“All-Access” Visa Gift Card
September 23, 2006
When Sarah and I were in Washington last month for a reception that my parents arranged for us. At the reception, some people gave us some wonderful gifts and we are extremely grateful. Now, we received 2 VISA Gift Cards and 1 American Express Gift Card. The people who gave us these are wonderful people and we like them a lot. We really do.
But please…if you are going to give gifts to people - DO NOT GIVE THESE Gift Cards - let me repeat, DO NOT give All-Access Visa Gift Cards as gifts. They are an incredible pain in the ass. Now, the American Express card was actually not bad. But the problem with these cards is that you cannot use them unless you are purchasing something UNDER the limit of the card. For example, I have a $25 gift card. I go to Kroger and my groceries come to $50. I can’t use the card. I tried swiping it numerous times and the cashiers won’t accept it. The American Express card actually worked just fine so it’s okay. But the VISA Cards are a pain in the ass. It doesn’t sound like much of a pain - but try using the cards and you’ll see. Also, I called and asked the customer service agent, "So with my $25 gift card, if I buy something for like $21, that means I just lose the $4 unless I can use the card to buy something for $3.99?" She replied, "Yah, you’ll most likely just lose it."
Lame.
Posted in 
Adam Walker Cleaveland: 
September 23rd, 2006 at 10:26 am
As a former retail manager, a word to the wise: it is possible to use that last bit on the card. The merchant will need to ring up the credit card sale for exactly the amount left on the account (which probably means calling the number on the back of the card and taking ten minutes to find out the balance). The retail chain I worked for allowed multiple credit cards per transaction, so we were able to work around it. Not all retailers know this or allow multiple credit card transactions. But it is possible.
September 23rd, 2006 at 4:02 pm
I used to think that gift cards would be a great substitute for traveler’s checks, but now I think that I would rather carry cash.
The problem is the hold amounts that companies charge to the cards. When you pay for gas at the pump, the company charges you $50 no matter how little gas you actually buy, the correct amount isn’t posted for 48 hours. So if you spend $30 on gas, for the next two days, twenty of your dollars are unavailable to you.
Restaurants do a similar thing to cover tips, but where it really bit me was with hotels who automatically add 15% to the cost of the room, just in case.
Driving home from GA in June this almost meant a night sleeping in my car, not because I didn’t have enough money to pay for the room but because I didn’t have enough money to pay for the room plus 15%. Only some creative tweaking of the cost of the room by a very helpful clerk allowed me to have a bed for the night.
September 23rd, 2006 at 4:26 pm
Wow! That is lame. It must be a very profitable little sideline for Visa. Even if it is possible to redeem the balance (thanks, Daryl) it sounds so complicated that most people wouldn’t bother. Thanks for the heads up.
September 23rd, 2006 at 8:00 pm
I am just backing up what Daryl says. It is possible to use it even if you are spending more than what it’s worth. We get customers at Gap all the time with these and it’s actually pretty easy. I just have to enter the amount of what the card is worth and then any remainder can be paid for in any other form of payment. It is true though that not all businesses may know this. Sorry for your frustration. I think store brand gift cards work much better.
September 24th, 2006 at 11:37 pm
Yea visa is just plain weaksauce.
