When making a purchase at a merchant that provides certain services or accepts tips, a preauthorization hold may be placed on your card for the estimated total price of your transaction. You must always make sure you have enough money on the card to cover the purchase amount and the hold.Įxplanation of pre-authorization holds from the terms and conditions: Hotels and car rental companies also place preauthorization holds. If your bill is $50 before tip, your $50 gift card may be declined due to the preauthorization hold. Some of them authorize an additional temporary 20% gratuity charge to your bill, but the actual charge is the price of the meal plus any gratuity you add. Problem #2: Not Always Easy to UseĬlark’s second problem with Visa gift cards is that a lot of people say it’s difficult to use up the entire balance on the card, especially when there’s only $5 or $10 left.Īlthough the cards can be used at millions of retailers where Visa debit cards are accepted, both online and offline, there are times when purchases are declined.įor example, a member of Team Clark received a Visa gift card that was disabled at gas pumps and had to go inside the station to use it. Bank, also sell Visa gift cards to their customers. Visa gift cards are sold at major retailers like Walmart, Amazon and other stores with gift card displays - grocery stores, convenience stores, drug stores, etc. Some Visa gift cards have monthly maintenance fees after a year of inactivity, so you want to read the fine print to look for cards that say there are “no fees after purchase.” If you gave the recipient cash instead, you would save the $5 purchase fee. Visa gift card purchase fees vary by card, but the Target Visa Gift Card carries a $5 purchase fee for a $50 gift card, bringing the total to $55. Here’s why… Problem #1: Feesįirst, the cards aren’t cheap. 3 Big Problems With Visa Gift CardsĬlark doesn’t like retail gift cards either, but it’s these prepaid gift cards that are a real concern. When you’re looking to buy someone a gift but don’t know what to get, money expert Clark Howard wants you to be very skeptical about ever purchasing a Visa gift card.
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