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.
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.
These cards are a total pain I feel you, we tried using them at several VISA accepted locations and they still do not work. The advice I get from VISA is keep trying them at other places until some magical retailer out there might be able to get the cards to work. I have tried these stupid things on multiple retailers and for multiple amounts and they never work and the VISA staff all say the same thing. All I want is my money back or even cards that work…
AND NO THE CLERK DOESN’T RING IT THROUGH AS A DEBIT TRANSACTION YOU MORON!
If you do have or purchase these make sure you keep all your transaction slips, you might be surprised how different they are from what VISA’s system says.
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.
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.
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.
Yea visa is just plain weaksauce.
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.
Hi Karry, I know what you mean, I recently purchased a Visa gift card from Walgreen’s and put $80.00 in there, plus the $4.95 activation fee. when I was trying to buy something the next day, the card didn’t have any funds in them. I also called the 800 number on back of the card and they told me it was a invalid number…after calling over and over, I finally got a hold of customer service who told me they can’t do anything about it, and to go back and tell Walgreen’s, when I went back to Walgreen’s, the manager said that they are not responsible, and the Visa company is, NO ONE would help me pr take responsibility , and I’m the one who ended up losing $84.95, I mean money just doesnt grow on trees. so, then I had my brother talk to the Vanilla Visa giftcard co. they told him to fax copy of card and they will refund me money back…long story short, I still do not know what happened to my money, and Visa is running a scam, They think they can just play with peoples money, and get away with it. But I am not going to let them punk me or anyone else nomore, I am filling a complaint against them with the fdic, I do think Visa should be sued, We should all unite and spread awareness, so, innocent, hard working people can’t be scammed by Visa Gift cards
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
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!
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.
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
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 $10 it cost to purchase the card. So in order to get the cash back that I put on the card I have to pay more money to use it. Crazy!!!
I absolutely agree!!
Don’t buy AllAccessift Cards
No gas & limited success at retail outlets. The remainder on the card ~10$ 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.
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.
These cards suck big. Can’t use the damn things anywhere. Major rip off.
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>
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???
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!
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!!
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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
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 :)
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.
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.
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 ….!
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!!!
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…
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!
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!!
I tried to use a couple of different prepaid cards at several different Redboxes and they didn’t work, it said “could not authorize”, how is the Vanilla Visa different that it allows you to rent from Redbox?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!!!!
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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!
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!!
I think there is a way to get a refund but it only works on finess products. Not sure if this will work
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.
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!
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!
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.
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)
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.
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
Whoops…left out that the issues I described pertain to the Vanilla Visa Gift Card.
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..
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
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.
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!!!
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
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
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.
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.
Si I still have 2 $25 cards I have not used after my experience with a $50 visa gift card. I am experiencing all of the problems cited above, what is the best way to get my money back on the two cards that are good through 9/9 ( I just got them five daysd ago). I got them at a supermarket, best way is to use them at the same supermarket? Thanks for the advice. VA.
I agree the Visa all access gift card is a total ripoff. My son received a $25 gift card for his birthday and apparently if nothing is purchased in the first 6 months then Visa starts charging a maintence fee of 4.95 every month. I called the customer service number and the representative explained that this is in the terms of agreement which I never had since I am not the one who bought the card. Needless to say my son has 4.95 left on the card after all the maintenance fees. Also the customer service representative hung up on me so with this gift card you receive horrible customer service.
those access visa dont work in Fedex office copy machines (thats because there is no bank attached to the card so the machines can’t verify
(yes you can use them at the register just not in the copy machines
thank you people yes this visa scandal needs someone legal smart to go after this bad deal. I purchased a card it was stolen and i filled to get it replaced well guess what nightmare!!!!
You can transfer your remaining balance (or your entire balance if you would prefer cash to one of these pain in the rear cards) to PayPal at http://www.cashfromcards.com for any Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or Discover gift cards.
Vanilla Visa isn’t the only card whose customer service can’t be contacted. I found that the Mastercard gift cards I purchased at Safeway (A GIFT FOR YOU) that have the customer service site http://www.giftcardbalance123.com have an 800 number with no live person and emails to the email address on their site bounce back. I had a card from there that mysteriously stopped working with $20 still on it.
I strongly suggest that you complain to the appropriate authorities if you have a problem with a card that the issuer won’t resolve (or you can’t contact them). You can find out where to complain at http://www.giftcardadvocate.org/legal.html.