March 11th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
I got a gift card for Christmas from my sister-in-law. The card had $100 on it. I was able to use it at Banana Republic for $16.16. I then tried to use the rest of it at J.Crew and was upset to find out that even thought I knew exactly how much was on the card, the card did not work. I mad several attempts to contact customer service but all I got was a recorded message saying “Due to the high volume of calls, we cannot respond to your inquiry. Please check your balance online at …” When I went online the website told me my card number was invalid (the card was right in front of me and the number I punched in was correct) and when I tried to contact the company by phone again I was told the number of the card is invalid. THIS IS A TOTAL SCAM AND VISA SHOULD BE SUED. Don’t ever buy one of these cards for anyone.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Okay, Total rip off!!! My husband recieved one of these cards for his birthday and went to best buy to buy a handheld tv and he did. Brought it home and it did not work!! Took it back to get the amount credited back to the card and per best buy-visa is not accepting the return. so then I asked if we could just cancel the return and go ahead and use it as a store credit?? They can not do that either? Basicly we got screwed. It is not our fault that the item was faulty in the first place/ nor is it the fault of best buy..Screwed
March 16th, 2007 at 11:42 pm
One more to add to the list . . . I’ve tried to use this card at a number of places since I received it some take it - most didn’t accept it. I kept getting messages like “declined” “unauthorized” after only making a few small purchases on a $100 card. So finally I called in to find that I had 2 cents left with a pending credit of $75 from a gas station I visted 4 days ago. First of all the card wasn’t accepted so I had to use a different card to purchase the fuel SO THERE WAS NEVER A PURCHASE ON THIS CARD but $75 of the credit is frozen because it was attempted. So I’m not sure if the gas attendent RIPPED ME OFF AND charged my card for nothing or if this just happened because I tried to use it??? What a hassle!
March 21st, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Actually had one charge attempted, declined of course.
Called customer service, got the balance and assurances, tried it within minutes, it’s apparently now expired though imprinted as 07/09. Gag gift at best, and if you don’t use it of course, they get to start debiting it for you.
Save the 9.99 purchase price and the 6.95 fee to get a check sent to get the balance and just give cash.
March 28th, 2007 at 10:42 am
i bought one of these all access gidt cards and put $100 on it and it has been saying its a invalid card number for 2 days now online and when i call customer service. what a rip off
March 29th, 2007 at 2:53 am
I purchased a gift card for my daughter to take on a school trip, so she wouldn’t have to take cash. I can’t get the cash from the card and i can’t get customer service to respond. I had to get more cash out to give to her to take on the trip, which defeated the purpose of the card. I feel like I’m in a black hole of hamster wheels dealing with this prepaid Visa just trying to get my money back. Another point, the card I bought charges $1 for every purchase and $2 for every cash withdrawal that I didn’t find out until I activated the card, and that’s in addition to the $10 it cost to purchase the card. So in order to get the cash back that I put on the card I have to pay more money to use it. Crazy!!!
August 9th, 2007 at 12:35 am
I absolutely agree!!
Don’t buy AllAccessift Cards
No gas & limited success at retail outlets. The remainder on the card ~10$ was consumed by a monthly service charge of ~$5 consumed the balance of the card before I read the small print. Nice sideline business if I could fund my own card service outlet. And, whomever bought the card for me paid a nice fee upfront, whether it goes to the store or Visa I’m not sure.
Read the fine print on any card you purchase - check online for the cards rated the most consume friendly.
August 14th, 2007 at 9:52 am
I also agree that these cards are terrible. I’m a Junior in college, and I did some work for a student organization that had an official policy of not paying students cash… but somebody decided it would be okay to use these. So I’ve got five of the $100 Visa Gift cards now!
Here’s what to do –
I pay all my bills online. My Verizon Wireless bill lets you pay “Total Amount due” or “Pay Other Amount”–so I plan to bring all the cards down to a few bucks and use them all to pay off parts of my bill. I’m sure a lot of other online bills let you do the same thing.
August 21st, 2007 at 11:28 am
These cards suck big. Can’t use the damn things anywhere. Major rip off.
August 30th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
I got an all access card for christmas, I tried to use it on several occasions, all I could get was $5 out of the $25. NOW I see $4.95 fees taken for the last 2 months. I also was charges $.50 for accessing the account. I thought there was a law passed that companies could not take fees or expire cards anymore? I called and asked for a refund….NO you cannot have one. I demanded one for the balance of $9.60, they said no way so I called in and reported the card stolen. You then should receive a check for the remaining balance. Everyone, if you get one of these cards call in and report it stolen or lost, at least you will get some of the money back. TELL EVERYONE to ban these cards NOW>
August 30th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
IF YOU HAVE ONE OF THESE CARDS REPORT IT LOST OR STOLEN AND DEMAND YOU MONEY BACK.
