Be careful buying the VISA debit gift cards

[rudedog40]

My sister-in-law decided to get my daughter this Walmart VISA debit card with $50 on it. She can use it at any store that takes VISA, instead of just using it at Walmart. It looks like a credit card, and you have to call a 800 number to activate it. We called the number, and found out that when you activate it, you have to use the card completely in that month, or pay a $4.95 usage fee!

So because we activated it on December 22nd, she has until January 1st to spend the entire $50, or lose $4.95 for EVERY month she doesn't use the money. You supposedly can also pull money out of it from an ATM machine. So my sister-in-law says, "Let's go down to the store and just pull the $50 from the card, and throw it away". WRONG. There's a $2.95 fee for every ATM transaction!

So if you bought one of these cards for your loved ones for Christmas, read the terms of the card very carefully. It appears any of these kind of debit gift cards have these kinds of fees. So don't let them activate it until after January 1st, or you'll surely be spending the day after Christmas at your local mall.

 

[dinogeorge]

Oh man, what a rip off!
One time I was given a $50.00 gift card to a local BBQ place. When I went to use it, I was by myself and only ordered $9.00 worth of food, figuring that they would give me a new card with the remaining balance. The smug manager told me that this card was “one time use card”, meaning that no credit would be given and I had to use it all or lose it. It’s not like I wanted cash back, I just wanted the credit.
Because they made me so mad, I started telling people in line that I would pay for their meals until my “credit” was used up. The jerk manager tried to tell me I could not do that, but one of the guys in line was an attorney. He had heard the entire conversation and told the manager that unless he wanted to “eat” a lawsuit, he needed to shut up and let me buy lunch for anyone I wanted. Hahahaha
Thanks for the heads up on the cards. What a bunch of rip off artists.

 

[beth]

That is how Visa makes their money. Otherwise, what is in it for Visa to offer such? If you get back exactly what you pay out, what does Visa get?
If you just get a store card, the store gets paid by you buying from them, but Visa doesn't get any such thing.
If you don't want pay these things, and I certainly don't want to, just give cash for gifts.

 

[renogaw]

or you can live in CT and those monthly fees are void. our laws don't let you have that charge, and they never expire either--even if they have an expiration date. I just found an amazon.com GC for $40 that expired june 06. I have 2 videos coming

 

[scotts]

Jay Leno said that they are trying to make a gift card that can be used in all stores......"Isn't that called money?"

 

[renogaw]

Originally Posted by Beth
That is how Visa makes their money. Otherwise, what is in it for Visa to offer such? If you get back exactly what you pay out, what does Visa get?
technically, Visa gets their 2-4% from the store it is used at, so by charging money to use it is double charging. the $4.95 is a monthly account finance charge, much like a normal bank would charge for keeping your account on file. and the 2.95 is the fee for using an atm other than theirs, and i'd bet the bank that you use it at will charge you even more because you are not their customer.

 

[ty williams]

Actually Visa charges the merchant that sells the cards around $2-4 for every card depending on the amount.

 

[rudedog40]

Originally Posted by Beth
That is how Visa makes their money. Otherwise, what is in it for Visa to offer such? If you get back exactly what you pay out, what does Visa get?
If you just get a store card, the store gets paid by you buying from them, but Visa doesn't get any such thing.
If you don't want pay these things, and I certainly don't want to, just give cash for gifts.

The whole purpose of getting the card was to teach my 13 year old how to properly manage her spending. We figured giving her the debit card could give a sense of what it's like having a credit card. Guess the fees equate to monthly finance charges. When she asks why she doesn't have the entire $50 to spend, we can tell her that's what happens when you buy things on credit. We could have gotten her a gift card from a store, but she likes several shops at one of our local malls. The debit card allows her to buy something from any store. Could we give her cash? Sure. She actually got a bunch for her birthday. She's actually very frugal, and aware of the value of a dollar. However, she accidentally lost $20 one time when she put it in her pocket instead of her purse. Figured she'd be more responsible making sure where the card was. Lose that, and you lose everything.
The only problem I had with this card was it didn't state the monthly fee started on the day you activated the card. If she'd had 30 days from activation to use it, I'd have no problem with it. We even asked the person on the phone what would happen if we'd have activated the card on December 31st? Her repsonse "You'd have until midnight to spend the $50, or be subjected to the $4.95 fee."

