Gift cards are among the most popular items people use to shop during holiday seasons or special occasions. In fact, 91% of online users have stated that they have already bought a gift card for someone.
Gift cards are easy to use, flexible to carry and do not require a lot of donor work. In the past, however, consumers have had difficulty making purchases with credit cards. So, the question remains the same:
Buy Gift Cards With a Credit Card
And the answer is Yes,
Thanks to modern credit card security technology, most retailers now accept credit cards for gift card purchases. Some cards may have restrictions on the amount of money deposited on the Gift Card. For most cards, however, you can make a purchase on credit.
Prior to the security of EMV Chip, many retailers did not allow customers to buy credit cards as fraudsters copied their credit card numbers and used them to buy gift cards that were not found.
Nowadays, you can buy gift cards in the store or in the open circuit (Visa, Amex or Prepaid Mastercard) with your preferred credit card at almost all retailers. This means you can bring the card you have chosen to checkout, inform the cashier of the amount you wish to charge on the card if there is still no fixed amount and pay the chip of your credit card for the purchase.
Multiple cards, such as those listed below in the article, reward you with gift cards for your purchases, saving you money on the gift card costs. Some consumers have even mastered buying gift cards to earn bonuses for their efforts.
Many, if not most, reward cards allow you to redeem your gift card rewards. In this way, you can redeem your Reward Points or refund cash for Gift Cards at various retailers.
As a result, these purchases will not only allow you to buy prepaid cards and receive rewards but also use these rewards for free gift cards.
Different Types Of Gift Cards Available:
There are mainly two different types of gift cards available:
- Gift cards for retailers or shops
- Generic gift cards
Gift Cards for Retailers or Shops:
They are also known in the card business as “closed-circuit” gift cards and can only be used in your store or in your business chain.
With this card, there are normally no fees associated. But a major drawback is that you may only use these gift cards with dealers of your brand. So make sure the recipient buys in the relevant stores before giving it away. In addition, you lose the value of the card when the deal is closed although usually a message is displayed to make sure you are not in balance.
If you would like to offer a gift card with more options for free, you will find cards of various brands such as Darden Restaurants (Longhorn, Olive Garden, Yard House, etc.) and Gap (Athleta, Banana Republic, Gap, Old Armada). Plus, Amazon Gift Cards which is very trending among online shoppers.
Generic Gift Cards:
Generic, general or open gift cards can be used wherever the card network is accepted. You can get generic gift cards for all major card networks.
For example, if a merchant accepts American Express credit cards, they will accept Amex gift cards as well. The same applies to other networks.
Some Examples Of These Gift Cards:
- Visa gift cards
- Mastercard Gift Cards
- American Express gift cards
- Discover the gift cards
- Vanilla gift cards of different varieties:
- Visa Vanilla Gift Cards
- Vanilla Mastercard Gift Cards
- Vanilla discover gift cards
Benefits Of Generic Gift Cards:
You can use these Gift cards wherever regular credit cards are accepted, provided the card network is accepted. Make sure the merchant accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or Discover (regardless of the network logo on your gift card). Normally, the person using the gift card does not charge a user fee.
Disadvantages:
The $ 2.95 to $ 6.95 gift voucher fees vary by issuer and denomination. The highest prices for Visa and Mastercard gift cards are higher, Amex flat rate 3.95 US dollars. Note that different prices may apply to individual retailers or websites.
Generic gift cards are a bit like prepaid debit cards, but gift cards can not normally be used to withdraw cash from ATMs.
Best Credit Cards You Can Use for Gift Cards:
- Chase Ink Business Cash
- Chase Freedom
- Amex Everyday Preferred
- American Express Business Gold Card
- Amex Blue Cash Preferred
- Bank of America Cash Rewards credit card
- Citi Premier Card
- Chase Amazon Prime Visa
Surprisingly, there are a handful of credit cards that offer quality coupons in places where gift cards are sold. You just have to know where to look.
Many grocery stores, gas stations, and office supplies sell gift card shelves to popular retailers like Amazon, Home Depot, Macy’s, Whole Foods, Target, Southwest Airlines, and others. Grocery stores, gas stations, and office supplies stores are also places where credit cards list the expenses of your category.
Then, when you shop with one of the right merchants with the right credit card, you can earn extra points by buying gift cards for other retailers.
For example, if you have an Ink Business Cash credit card that grants you a 5% refund (or 5 points if you own an Ultimate Rewards card) in the office supplies stores for the first 25% fee. $ 000 a year. You can buy a gift card from Staples at Whole Foods that give you 5 points per dollar spent, then use it as cash at Whole Foods.
Chase Freedom can also be a good option for you. In categories with a quarterly rotation of up to $ 1500 per quarter, you earn 5% or 5x points in combination with the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
The third quarter of 2018 includes Walgreens, which still has a business card, including Amazon and Uber (but note that at some Walgreens, you can not buy gift card credit cards or limit the amount, and it’s not too late, second-quarter bonus categories With the Chase Freedom Card, you can purchase gift cards with a good bonus at your local grocery store by 30 June 2018.