I THOUGHT A BILL WAS PASSED THAT PROHIBITED CONSUMING YOUR GIFT CARD WHO DO YOU CALL???
September 7th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
WOULD YOU RATHER NOT LEAVE SOME OF YOUR MONEY TO VISA? Go to your favorite non-profit charity’s website (e.g. Salvation Army, Red Cross, etc…), make an online donation for the balance of the card. You’ll feel good, you’ll get a tax break (a very small one) and VISA doesn’t get your money. Hoorah!
September 11th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
the all access gift card is NOT a friendly gift card to use!!
I had a visa gift card from last christmas for $50
thru the year ’till now, I only spent $36.86 (that means I hould still have $13.14 in th card)
However, when I went up their website to check my balances, I found out that I’ve been charge the “Maintenance Fee Levied on account $4.95″ every month.
As of today, I have 0 balance in my card because they used up all the remaining balancing for Maintenance Fee. (my card is good thru OCT 2007)
I called their customer service and they didn’t give me any resonable explanation for what is the fee for but tell me that this is the rule for using this gift card
The only choice I have is to ACCEPT it !!!!
This is a really unpleasant experience with the all access gift card !!
NOT SUGGEST to give as a gift!!
September 27th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Does anyone out there know how to get in touch with a live operator at all acess gift card? The only numbers i can find are automated. I made a purchase for $29.99 and its a $50.00 card. The $20.01 has been on hold for days.
THIS COMPANY IS SUCH A RIP OFF! SCAM! SCAM! SCAM!
October 5th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
All Access Gift Cards are a scam!! My daughter received a $25 card for her birthday. After several hiccups with using the card, we eventually managed to spend $20 of it; the rest got eaten up in “account maintenance” fees, apparently because we didn’t access the card often enough! 20% of the card’s value in fees! Outrageous!!! I told the supervisor this was a 10-year old’s birthday money they were thieving and hoped they felt good about the company they worked for. I also said I would tell as many people as possible NOT to buy these gifts cards so here I am. If you must give gift cards, stick to the store-issued variety such as iTunes, Target, etc, but in all honesty it’s easier and less hassle to give cash or money orders! All Access Visa is run by bandits — give them a wide berth!
October 6th, 2007 at 8:02 am
Wish my daughter would have read your experiences before she bought me one. At least we got a nice meal but knew we had a balance remaining. Couldn’t find a merchant who would take the time to call for a balance and when I finally checked it myself found out that the balance was eaten up by service charges. I will warn anyone I can think of not to buy these cards.
October 9th, 2007 at 11:38 am
I was extremely down and out due to an abusive relationship with a Col in the USAF- when friends gave me several allaccess gift cards- at ULTA the cosmetic & salon stores, they overcharged me $25.00 and because the card was refused upteen times by their system they refuse to credit it back or refund it though I show them my private account history! worse it was All-Access who made it possible by refusing their own card! $4.95 here and there and before you know it my friends had given an equal amount to AllAccess as to me- and I really needed every dime- at the time I was without my own clothing, car, wallet, kid photos, homr furnishings and art though I had proof of sole ownership..airmen and all-access cards are a perfect fit.
October 10th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
I experienced a similar issue. My son was on a 5 day trip. We bought him a $100 All Access Gift Card figuring it was safer than cash and more “convenient” than credit cards.
It turns out that gift shops also can place holds. So, his $20 purchase was transacted as a $50 hold (that’s 30% of the value of the card on hold). His next purchase was therefore declined as his card now shows a balance of $25 rather than $55.
The customer service rep said that the holds usually are cleared in 5-7 days wihch unfortunately will be 3-5 days after his trip ends.
DO NOT BUY THESE CARDS. Give cash or travellers checks. That way you will be ensured that if you have $100 to spend, you can actually spend all $100.
