Visa Gift Cards: How safe are they, are they worth it?

[Aeress]

We will take a vacation once we have paid off debt and I was thinking of getting a visa gift card for small purchases, and dinners.
Are they any good? I don't think I can get one through my credit union but I am checking on that.
Any other ideas on how to keep our spending to a minimum? I like to have a set amount but cash is too risky to me. How about the travelmoney card from AAA?

[Jane]

The visa gift cards I've gotten can't be used at restaurants! Because the tip amount could be over the amount of the card, they won't go through. For example, I had a $50 card. Spent $40 at dinner, planned a $10 tip, no can do. Just won't work, because they are afraid I'll write in a $20 tip. Since going out to eat is a vacation thing for me, no can do visa gift card.

[sunnysandiegan]

Originally Posted by Apricot

The visa gift cards I've gotten can't be used at restaurants! Because the tip amount could be over the amount of the card, they won't go through. For example, I had a $50 card. Spent $40 at dinner, planned a $10 tip, no can do. Just won't work, because they are afraid I'll write in a $20 tip. Since going out to eat is a vacation thing for me, no can do visa gift card.

Really??? Wow!

Our credit union switched to a rewards Visa for its regular credit card program a few years ago and we "earned" enough for a $50 Visa gift card. I "ordered" it (free) and used it for a retail purchase. I didn't notice any restrictions and I had been thinking of going out to dinner with it instead.

We are close to earning a $75 reward now and our plan was to get a $75 Visa gift card for our vacation in April. I better look into this soon due to mailing times, etc. I have a friend who works for Visa, maybe I should call him and ask. If so, I'll be sure to let him know (he's a mucky-muck with some pull) what I think about that restriction...

[notjustmamie]

My biggest complaint about the cards is you have to pay a service charge to get it activated (usually 3-5% of the card value). It bothers me to pay a fee in order to use my own money!

I'd probably either use a Visa/MC debit card that was linked to my checking account (or some other account, like PayPal) or I'd go ahead and use a regular credit card on the trip, then pay if off immediately when I got the statement.

[sunnysandiegan]

I found our credit unions rules:

Can I use my Navy Federal Visa Gift card at gas stations?
Yes, but it is not recommended. The ‘pay at the pump’ terminals at gas stations check to see if the gift card being used has at least $75.00. If your gift card does not have $75.00, your attempt to ‘pay at the pump’ will be declined. It is recommended to go inside and pay the attendant prior to pumping.
If your gift card does have at least $75.00, the gas station will put a HOLD of $75.00 even if you pump less than $75.00, making those funds unavailable for purchase for a period of time. You can avoid a HOLD being placed on your gift card by going inside and paying the attendant prior to pumping.

Can I use my Navy Federal Visa Gift card at merchants where a tip may be appropriate?
Yes. When using your Navy Federal Visa Gift card somewhere a tip may be appropriate (such as restaurants, bars, taxis, salons, barbershops, or health and beauty spas) your transaction may be authorized for an additional 20% above your total bill. The actual tip amount is your choice.
Be sure that the balance on your card is sufficient to cover the cost of the bill plus the tip added. If not, the transaction will be declined.

Can I use my Navy Federal Visa Gift card at hotels or car rental companies?
Yes. You can use your Navy Federal Visa Gift card for the final payment for both hotels and car rentals. However, some car rental companies and hotels may require a credit card to make a reservation. At check-in, hotels will put a HOLD on the estimated amount of your stay, making those funds unavailable for purchase for a period of time. You can avoid a HOLD being placed on your gift card by checking in with a Visa check or credit card, and then using your Navy Federal Visa Gift card for final payment when you return the car or at the end of your hotel stay.

Those situations make sense to me, so I'm okay with that.

Our credit union does not charge a fee to buy a Visa gift card. There are some shipping options that cost money, though (standard shipping is free and you can purchase it in a branch for free). There are some fees if you do not use the card within a certain amount of time.

Sounds like where you buy a Visa gift card matters, so shop around!

[pbjmama]

As someone who has sold visa gift cards I would advise against getting one. There are too many fees and certain things you can't do with them, etc. Could you get a pay ahead credit card?