If you prefer Membership Rewards points, the Amex EveryDay Preferred card may be a good option as you earn 3 points in US supermarkets for $ 6,000 a year. then 1x afterward. 3 points per dollar indicate an effective return on investment of 6% as TPG rates Amex points at 2 cents each.
In addition, Everyday Preferred grants an additional 50% bonus if you use it more than 30 times a month. This means you could earn up to 4.5 points per dollar spent in supermarkets, which equates to a 9% return.
For a direct refund, the American Express Blue Cash Preferred card gives you a refund of 6% (up to $ 6,000 per year) in US supermarkets and 1% If you spend so much money on gift cards from the supermarket in one year, you can receive a net refund of $ 360.
The Citi Premier Card is another solid option for purchasing gift cards. Collect 3x ThankYou points for all travel purchases, similar to the Chase Sapphire Reserve. However, the travel category is even better than the CSR category, as it includes gas stations such as travel shopping and large gas stations like BP usually sell gift cards to external dealers. Again, some stations may not be able to buy gift cards with a credit card, others may.
Which Gift Cards Can You Buy With a Credit Card?
Most credit cards do not limit the type of gift card that you can buy, but some retailers restrict the purchase of gift cards. Depending on how much you charge a card, some retailers may need a photo ID for security before authorizing the purchase.
Other retailers may restrict the purchase of gift cards with a credit card that requires a backup plan when purchasing a card. It’s best to ask your cashier or store manager about your purchasing guidelines before signing up with your card.
With the expansion of EMC chip technology, most retailers are now ready to accept credit cards for the purchase of their gift cards and not to restrict the cards they can buy.
This means that with your Ink Business Cash credit card, you can purchase a large number of gift cards for Staples retailers and take advantage of your 5% cashback on office businesses. Or you can enjoy the cashback match on your Discover it cash back card to earn bonuses
Important: Read Terms & Conditions Before you purchase a Gift card:
In the above point, you have got an idea about best credit cards for gift card purchase, but an important point before you buy your gift cards with a credit card, check the terms of use of the card to make sure there are no restrictions that prevent you from receiving rewards for the purchase.
Most of the cards have no text left in their fine print, indicating that they are not getting rewards for buying gift cards. However, some cards do not allow gift card sales to be credited towards the minimum required to spend. for registration bonuses.
Does Buying a Gift Card Count as a Cash Advance?
Some credit cards, although rare, consider buying gift cards and rechargeable debit cards as cash advances. It is not advisable to make a purchase with a gift card with one of these cards.
An advance in cash, which is to receive money from an ATM at your credit card, will earn interest immediately. As a rule, you will be granted a grace period of 21 to 25 days before interest is charged on a credit card purchase. Not to mention the fact that cash advance APRs are generally higher than normal buy APRs.
The only way to know if your credit card has such restrictions is to consult the terms and services of the card. Card issuers often hide their language under many other difficult-to-understand terms. But they do not need a legal diploma to learn the rules.
One way to look for possible limitations is to perform a quick search on your computer. Go to the Terms of Use page for your card (here’s an example). Simultaneously press Ctrl and F on your keyboard (Command + F on Mac) to see your browser’s search function. Enter the term “Gift Card” in the box. And the tool will automatically search for that term on that page, highlighting the occurrences in which it appears.
You can avoid many potential problems and unexpected interest charges. If you inquire a little about your credit card before purchasing with a gift card. However, please be assured that there is no prepayment fee for purchasing a gift card for the cards listed in our previous list.
One most common question that most of us have is that can we a Visa gift card online?
In the past, most retailers were prohibited from buying a prepaid Visa gift card with a credit card. Many thieves steal credit card numbers and buy these cards. This will give you a non-traceable card that can be used anywhere.
In this case, the retailer who sold the Visa Gift Card took over the loss liability. And the rightful holder of the credit card filed a fraud claim. Many stores have stopped buying to reduce the risk of fraud.
The EMV chip technology has significantly reduced fraud and transferred the responsibility for fraudulent transactions to the credit card issuer. These changes have led most retailers to adjust their own policies. Making it easier for them to purchase a prepaid card with their credit card.
These prepaid cards are a wonderful and flexible gift. You can buy it with your credit card in almost every US retail store. However, you should think twice about using your credit card to buy one of these cards for personal use.
Although Visa prepaid cards provide fraud protection for the cardholder, they do not provide any rewards or other services found on the above-mentioned credit cards. That’s why it’s more profitable for you to use your credit card instead of a prepaid card for your purchases.
How You Can Earn Rewards for Your Purchases with a Gift Card?
Whether it’s a family member, a loved one or an employee, there always seems to be a party or special occasion around the corner that requires a gift. Gift cards are easy to buy and the recipient can choose the item to buy.
And best of all, you can buy gift cards with a credit card. Using any of the cards listed above will give you great rewards for your generosity.
Bottom Line:
As more and more businesses update their credit card security, you’ll likely see more and more places to buy credit card gift cards. But it’s always good to ask in the store before paying, so as not to be surprised.
Among the merchants where you can buy gift cards with your credit card including Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, Walgreens, CVS, Simon Malls and GiftCards.com. So, here are our analysis on buying gift cards from a credit card. Let us know in the comments section below if you have any queries or suggestions regarding the same.
Read more:
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