October 16th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
All I have to say is this all access visa card sucks my father gave this to me as a gift. So since I did not use it within 6 months they took the money back so basically he paid $50 and they made $100 I called the company they sent me through to escalations just to have someone be really rude with me and argue. They have in very small print on the wrapping of the card but nothing is disclosed on the card of time frame of when they deduct this service fee every month.
October 16th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
Unfortunately, I got this card for Christmas last year, and did try spending it at different vendors, you are supposed to pick credit not debit (as the card is labelled) Had about $20 left on $100 card and could not spend it. Got eaten up in account maintenance fees of $4.95 per month until it went to $0.
Definitely will be telling everyone I know not to give these gift cards. Target is much better!
We need to sue these suckers!
October 22nd, 2007 at 2:48 pm
I feel really bad for all the people that have got screwed with the All-Access card. I work for the company and working here is just as bad. This company is bad to work for and bad to do business with!! More to come
November 3rd, 2007 at 9:45 pm
Thank you all for sharing. We run a non-profit group, recently we had a death in the family and all the volunteers took over for us. I wanted to give them a small token of appreciation with a visa gift card. Since we were gone about 6 weeks and they all worked without pay and used gas money to truck foods all over the place to people in need (like we do three days a week all year). I can see that this visa card is not such a great option. Thank you all for sharing. Remember us with your giving if you have extra on your gift card and want to donate it. http://WWW.HOMEatSunset.com :)
November 9th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
I bought a $50 gift card at Walmart three days ago. I tried to use it on line and it says invalid card number. I called Walmart and they said to bring it in with the recipet. I wanted to get a few things on line with it. Now I hope it works after reading some of these posts I am beginning to wonder.
November 17th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
Last Christmas I received this $25.00 Visa gift card. The expiration date on
the front of the card is stamped 09/09. I just got around to trying to use it
today. I was embarrassed when the store clerk said it was no good. I called
these thieving jerks and learned of their $4.95 monthly service charge scam.
A number of restaurants and department stores ran this sort of scam for a
while but it wasn’t as blatant of a fraud as these thieves are perpetrating. The
State of Florida put an end to this new kind of scam a couple of years ago.
It appears on the surface that the VISA people condone this extremely deceptive,
and fraudulant activity. Shame on them, a big company like that. I’d be open
to participating in a class action suit against these crooks. I live in Florida and
the card was purchased in Oregon.
November 20th, 2007 at 3:32 am
These cards are the worst… for all reasons stated above. I have experienced many of the same complications as have all of you. Is it odd that their website, http://www.allaccessgift.com is down??? Seriously, I tried to check a balance on one last of these terrible things and guess what… you got it, “cannot display web page”. What a crock of ….!
November 23rd, 2007 at 7:32 pm
I too have tried using this stupid card. I have $24.02 remaining and it has been denied and I can not get a customer service number to talk with anyone. Bad Business!!!
November 28th, 2007 at 11:10 pm
I am on hold right now with the walmart prepaid visa..it has been 50min..so far. In order to reach a LIVE (if that’s possible) you have to press the button that says report lost or stolen. I bought 2 $100 cards and for 5 days now have been trying to purchase stuff on line which I keep getting declined. I went up to WalMart they reached customer service on the prepaid visa..He said I haven’t registered it yet..Yes I have but I thougt I’ld go home and try again. Every time I try to register them it says invalid information. Then says UNBLOCK…???Whatever that means. I lost my 19 yr old son to suicide on Christmas ‘05 and it’s too depressing to shop in stores so I thought I would do it online. NOW WHAT???????That was my Christmas money..$200 and now I can’t buy nothing..How decieving for Walmart to even get tied up with a company like this…
November 30th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
yes, i would have to agree that this card is a real rip off. my sister got a $25 value one for me for my birthday, and luckily i opened it in time and discovered all the fine print. it turns out they give you a six month grace period where they don’t charge you the $4.95 monthly maintenance fee. balance inquiries by phone dock you 50 cents. there are a whole bunch of fees associated with this card.
i wish she would have saved herself the extra $4 or $5 it cost her on top of the $25 gift card value, and just gotten me something else instead (either a store gift card or gift). if you have one of these all access gift cards, i would suggest immediately spending the entire balance of the card on a store gift card that you actually will use (to limit the amount of damage that can be done). that way, you will not be charged the outrageous maintenance fees and whatever else they can think up. essentially, my sister paid $29 or $30 to get me a $25 gift card. what a scam!
