Where to buy a Visa Gift Card (In-Person)
A couple of weeks ago, I posted a piece on the Top 10 most popular gift cards. On top of that list was the Visa Gift Card, which claimed the price as the most popular gift card. In case you are wondering about where one can buy a Visa gift card, look no further. Below are drug stores and supermarkets (grocery stores) that carry the Visa gift card. (Updated 12/16/2008)
Drug Stores
Eckerd’s
Duane Reade
Longs Drugs
Rite Aid
Walgreens
CVS
Bartells
Grocery Stores/Supermarkets
Wegmans
Safeway
Winn Dixie
Roundys
Wal-Mart
Stater Bros
Albertsons
Giant Eagle
King Kullen
A & P
HEB
Pathmark
Price Chopper
Big Y Food
Martins
Giant
Stop & Shop
Food Lion
Bashas
Bi Lo
For more details about the Visa gift card and other prepaid gift cards, click here.
Source: Visa.com
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Hey! Nice blog! I just wanted to share with you a great Mother’s Day gift idea. I’m getting my mom a pearl necklace, and I think it’s the perfect gift for moms. I found a really nice online pearl store called Premium Pearl. You can find them at http://www.premiumpearl.com
They have high quality pearls, and they have many different kinds, so check them out.
Great list by the way. I work for a company that manages and tracks gift card, and were looking for similar information about the most popular gift cards. My question to you is, Do the people who love the VISA gift card know that the card expires and charges fees? Or do they simply love it because they can spend it everywhere? I might as well load money directly into their checking account at least they receiver would get the money. Any thoughts?
Rika and Austin, thanks for stopping by.
Austin, regarding your question, i think some consumers are aware of the fees but I have found that majority are not. Not all the fees are displayed on the card and as long as there is information on the sales receipt regarding the fees, retailers are not required to post all the fees on the card. So most people find out about the fees when they begin to incur them.
I have also found that for some people, the fee is not an issue because it helps them shop online if they don’t have a credit card. This is especially true for teens that want to shop online but don’t have a credit card.
Good point. I’m just not comfortable having my money disappear like that. For example: A high end massive mall in Southern California is currently using AMEX has their gift card reseller. They are getting complaints about all the cards expiring. It’s simply a legalized scam. Technically a gift card is a loan, to the retailer, not a loan to us. That is why when retailers file for bankruptcy they don’t necessarily have to pay the gift card holders anything back. Another question is, there are states that have expiry laws, how come the credit card companies, don’t have to follow the law? I think I might blog about this today. Thanks.
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In addition to the Visa/Mastercard/American Express gift card fees, I have found them really hard to use up completely. Despite the post in this blog with directions for splitting transactions, I have found that few merchants will actually do this for you.
I saw a post on another blog that suggested paying your eBay fees with cards with small balances on them, as apparently eBay will allow you to pay in increments. I haven’t tried this.
Another option is http://www.cashfromcards.com which will allow you to transfer your remaining balance (or part of it) to PayPal for these types of cards.
another great thing about visa gift cards is if you want to order something off of the internet but don’t want to use your credit card you can run down to the store buy a gift card, and then use the card to purchase anything you want.
i haven’t had any problems with doing this, i just feel its safer.
I have a question, If I have a CVS Store Gift Card, or say Macy’s Gift Card… can i use those cards to buy a visa discover or amex prepaid card??
No, you cannot. One option is to sell your gift card to our sister company http://www.giftcardrescue.com/ and use the proceeds to buy the prepaid card. All the best.
Do you get to buy anything with the Mastercard Giftcard
Can a 14 year old just buy it without bringing a parent?
Yes, you can use a mastercard gift card anywhere mastercard debit cards are accepted (which is pretty much anywhere you see the mastercard logo).
You do not need a parent present to buy a mastercard gift card.
iam 14 years old and i am wondering can i buy a visa card at a retail store without a parent present
Miguel, yes, you can buy a visa gift card without a parent. There is no age limit on who can buy or use a visa gift card. I am sure you should be fine at 14yrs.
so exactly how much do they take out when u purchase an item when using your visa gift card?
[...] a list of where to buy visa gift cards in person, click [...]
[...] a list of where to buy visa gift cards in person, click [...]
wat if i live in canada?
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Is a Visa Gift Card the same as a Vanilla Visa?
I see the latter all the time in stores, but I’ve read a lot of horror stories about them online.
Can I purchase a gift card in person using my credit card (american express) or do I have to shell out cash?
Fantastic blog – great content! I needed to get this information quickly and found your gift card blog.
Thank you!
Do you need to present an ID when purchasing something with a Visa giftcard?
No, you do not need an ID unless your name is printed on the gift card
were can i get a $500, its like they dont make them any more unless a SSN is requireed? why?
im in califronia northern part
Thanks for the concise list. A friend of mine needs a visa card for online purchases and was looking for a convenient place to get one – now I can let him know.
Best to you…
I would highly advise anyone to avoid these gift cards. In Ontario Canada, the government even passed legislation to prevent companies like Visa putting expiry dates and charging fees. Yet Visa has yet to comply.
Why? Because they make a ton of money off unfortunate consumers would “save up” their cards and have no knowledge that they are losing money month after month. Think about all the young kids whose uncles and aunts give them as presents only to learn that the $25 gift card, after not being used for a year, is now worth $1. What kind of message does that send?
In my opinion, they are a scam, full stop.
Either give cash or find a store that actually practices honourable business with regards to gift cards. Visa is not one of those businesses.
Sometimes using a credit card exposes you to a practice whereby sellers keeping charging you each month even though you have tried to cancel the subscription or the monthly shipments. If you use a visa gift card, they can’t charge you more than what’s on the card. That would stop the unwanted shipments.
I need a Gift Card which allows me to register both an address and zip code. I need this because I product I tried buying online does a credit card address verification match. Without which they will not sell me the product.
PLEASE HELP!