card you can get a regular prepaid Visa card, or a virtual Visa card.
The regular card is a card you will physically receive by mail and use it as a normal card. A virtual Visa card is a card that you do not receive physically, but you get an electronic code, and then you can use the funds online.
Both cards are as good as cash it all depends on your preferences. You can also check out this list of the best Visa Gift Cards that can be used the exact same way.
Card Kangaroo: A Great Inventory Of Cards
Reasons to avoid
Card Kangaroo has an inventory of about 1,300 cards as of last November and has served nearly 59,000 customers. You can use this website to buy, sell or trade your unwanted gift cards or simply check the remaining balance of a card you found in your wallet. CardKangaroo guarantees the stated balance up to $500 of purchased gift cards for 100 days from the day you buy them. They accept major credit cards as well as PayPal.
If you’re looking to sell cards you simply select the merchant, value of the card and get an offer from the website. This company is unique in that you’ll receive a shipping label and be asked to mail your gift card in, rather than simply providing the card’s number and other information. If this isn’t too much of a hurdle for you, CardKangaroo is a great gift card swap option. You’ll receive payment via a check in the mail or through PayPal.
If you’d rather trade for a different gift card you simply click that option after providing information about the card you no longer want. Once you’ve picked which gift card you want, you’ll have to ship yours in before getting the one you swapped it for in the mail.
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Can You Transfer A Visa Gift Card To The Cash App
You cant transfer a Visa gift card to the Cash App as this app doesnt allow gift cards to be used as a payment option. Instead, you have to find a way to convert the Visa gift card to cash and then add that as a balance to the Cash App.
Id particularly recommend checking out some of the options in this article on how to add the money from your Visa gift card to your PayPal account. This is because, from there, its very easy to add this amount to your Cash App account.
Types Of Visa Gift Cards
Visa offers seven different gift cards, each of which you can buy on their main website. These are similar to a Visa debit card in that you can transfer money onto individual cards.
You use these instead of cash just like you would a debit or credit card, but you dont have to link the card to your bank account. A Visa gift card is already preloaded with money.
Once you buy the gift card, you must determine the amount the maximum tends to be around $500.
Keep in mind third parties provide you more specific information on these gift cards Visa works directly with these companies.
The Visa gift cards available are as follows:
- Vanilla Gift Card
- Navy Federal Credit Union
- PerfectGift.com
The Vanilla Gift Card is one of the most common ones. You can use this card for non-contact transactions, which include orders over a website, phone, and mail.
The card only works with any store that accepts Visa cards, mainly based in the United States.
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Which Gift Card Sites/apps Let You Pay With Visa Or Mastercard Gift Cards
June 7, 2020 By Stephen Pepper
When asking recently which gift card-related resources youd like to see created on this site, Kent asked for a resource that collected data points on which sites and apps that sell gift cards allow you to pay with Visa and Mastercard gift cards or other types of prepaid card.
There are a couple of main reasons why paying with a Visa or Mastercard gift card could be useful. First, it can help you liquidate cards that youve purchased during a promotion such as when Staples offers fee-free $200 Visa gift cards or Office Depot gives you a $15 instant discount when buying $300+ Visa gift cards.
Second, it can make purchases of third party gift cards from some sites more rewarding. In the past, Gyft earned 5x/5% on the Chase Ink Plus/Ink Cash cards when paying with one of those cards and checking out using PayPal. That ended some time ago, so other than cards that offer bonused spend for online shopping, most people probably arent getting a great return from whatever card theyre using for Gyft purchases. Paying for third party gift cards from Gyft using a Visa or Mastercard gift card bought from an office supply store using a Chase Ink Plus or Ink Cash card means youre indirectly still getting 5x/5% on Gyft purchases.
Ive started a list of some of the main retailers and apps, but please also share data points for other sites and apps which arent listed below.
Visa Gift Card Not Activated
For security measures, some gift card sellers require the recipient to activate the card before it can be used. Though stores often activate gift cards at the cash register, online gift card sellers generally require the recipient to activate the card once it is received in the mail or via email. If your gift card does not work online, check to see if it needs to be activated or registered before use.
If you have a Visa gift card or Mastercard gift card from Giftcards.com, activate your card here.
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Which Store Accepts Visa Debit Gift Cards
Any store that accepts Visa debit cards also accepts Visa gift debit cards, allowing the cardholder to use his gift card at millions of locations across the United States. If a cardholder wants to use the gift card for online purchases, he must first register with the institution that issues it. Most cards do not include a personal identification number, so the store must process the payment as a credit card payment and not as a debit purchase, states Visa.
Although car rental agencies and hotels accept Visa gift cards to settle the account at the end of the contract, some do not accept them to hold the vehicle or room, warns Visa. If planning to rent a vehicle, always check with the business prior to attempting to rent a car or room.
When using a Visa gift card at a restaurant, the proprietor may include a hold that is 20 percent above the cost of the meal. This hold ensures there are funds to cover any tip the cardholder includes for the payment. If the funds, including the hold for the tip, are unavailable, Visa declines the purchase. Once the final payment clears, the remainder of the hold returns to the balance on the card, reports Visa.
Some institutions issue Visa gift debit cards for domestic use only. Businesses outside the United States cannot accept these cards, according to Visa
Where Do The Gift Card Numbers Go
In the payment example above, you would enter gift cards as follows:
1. Visa Gift Card: Input a Visa gift card, Mastercard gift card, Discover gift card or American Express gift card into the Credit/Debit card fields on the left, circled in red.
2. Store Gift Card: Input a store gift card into the card number field on the right, circled in blue.
Keep in mind, the fields could be anywhere no the payment screen youre looking at. The most important thing to look for, however, is the fields marked as Credit/Debit card.
Incidentally, this example also shows how to make a payment online when a store gift card amount will not cover the full amount of the purchase. Using two forms of payment is called a split tender transaction. You would enter the store-issued gift card into the gift card field and use another form of payment to complete the purchase.
If you do not have a store-issued gift card and need to make a partial payment with a Visa gift card, then read this tip on how to make a partial payment with a Visa gift card online.)
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Simple Options To Convert Visa Gift Cards To Cash
- Pin
Receiving gift cards is great but making sure youre actually able to use the balance is the best part of all. Thats why seeing how to convert Visa gift cards to cash can be a great way to make sure that you use whats on the card with the added flexibility of being able to spend the balance anywhere!
Perhaps you were given the card as a gift or you bought it as part of a promotion. The latter is pretty common, as youll often find stores that offer discounts or bonus deals if you buy Visa gift cards from them. This can, in turn, save you a good amount on the actual value stored on the card.
You could even have gotten it by having earned it yourself! Sites like Swagbucksoffer this from time to time, by letting you earn Visa gift cards for free by watching videos, playing games and searching the internet.
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But now that youve got the card, you may be struggling to figure out what to do with it. Or you could just prefer to have straight up cash to be able to use it how you want.