December 3rd, 2007 at 12:13 am
You guys are lame, these things rock. I buy the ones from america first and can order tons of stink bombs online. Or i can use it to rent redbox stuff. It’s only a pain to all the N0oBs!!
December 3rd, 2007 at 12:16 am
Oh, barbara, the reason yours didn’t work online and probably why all you guys are having problems is that you need to register it online with your name and e-mail!!! That is all.
December 3rd, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Well..STUMP I don’t know who your talking to but you must be an invester in the company that sells these cards. I am neither lame nor stupid.
TO ALL OTHERS…after REGISTERING each of my $100 WalMart prepaid Visas 3 times each and taking my reciepts to WalMart with the cards I waited over an hour for the manager to do something..even he got aggravated and hung up on the co. then came back and said they DO NOT give refunds even with your reciept. 2 days later I called the toll free # and they said my card would now work so I was able to make a few purchases I hope I still have money on them since I only charged about $80 total from $200. In order to talk to a live operater you have to press the # that says report your card lost or stolen.
December 8th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
I have had no problem. Granted, I have a refill for internet stuff. I only put on what I need, and have had no problems. In addition, I have found that the customer service is among the best I have encountered in years.
December 11th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
I guess I would have to say that everyone needs to be more specific. There are several different companies with all access gift cards. both visa and mastercard. Maybe the key is finding the one that works and staying away from those that dont. Obviously given the information written by others, there are some serious problems with some of these companies. Just like any other business, there is bound to be someone out there to give them a bad name. I would have to say that I no longer want to get prepaid visa cards for my friends for Christmas! Thanks for all of your input.
December 26th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
These cards are not just aggrevating, they re a rip-off! The whole scheme is planned so that millions of users like those of here will give up trying to spend their money, and AllAccess keeps what we walk away from. In our case my child lost his card, but I had written down the number so we could access info on it. HOWEVER, there is no space available to write–and I forgot about–the security code on the front of the card. Hence I am in to a protracted affair just to learn my kid’s account balance via the web–for which there is a charge by phone. I will get my money despite the time involved–just because that’s what these frauds expect me not to do. When you buy an ALL-ACCESS CARD YOU ARE THROWING YOUR MONEY INTO THE WIND!
December 26th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
I purchased 4 or 5 of these cards for my father last year for Christmas. The packaging doesn’t show the expiration date and when he opened them, they expired in MARCH!!! So now he has 4 expired cards and when we called to get the balance on them sent to us…a $10 fee PER CARD will be charged to mail US a check. What a crock. I am reporting this to the better business Bureau!!!!
December 27th, 2007 at 3:18 am
I went to the gas station to use my visa card and it was declined. I called the number on the back said I had a Zero balance. Suppossed to be Fifty Bucks on it, but after waiting twenty thousand years to talk to someone from India they told me I would have to wait atleast a week to get the money back. Paid a fee to get all the cards started. Does anyone here want to get together and take Visa on, Cause they are treating us like we are “Nobody” I am somebody Damn It! Email me if you want to take these suckers on! Last time I checked stealing is illegal in AMERiCA, But I guess when you move your company to India the rules don’t apply. Hbhookster@yahoo.com
January 1st, 2008 at 12:48 am
WE GOT STUCK TOO. A VALID NUMBER DOESN’T SEEM TO MEAN ANYTHING. AND IT IS not ACCEPTED ANYWHERE VISA DEBIT CARDS ARE TAKEN!!!!!
