How does a Visa gift card work? How do I redeem a visa gift card? Do Visa gift cards charge a fee? How do I check the Visa gift card balance? The first step to using your visa gift card online is to Activate your Visa Gift Card and get it ready for a transaction. Hence, on this page, we’ll address most of these questions and more.

Visa Gift Card is a prepaid Visa debit card that carries a pre-determined amount at the time of purchase. Your Visa Gift Card comes with a specific dollar value and is accepted at most places Visa Debit is accepted. Once you activate your Visa Gift Card, you can use it anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.

How to activate Visa Gift Card?

Most Visa Gift cards are automatically activated upon purchase and ready to use. While some Visa Gift Cards require additional activation procedures by recipients. However, if you have a Visa Gift Card and require activation, it is imperative you activate it before use for any online purchase.

There are two ways to activate a Visa Gift card. You can activate a Visa Gift Card online or by dialing the phone number printed on the card. Depending on where the Visa gift card was purchased from. If it was purchased in a local physical store, then it is most likely the card must have been activated upon purchase at the cash register.

If the Visa Gift Card is purchased online, then you may have to activate it yourself. This can be done by going to the merchant website that’s printed on the card. Once you are on the merchant website, scroll and click Activate My Card button and enter the 16 digit number along with the security code. There is a sticker with instructions and a toll-free phone number to dial. So, you can also activate the visa gift card by calling the number phone printed on the card.

In a nutshell, The activation process of your Visa Gift Card is determined by the provider of your card, so you will need to follow the instructions provided with your card.

How to Check Visa Gift Card Balance?

There are numbers on the back of your Visa gift card, just look at the back of your gift card. There you’ll find a toll-free number with distinct three-digit codes that can be dialed without charges. Call the number for your gift card balances and transaction history. Or check your balance by visiting the card issuer’s website and entering your card’s 16-digit number and security code.

Here’s a list of Visa Gift card issuers:

• Visa Vanilla Gift Cards
• Giftcards.com
• mygift.giftcardmall.com
• Commerce Bank
• Navy Federal
• Walmart.com

How does Visa gift card work

• The Visa Gift card is a non-reloadable prepaid card, This implies that extra funds cannot be added on the initial value set at the time of purchaser.
• You can use the Visa Gift card at millions of store/online that accepts visa card for payment. Since your Visa gift card ccarries the same Visa logo like any other Visa card.
• When you want to make payment for item, simply hand the card to the merchant and sign the purchase receipt. And that amount is automatically deducted from the card balance.
• Merchants can accept your Visa gift card only on locations it says Valid. For example, if it says valid only in U.S, it implies, the provider has issued a Domestic Use Only card. And your gift card will not be accepted at locations outside of U.S.
• If your Visa gift card says ELECTRONIC USE ONLY. This means that your card must be swiped through an electronic terminal at a retail store in order to complete a purchase transaction. Because there are no raised letters on this type of card, it cannot be used at merchants who use manual imprint machines.

Do Visa Gift Cards Charge a Fee?

Yes, there is no way to activate visa gift cards without paying the activation fee. Whether in the form of a purchase fee or an activation fee, you cannot avoid paying fees during activation.

The activation fee is to cover the money issuers pay to third parties. The third parties include the card processor, the store, the program manager, and others.

However, the fee for each Visa gift card varies depending on the value. If the gift card values from $10.00 to $74.99, you will have a $2.95 fee. If the gift card values from $75.00 to $149.99, you will have a $3.95 fee.

Why is Visa Gift Card Declined?

There are a number of possible reasons why a purchase could be declined:

• It has not been activated: Every time you use your Visa Gift Card you need to register and activate it. In order to activate your card, flip the card over on the back of the card. On the back of the card, you will find a website and a phone number.
• Choose the correct option: Make sure you are running your Visa Debit Card correctly. When you go to the register there are two different ways to run it: Debit and Credit. To make your life simple run it as “credit” when you are at the register.
• Balance in your Visa Debit Card is lower than what you are running a transaction for.
• You are using the card ONLINE: Visa debit and credit cards are declned online because security features. If you are shipping something out the person who´s selling it doesn’t want a charge back so in roder to help prevent they require things (for example your email address).
• International Purchases: If your making international purchases with your Visa Gift Card it is another reason why your Visa card is declined. If you are trying to use your Visa debit card in an international app or an international website they are just declined. Generally, they are good for companies or use inside the US or Canada.
• If there is in sort of a “WAITING PERIOD”: your visa debit card may have a 24/48 hour hold if your purchased it and that is to help protect the company from fraud because lots of times if these are purchased with a stolen debit or gift card there is no easy way for them to retrieve the money back.
• Security Reasons: your Visa debit card might depend on security reasons for the particular merchant that you are using it at. This is in order to protect your Visa from scams.