Prepaid Visa / Mastercard Gift Card

bigpappa

I am horrible at finding the right toy or gift to buy at christmas so this year I want to buy prepaid visa/mastercard giftcards.

I went into Sainsburys but they didn't seem to understand what I was after.

Where can I buy these in store?

jimbo26

Tesco sell them, to be honest they're a pain for the recipient. Not all shops take them, most cashiers scratch their heads when you present them and call a supervisor. You pay extra to buy them, a royal pain.

Anthorn

bigpappa wrote: »

I am horrible at finding the right toy or gift to buy at christmas so this year I want to buy prepaid visa/mastercard giftcards.

I went into Sainsburys but they didn't seem to understand what I was after.

Where can I buy these in store?

Here's the info straight from the horse's mouth. Oh ok it's not from the horse's mouth, it's from Mastercard:
https://www.mastercard.co.uk/en-gb/consumers/find-card-products/prepaid-cards/gift-card.html

With a Mastercard gift card you use it exactly the same as any credit card or debit card at a P.O.S. terminal.

eDicky

Just give cash - there's no extra expense or hassle to use up the full value, as in a gift card.

PixelPound

The problem can be when you are buying something more than the balance as it can simply reject the transaction rather than just take the balance.

Maria58

Dont buy it! I was given 6 and have had a nightmare trying to spend them. And i was upset that they were given to me as a gift and for each £50 they were charged 3.95. What a rip off. I tried o spend them on line and so far no luck. I then tried to spend them at the supermarket and still cant. I think you have to spend the exact amount. So will try next week. What a pain, i was given two different type (vanilla and red) and i have to register them separately.
Does anyone have any experience of using them on line. Id like to get rid as soon as possible. Can i add to my credit card account?

snapdoodle

You just need to tell a cashier how much you want taking off the card. If there is £20 on spend the £20. You clearly cannot spend more than is on the card and any balance left needs to be paid with something else.

Maria58

They dont know how to use it. I had the card declined several times today. My bill exceeded the amount on the card so im assuming that you have to spend less or up to the amount each card.

PRAISETHESUN

Obviously if the transaction exceeds the balance of the card then it will be declined. POS systems aren't smart enough (or even have the capacity) to determine the value/limit of a card and only charge up to the maximum amount allowed. Treat them like gift cards and ask the cashier to split the transaction into multiple chunks, each being the value of the respective gift card.

Tdz

Google “Perfect Gift” it’ll be top of the search below paid ads. Sorry I can’t include a link, as the site won’t allow me

T-G-C

Sainsbury's do sell prepaid cards, but it depends on the store location and whether it is a product of interest for that area.

MasterCard do not decline transactions on a prepaid card, unless the POS attempts to charge an amount which is higher than the funds available, which is the same as a debit card essentially. In terms of reliability, there is no widespread concern and such issues are usually the result of attempting to charge more than the balance.