THIS REALLY IS A PROBLEM TO BE REPORTED MANY, MANY TIMES TO THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU.
January 2nd, 2008 at 12:17 am
Husband got me one last christmas for $50. I tried to use it less than a year later and it had $30 in fees on it. The site and my card said only $2.95/ month after the first 6 months (like i expected even that) and they are charging $4.95 a month. It’s just stealing. The card even says it is good till 03/09. I can’t believe they are continuing this scam. I think am going to report them to where my husband bought it when I find out where. Everyone should complain to the stores that sell them, thats the only way to get rid of them.
January 20th, 2008 at 12:15 am
I didn’t buy an All-Access card, but I was stupid enough to fall for the Vanilla Visa.
My brother has bought and used the Visa’s All-Access and had no problems ordering online with it, but with me however, I had the hardest time trying to order something online with the Vanilla Visa. I’d fill everything out until it got to the part where it asks you for your credit card number and validation number. That’s when it went down hill.
However, I did find a couple of sites that allowed me to order with the Vanilla Visa and it was only because they didn’t ask you for anything other then your credit card number and not your validation number.
I’ve read other post about Visa gift cards and they’ve all had problems ordering online with them. I assume it depends on the site from which you’re ordering, but if you’re planning on purchasing things online by buying a Visa gift card; forget about it. It’s much easier to open a bank account then using Paypal.
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:31 pm
I’m using a Walmart Visa Gift card. Not sure if thats the same thing but it sure sux. I registered the card so that I could buy online. The problem is that when you regsiter it it doesn’t give you the option of registering a name. So when I tried to use it online I could only guess what name to use when I was asked. I kept getting rejected. The bad part is that it cost me $1.00 every time that I got rejected. All of the sudden my $50 card was only worth $44.
Does anyone know what name you are suppose to use as the “name on the card”
These things are a rip….sheesh
January 26th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
This is the biggest rip off I have seen in a while, the card is very hard to spend , you must keep track of just what is left on the card or it will be declined. Also I was unable to check the balance online for”free” I was consistantly re routed to spam, so Visa gets there money for “free” by you calling there 50 cent number or the “maintenance fee” Visa should be sued!
February 11th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I received an All Access Visa Card for $50 for my birthday. I hadn’t had one before so I thought it would be good until the expiration date Boy, I was so wrong!!
My wife and I went out to dinner and I wanted to pay for it with my gift card. The waiter told me the card had insufficent funds. I called the card company and the person could not speak good English. So, I went to the website and found out I had been charged a maintenance fee of $4.95 each month. I called the company again and they agreed to add $10 to my account, but that was all they could do!!
I feel my present was stolen without my knowledge!! This is a ripoff!!
February 22nd, 2008 at 1:12 am
I think there is a way to get a refund but it only works on finess products. Not sure if this will work
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:08 pm
They got me too. I just checked to see how much I had left to spend on groceries tonight, and over the last few months the maintenance fees knocked the balance down to zero. It doesn’t mention it on the card, which doesn’t expire for at least another year, and did happen for the first 6 months I’d had the card. What a joke.
March 8th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Twice I’ve been given the “gift” of a bank gift card. The first one (US Bank) depleted to about $5 before I could get a store to take it. The second one (VISA all access gift card)I have tried repeatedly to use with no success. I finally found out there is no NO BALANCE and NO TRANSACTIONS and I’m still over a year away from the “expiration date” (there is one transaction of 19 cents for maintenance fee.
Of course the website doesn’t give you anyone to call–it’s all 24-hour, computer-driven “customer service”.
If you want to give someone a gift, don’t use these bank gift cards. They are a ripoff and a real source of irritation!
March 14th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
not to be a wet blanket or anything, but i have used these all access visa gift debits rather than cash or a bank card for a year. its cheaper than bank or card fees, and i have never ever had a problem, not even the two times i had to have a charge credited back to the gift card. i use them online, at the foodstore, at the mall, and never once have i been declined except for not enough funds. and even then i just use the method of paying that remaining amount at the foodstore and paying hte rest of my food bill with other payment (cash). sorry to hear so many are having a hard time, cause these things were a lifeline for me after i got hit with a judgement stemming from a nonprofit divorce!