I never thought I would be one to chime in on a site like this but I am so mad about the Visa Gift Cards that I plan to post wherever I can to let people know what an absolute ripoff these are. Like many unsuspecting parents I thought I was doing my son a favor by purchasing several cards for him to use instead of cash on a long-distance soccer tournament trip. It is bad enough for adults to have to navigate through all the hidden rules of use (like rejection if the bill is over the balance on the card) but for a 13 year old it is impossible — so he discovered that these were mostly useless. His coach ended up having to loan him money for everything (and he was not the only one who had these useless cards). Then when he brought the cards home, the web site log in and password (that I personally set up) would not work (and I had it written down!). It progressed to the point of lock-out and my only recourse was calling them to resolve the issue — for which they charged me $5.00!!! What a privilege! Although the customer service rep was very nice, I discovered that the original registration only worked for the first of three cards I entered — not the other two. Web site sucks too (http://mygiftcardinfo.com) — but hey, using it to look up your balance is FREE!! Too bad it doesn’t work. Moral: NEVER, EVER GET A VISA GIFT CARD!!!
I’m so mad – just got caught in this. Son rec’d a $25 gift card for his last birthday, tried to use it today and it didn’t work. Called the 800# on the back and got a balance inquire – 80 cents left! (Including the .50 they charged for the balance inquiry!) $4.95 per month maintenance fees; totally outrageous. Now I have to explain to my son that some companies have no problem with ripping people off; it’s why they’re in business. I called Safeway, which sells these cards, and told them they should not sell them but I doubt I will get anywhere. Sick man.
all these facts are stated when you get the card plus itss again stated on the back of the card
why did your son wait so long to use the card?
you were not ripped off if you didnt read the details on the back of the card
I am looking at an all-access visa gift card right now. The packaging states the fees in very small type. The card itself does not contain any information about the fees and the writing on the card is even smaller than the packaging.
Because the fees are stated doesn’t mean that the card isn’t a rip-off. The all-access gift card has particularly high fees, even by gift card standards; they start charging monthly fees after the 6th month. Most other gift cards don’t charge them until after the 12th month. The all-access charges $4.95 in monthly fees; most other cards charge in the neighborhood of $2.95.
Their “reloadable” card is even worse. You load it when you first buy it. At that point if you don’t “register” it within two months, you loose whatever money you had on it.
I’ve looked at a lot of gift cards and the all-access is the worst one I’ve seen.
My dad uses the $100 all access and when he has 99 cents he will buy something for 20 dollars and pay the difference i know you think i am lying but it is true
I received a Vanilla Visa gift card for my birthday in April. I attempted to use it for exactly $25 at a restaurant. It was declined – how embarrassing. I couldn’t use it online because there’s no name associated with it. I tried to use it at a gas station -it was declined there as well. I confirmed that the $25 is still there, then I checked with a testy customer service rep. who told me that it was turned down at the restaurant because Visa adds 20% to the bill and the restaurant can’t see that (why do this?) And, she said it was likely turned down at the gas station because they tried to enter it as a debit and not credit. I think Visa knows exactly what it is doing and is hoping that people give up and throw the cards away. I will never give one of these cards as a gift and I hope I never receive one. Gigantic ripoff.
I was given a $100 Visa gift card by my office among other things when I retired July 07. I put the card away and forgot about it – then this summer I tried to use it – nothing. I called the idiot 800 number on the back and was told by some woman in India that it was “locked” because I hadn’t used it and there was only $60 left because of those “service” charges.
THIS is a huge RIP-OFF to the public and it should be illegal to sell something like that. If you give someone a gift card from a specific store, it’s good until it’s used up. I’m writing my congressman to make this kind of thing illegal and state representatives.
Absolute ripoff! Charging $2.95 for every month you don’t use the card after 6 months even though it doesn’t expire for 2 years? Wow! The audacity of this company to scam gift givers and receivers out of their money is incredible. A suggestion: Use Gift Card Mall giftcards if its necessary to give them. They don’t charge this ridiculous monthly fee. All Access Gift Cards should be shut down. I know that I will never use them. Outrageous!
Here is yet another complaint, I ordered a laptop on line they cancelled the order because they were out of stock. I was told it would take 24 hours before they would refund my money…..no big deal I can understand that, however Netspend or AllAccess told me for purchases over $100 they will not refund my money for at least 30 days. Thirty days for what???? They told me to contact the merchant and if they would fax a cancellation on company letterhead with the name of the supervisor and a number they could contact them then they might release it back into my account sooner…….the HUGE problem is they are not the ones who are holding my money so it did not matter they are holding it for 30 days…….
Okay never buy any visa gift cards from a and p (market place where i bought my card). I found out what happened when we bought the cards the idiots at the a and p is that when we bought the cards the idiots didnt load any money into it so basically we paid just for the piece of plastic so 50$ and 25$ went to the pit hole so pplease don’t mae the same mistake i did.
