Vanilla Visa giftcards - don't get conned, read the small print

sarah7691

I would like to alert people to the fact that Vanilla Visa giftcards are a bit of a con (if you don’t read the small print).

Vanilla is one provider pre-paid Visa giftcards (I’m sure there are others too).

Let's imagine you have a giftcard with £25 on it and you spend £10 of that. Seven months after you spend the £10 they start taking £2 off the card balance every month.

This is misleading because on the front of the card there’s an expiry date (usually far in the future) but in reality, once you’ve used some of the balance, you only have 7 months to use the rest before you start losing it.

I was really disappointed to get caught out by this so I’m posting here in the hope that others avoid using Vanilla giftcards - or they at least warn the person they’re giving it to about the small print.

If anyone knows of an alternative to Vanilla that don’t charge you in the same way, please post it here!

sjbrun

Have you tried using / giving bank notes instead? They always maintain their value (apart from inflation) and don't have an expiry date and these ones can be spent anywhere.

takman

Exactly as the poster above said why not give cash?.

Why would anyone want to covert cash which never expires and is accepted anywhere into something that is accepted in less places, has an expiry date and other terms to limit how it can be used.

It's amusing how people think doing this and then giving them to people is a good present?.

unholyangel

sjbrun wrote: »

Have you tried using / giving bank notes instead? They always maintain their value (apart from inflation) and don't have an expiry date and these ones can be spent anywhere.

I agree with the rest (prepaid visa is worse than gift cards imo) but I can't think of a way to pay for online purchases with bank notes

In other words, these cards might hold use for people who dont have a debit or credit card. But beyond that, more trouble than they're worth.

forgotmyname

So they have an admin charge for cards that are unused for x amount of months?

Would the charge still apply if you use the card monthly? Or is the no monthly fee an offer thats available for 6 months and £2 a month after that?

Fail to see the con here?

Or is it just a con because you didnt read the terms and conditions?

sarah7691

I didn't buy this card, it was given to me as a gift.
I just thought it would be useful to alert anyone who does by them and prefers them to cash for whatever reason.

wealdroam

sarah7691 wrote: »

I just thought it would be useful to alert anyone who does by them and prefers them to cash for whatever reason.

Then the place for this thread would surely be

The Praise, Vent & Warnings Board.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

I prefer to pay by plastic. The new fivers can by two Wobbleades!