[Caneel]

We looked into getting Visa gift cards for our employees who stay out of town for extended periods. The cards would have replaced a cash allowance.

A few things I learned from the bank:

The same restaurant thing someone else mentioned

Not everyplace that accepts Visa accepts Visa Gift Cards. The merchant chooses to accept (or not) gift cards under a different agreement than a regular Visa so it is feasible that one's gift card could be rejected at a merchant that takes regular Visa.

Same hold issues

[mnnice]

I don't share the average Americans aversion (or the OP's) for having cash on my person. If you are on vacation just carry the cash you will need for for the trip. If the trip is longer stop and get the daily max that your checking account will let you withdrawal from the ATM and then replenish with it. It the one time I find paying ATM fees a worthwhile convience.

I personally find the thought of giving Visa 3%-5% way more unpleasant than the long shot of being mugged or having the money stolen (that being said when DH are on vacation together I generally carry less cash than if I was at home since we are more likely together).

[sunnysandiegan]

I have to agree with mnnice. We look up the ATMs in advance of vacation and take directions with us or put the information into our phones and plan at least one day's activities in an area where it is easy to replenish the cash. Even getting cash over in a grocery store works for certain amounts.

I'm only looking into the Visa gift card because our credit card has this rewards program and I basically can get us $75 in free money for our vacation. We don't need more "stuff" from the program and I don't want $75 in Starbucks (don't go there) or another nationwide specialty store they offer. If they offered cash or check, I'd take that!

[WorldsBestMom]

Visa Gift Cards, heard of them not big fan of them though.

[zech13_9_goforgold]

We found them hard to spend. We've been using ours on Amazon and have not been able to fully empty them. It is different from a regular gift card where you can drain the card and then spend the rest in cash. It's a pain to try different amounts to see which will go through and you can't combine them.

Perhaps you could get the gift card for a store (that the bank is offering) and use it for a gift. Maybe for a whole (nuclear) family at Christmas?

[springbride]

I have tried to use Visa Gift Cards before for travel/vacations and it was a big pain. We ended up with a bunch of holds (had 3 cards) and frozen money, then putting money on our CC's to pay for gas on the way home.

If you want to go the route of gift cards I would instead pick out your restaurants ahead of time if that is possible and 'buy money' for the where you actually want to go.

I also agree with the PP that I just carry cash on vacations. I don't usually have all of it in my wallet, or on me at the same time, but I do bring cash.

[Kyamo]

Originally Posted by zech13_9_goforgold

We found them hard to spend. We've been using ours on Amazon and have not been able to fully empty them. It is different from a regular gift card where you can drain the card and then spend the rest in cash. It's a pain to try different amounts to see which will go through and you can't combine them.

If you know exactly how much is on the card (by keeping track or by phoning the number to check), you should be able to spend it to empty and pay the rest with cash or another card. The store just has no way of telling how much is on it, but I can easily help a customer who knows how much is on it and asks me to put $3.12 on the card and the rest in cash, or whatever. I guess you can't do that at Amazon, but a for regular in person transaction it should be fine.

But I don't use them due to the activation fee.

[ScarletBegonias]

Originally Posted by Apricot

The visa gift cards I've gotten can't be used at restaurants! Because the tip amount could be over the amount of the card, they won't go through. For example, I had a $50 card. Spent $40 at dinner, planned a $10 tip, no can do. Just won't work, because they are afraid I'll write in a $20 tip. Since going out to eat is a vacation thing for me, no can do visa gift card.

Originally Posted by zech13_9_goforgold

We found them hard to spend. We've been using ours on Amazon and have not been able to fully empty them. It is different from a regular gift card where you can drain the card and then spend the rest in cash. It's a pain to try different amounts to see which will go through and you can't combine them.

Perhaps you could get the gift card for a store (that the bank is offering) and use it for a gift. Maybe for a whole (nuclear) family at Christmas?

and

i "won" a visa gift card and it was a pita to use. i was at sushi and had an embarrassing "your card isn't being accepted". i spent almost an hour on the phone to visa, on hold waiting to talk to someone who could tell me why in the world the card wouldn't work, when i had checked the balance BEFORE i used it, and had never used it before.

i wouldn't give a visa gift card to my worst enemy!