March 26th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
I bought my step father an All Access Gift Card for $100 for his birthday. They were living in SC at the time and I was visitting them from out of town so I bought it down there and paid cash. When he went to use the card in CT there is no balance and the card was never activated. After numerous phone calls to them and to the store I bought it in, I gave up. I will never use them again and advise others not to use them as well. I lost $100 to them and have no way of getting it back.
April 1st, 2008 at 5:58 pm
ABSOLUTELY DO NOT BUY A VANILLA VISA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You cannot reach a human being through their telephone number! They don’t have an email address! NOT ACCEPTED AT ALL PLACES THAT ACCEPT NORMAL VISAS!!!
This is taken from their FAQ on Vanillavisa.com:
2. Where can I use my gift card?
The Card is a prepaid stored value gift card that can be used anywhere in the United States where Visa debit cards are accepted, including mail order, online and point of sale retail merchants.
This is not true. I just tried to place an order on Bodyshop.com - they DO NOT ACCEPT VISA GIFT CARDS BECAUSE THE ADDRESS CANNOT BE CONFIRMED!!!!!!!!! Now my $93 balance is lost in space for up to a week.
Also, you have to keep track of the EXACT amount on these cards, because places won’t just deduct what’s on there. If the total is more than your balance it will be declined as you stand there embarrassed. I hate these and I will NEVER EVER EVER EVER buy one again. Also, online retailers usually only allow one credit card per order, and these don’t come in amounts more than $100. If your order is $.02 over, tough. WHAT A HASSLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is ridiculous, DEFINITELY A SEMI-SCAM, and I hope this company is slowly put out of business. I’ll do my best :o)
April 11th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
This is for Robert, I too bought a Walmart Visa Gift card and had some issues but some places I ordered from I just used my name and it worked. The fee’s were unbelievable. I since upgraded my card to a pre paid Walmart Visa and have not had problem one. If you keep your balance below $1000.00 pre month there is a maintenance fee of $4.95 and it costs $4.95 to reload unless you direct deposit some funds then its free.
I but gas, shop on line and have not had “extra” funds held.
April 17th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Agree with Tina…everyone who feels like they got ripped off, report them to the Better Business Bureau. It’s free and only takes 10 minutes. I tried complaining to the card company and was ignored, but after I filed with the BBB with a detailed list of every problem I’ve had trying to use the card, my money was mysteriously refunded. Lot of good it did me, though– yesterday I tried to use the card again, followed the card’s usage instructions exactly, and got declined. Again.
I think this company is very unethical and would love to see the BBB or another agency investigate their business practices.
My main complaints:
1. card packaging does not mention monthly fees (see Montgomery County (MD) Office for Consumer Protection 2007 Gift Card Report, available online)
2. card packaging boasts that “your balance never expires” without telling you that your balance could be eaten up by fees, and that the CARD ITSELF can expire
3. card boasts it can be used online and is accepted everywhere Visa is accepted, which is absolutely not true. The card is declined anywhere that uses an address check (no address on file so it automatically fails the security check), and will be declined for online purchases that exceed the available balance (the card is treated as a credit card, not a gift card, and you can’t split the cost between credit cards)
4. the website tells you to register your address to circumvent this whole “address check” issue, but there’s no option to do this
5. there is no option to speak with a customer service representative on the telephone, and there is no web support/email address. If you have a problem, you’re supposed to write to their PO Box. My card kept getting declined and there was no one to explain to me what was wrong, and in the meantime they slowly bled away half of my balance through fees
April 17th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Whoops…left out that the issues I described pertain to the Vanilla Visa Gift Card.