 

[renogaw]

OH WOW, it's a calendar's month fee, not a 30 day fee? that's messed up. you should check to see if it's legal for them to charge you that fee in your state. i'll give you my address and you can tell them you live in CT and see if they still charge it.

 

[tangman99]

We don't the fees in Florida either. Check your state:
http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/co...es/003889.html

 

[renogaw]

you know... now i'm wondering if the no expiration date thing applies to the Go Phones from at&t. we just did those instead of a standard monthly account, and they are technically gift cards...

 

[beth]

Just my view, but if you want to teach kids, best to teach them that "paying cash" is the best way, and avoid credit cards at all cost. Teaching kids to use credit, will just snowball into a scenario that most adults have problems handling, namely acquiring debt. A credit card prompts one to spend, since that is all you can do with it. Cash may make a kid think that there's value in saving money, or even accumulating it.
Just my old fashion view.

 

[renogaw]

the way of the world though is debit cards. Don't you see visa's commercials?
but seriously, i see in the future (maybe 20 years or less) all paper and coin money gone, and even checks, and everything electronic.
heck, go buy payday or monopoly...it's all debit cards.

 

[beth]

It may be the future way of the world, or even the current way of the world, but it is also a bad way. It usually results in people attempting to live beyond their means, accumulating debts instead of practicing sound financial habits.
Its up to parents to teach their kids what "the way of the future" will be, not be controlled by banks pushing indebtedness, and wild spending practices on us, and our children. In my view, turning a game like monopoly into a debt game was a big tragedy (and I'm not alone in that opinion).

 

[phunckie]

Originally Posted by Beth
That is how Visa makes their money. Otherwise, what is in it for Visa to offer such? If you get back exactly what you pay out, what does Visa get?
If you just get a store card, the store gets paid by you buying from them, but Visa doesn't get any such thing.
If you don't want pay these things, and I certainly don't want to, just give cash for gifts.
Actually, what Visa gets is the fees that are paid when you BUY the gift card. I used to work in a bank, and our Visa Gift Cards carried fees of about $4.95 for the card. Then you had 6 months to use the card before the $4.95/month fees kicked in.

 

[renogaw]

but there's a difference between a debit and a credit card. if you don't have the money in the account, the debit card won't work. if you go over a certain amount, the debit card wont work.
lets be honest, how much cash do you really see, unless you go to the bank and withdraw it? checks are direct deposited, paypal goes straight into your account, money is wired from your bank to your debtor's bank.
i TOTALLY agree, credit cards are evil, but are necessary. they are the building block to getting credit for buying cars, houses, business loans, etc. without being taught how to be responsible with them is worse than just being handed a credit card.

 

[beth]

My point was strictly related to credit cards, and the use of them to "buy, buy, buy". In terms of trying to teach children values, it would be my preference to not get a child thinking in terms of having a bank card just to "blow" whatever money is on it, rather, with the cash, a child can possibly learn something about money and what to do (or not do with it). With a card, there is a set time to spend it, you have to spend it (even if you don't need to or even want to). Goal achieved for retailers and banks. Get you to spend, not save, not use hard earned money, but indoctrinate you into buying visa cards so you have no choice but to spend. It is a clear cut selling point for retailers and banks to get folks to think along those lines. What do children learn with handling visa cards?
How to spend plastic money.

 

[nyyankeees]

Thanks for the info I actually bought one of my nieces one of these for x-mas so I just called and told my sister about the fee thingy. They live in NY which of course isn't one of the states where the fees and such don't apply. The NY state motto should be "we'll charge you for breathing" that's one of the reasons I got the h*ll out.

 

[teen]

i try and use cash for everything. i stopped using my debit card. the balance on that is like $.90 and i still have several hundred in my savings for something i might NEED, but dont have the cash for.
other than that i allow myself a certain amount of cash for the week that goes towards gas and what not, and i put away at least $100 in cash every week. im aiming towards not having to get a credit card, even though im sure the time will eventually come that i need one to build up some credit. im sure ill never be able to buy a car in cash. even though that would be nice.

 

[tangman99]

Credit cards are like drinking alcohol. There's nothing wrong with them as long as you can control yourself. I never use cash and pay for everything with my American Express Blue Reward Card. The secret is you have to pay them off every month so you don't pay interest because the interest rate on reward cards are usually much higher. I get about $1000 back at the end of the year and I don't pay a dime of interest all year. It's free money for me and I'm a credit cards company worst customer.
Now, if you can't pay your credit cards off every month then you should not be using them.