Community Chat

[summergal1]

Has anyone been able to apply a MasterCard debt gift card towards a purchase?

I’m very frustrated trying to use two cards I received as a gift. I have tried to use them at both Michaels and HSN online.🤦‍♀️

[Mom2Dogs]

@summergal1  I have been gifted a couple Visa gift cards in the past....even the sales associates tell me they are all different!

 I swipe them like a credit card and usually there is a number on the back you can use as the pin...also I have had a couple that I first had to 'register' first....by calling the number on the back of the card.....

[sunshine45]

hate using them online.....too many problems.

i prefer using them in store and using them in full. so if i am buying a $100 item and i have a $50 gift card, i ask them to apply the $50 first, and then pay cash or charge the rest.

dont like using them at gas stations or in restaurants either.

[Kachina624]

Do the merchants where you've tried to use the card, take MasterCard?  If not, that might be the problem.

[summergal1]

Yes they do🤦🏼‍♀️

[Yahooey]

@summergal1 

can you call a number to check the balance?

is this a gift card?

Stealing numbers and cloning cards

Another very common method of gift card fraud is committed is through stealingnumbers off physical gift cards. ... Gift cards are not usable until they are activated at the cash register. In many stores, gift cards are sitting out in an accessible place.

[Nuttmeg]

Where you able to contact CS for the two companies? I would ask their policy using a gift cards. How can they know you or the card are real?

[Tribesters]

@summergal1 

Not sure about MC gift cards but Visa cards have to be registered online to use online. It’s simple- you just link your name & address to the card. Have you gone to the website on the card to see if they have a place to register the card?

[CelticCrafter]

When we get them as payment for a rebate the paperwork always tells us to use it as a credit card and if there is a balance make sure we keep track of it  for the next purchase.

[gidgetgh]

I’ve used the as well as Visa and AMEX gift cards for years and never had a problem. 

Never use them for gas or at a restaurant. I’ve never used them for online purchases. 

In a store, you run it like a credit card, even if the card says debit on it.