May 15th, 2008 at 3:37 am
All Access are junk, Period, Total Fraud…Visa Vanilla cards I’ve been buying at using anywhere and everywhere for over two years with not one problem, I suspect whoever was slamming visa vanilla and pumping all access must work for all access, they know their time is up and that the FBI will probably be kicking in their door anytime now.
I wonder why Paypal wont let you add funds to your account via a gift card…then you could take all those trickle amounts and not lose them….they must be in bed with the credit card companies on that money maker..
May 15th, 2008 at 3:45 am
That stuff about Visa Vanilla is bull…ive been using it for two years with NO problems…never had to have an address check…you put down whatever address you wish…Lauren you are a Visa All Access stooge trying to spread disinformation about a competitor, im a musician, not some corporate windbag, check out my music if you dont believe me.. Rick Summer Droit
May 15th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Add one more to the list of disgruntled All Access Visa Card customers. Received a $50 card for Christmas 5 months ago. Fineprint on the insert says a maintenance fee of 2.95 will be charged starting in the seventh month. We were able to use the card at Home Depot but were amazed to find that it had only $29 left on it eventhough this was the first purchase. A call to customer service revealed that they have been charging 4.95 per month since January. The insert is an outright lie and I consider this an outright theft. I will never carry a VISA card of any kind again and I will broadcast this scam as wide and far as I can. I would have thought all of these complaints came from people that had some agenda against VISA and weren’t true if I hadn’t seen it myself.
May 20th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
I purchased a Walmart Visa gift card for a wedding gift, then lost it on the trip between Illinois and California. Calling the toll-free number or trying to report it on the website was futile because I don’t have the credit card number and security code. Duh, it was a gift so I didn’t open the sleeve in which the card was contained! My major complaint is that both the toll-free number and the website just take you in vicious circles with no hopes of speaking with a live customer service rep. What kind of BS is that??? I’m going to attempt to visit the store where I made the purchase to see if one of the mystery numbers on my purchase receipt is the card number or if they have something in their computer system to show what the number might be… but I’m not holding my breath!!!
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:05 pm
how about UPSIDE visa?? anyone used them???
contact me if you want, great if you have kids that go on dance or field trips out of town!
i needed them to purchase some meds that cost $341.00 for 30 pills and online i could get the same script for $64.00 for 30
but they only took visa or amerx. this is the problem EVERY chronic pain patient seems to be having.
please let me know
freedomsjustanotherword@hushmail.com
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:22 pm
I also got taken by the all access visa card. BUT I took my complaint and got all but $ 5.50 back. I spent 5.00 and .50 was for accessing my account. The BBB got on them, they said for 3 wks that they sent a check, NO…..then the said that they reactivated my account NO, they could not since I chopped up the card in a million and 1 pcs. The BBB contacted them for the 3 or 4th time and I got my money back. DO NOT EVER EVER USE THE ALL ACCESS RIP OFF CARD. YOU CANNOT USE IT, STORES CANNOT RUN THEM THRU THE MACHINES AND BIG FEES SUCK UP ALL THE REST
June 12th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
I got on of these cards recently (March) and tried to register it. On the site, I noticed they were charging me $5 monthly fees. I checked online, and found that you can actually sue them for this. I found this at the abc7 news site.
This is the latest state law to protect gift card buyers and users. Here’s some others — retailers in California may not put expiration dates on their gift cards, they can’t legally charge service fees for use of the cards, and they can’t deduct value from gift cards just because you haven’t used it, unless it’s worth less than five dollars and it’s been dormant for at least two years.
This was a law passed in januray, 2008, which clearly says it is illegal to put expiration dates on cards, and they can’t charge monthly fees. I would suggest calling those people at the visa “Theft” center, and telling them about this, and that if you don’t get the amount your card states, that you have a perfectly valid reason to take them to court. But remember , it only affects those cards made after january first of this year.
June 13th, 2008 at 5:38 am
You can now use these cards. It is a new LAW and if you make a copy of the new law and bring it with you, the retailers will pretty much follow suit on it, because they dont want to face criminal charges.