I received a gift card from my boss today. Apparently he had the card awhile… It is only a $25 credit…. but I wanted to go and buy something online.. make it easy use their website. HA! Their website rejected the card… I received an error. When I called customer service they said the card expired… I stated to them that on the wrapper… THEY PROVIDED that it did not expire until 03.09. They stated that the card was inactive and was charged a fee monthly for carrying a balance… WTF? Is that even legal. The person that bought this card got ripped off and these people “All-Access VISA” are SCAM ARTISTS! Don’t buy their cards… seriously.
I found an a website that may help some of you. “at least I hope it will”. It shows how to claim expired gift card funds here is the link…
http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/unclaimed-gift-card-money-1271.php
Good luck!
Here is more info by state……
http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_financial_services/003889.html
I live in Washington where gift card do not expire. This company informed me that that law is only for single store gift cards and since this is a multiple store cards that law does not apply.
Echoing Jeannette: I bought 2 All Access cards for $25 each in December 2006. The expiration on front says 09/09. We tried to use these several times and they NEVER worked. Each time I called I was told they would ‘reset’ it and I should try again. Today Customer service says after the first 6 months, there is a $4.95 per month maintenance fee that is taken off the card balance each month until it is gone. When I questioned the ’09/09′ expiration, she said that was shelf life and that instructions came with the card and were on the back. I had to get a magnifying glass to read it! Definitely very deceiving. I paid $50 to carry 2 cards in my wallet! DO NOT BUY ALL ACCESS CARDS!!!!!!! The online instructions say no activation is required so who is to say spmepone didn’t also write the numers down fromthe store display!!!
I tried to use my $25 card at wal-mart a couple of weeks ago, and of course it didn’t work. Entered the number on the web site, and its invalid. Go Figure! Not that I needed the money, but people that do business like this are sob’s.
Terrible cards. If you can get in that window where they activate it and you get online and get your info in then you can make it to a place like Amazon and send yourself an exact amount gift certificate. They took almost $50 off of mycards in fees, and then deactivated them after I called to activate, then “lost” money from one of them so as soon as I hung up I ran out and registered myself online, then zipped to Amazon and now both cards are at zero value. Phew. Done with this horrible company and experience!
Chrissie
PS, I’ve copied the card numbers and the fee listing from the acct summary for my records, if I ever hear of some kind of lawsuit I am ONBOARD 100%!
I bought a $25 all access visa gift card yesterday for a friend’s birthday. Today, they inform me that when they tried to register the card online (like you’re supposed to do, and HAVE to do to make online purchases) they were told the card number didn’t exist. I tried calling the number to register the card, nope… still doesn’t exist. Can anyone explain why the card that I am holding on my lap as I’m typing this doesn’t exist?
I would take it back to the place you bought it and try to get a refund. If that does not work file a complaint with BBB and whoever else you can. Until they are regulated completely AND insured by the FDIC I would never use them again…
gift cards are a fraudulent way for unscrupulous banks to prey upon gift card recipients. avoid gift cards at all costs. i got a $20 wachovia gift card. within a year, it was gone with $2.50 a month service fees. it came with this long sheet of stuff – in 8 pt font that was essentially unreadable. of course, i didnn’t read it. i did see the expiration date on the front. which i heeded. service fees for a gift card? how does it cost a bank to have a gift card out?
as far as i’m concerned, wachovia stole money from me. they are a thief in the community, and they are to be treated as such. if you work for wachovia – you stole from me. i hope the evil is returned upon you some day.
I received 14 $25 gift cards as a gift for by bridal shower in September 2007. We were going to build our house this year so I was saving them to make purchases for that. The house was delayed until Spring 2009 so I decided that I would use them to purchase Christmas gifts and when I went on-line to see where they could be used, I found that each card only had a $5 balance due to their “fees”, so I lost $270. I cannot believe that it is legal for visa to accept full payment for these gift cards and then depreciate the value when its not used right away. They should be good at least until the expiration date on the front of the card. Had I not gone on-line, I would have no idea about their “fees”. It is just not right that visa gets money for nothing. Has anyone found a way of getting any resitution for these rip-off gift cards?
These are the most unbelievable gift cards. The people are rude and deceptive. What a waste of money.
Received $25 gift card in May 2007.
Was sent overseas by the Militarybefore the end of May.
Returned home June2008.
Tried to use card in Nov2008 for the 1st. time.
NO MONEY LEFT ON CARD.
Reason: did not activate card with in 6 months of purchase..
In fine print on back of card package it states CAN NOT BE USED INTERNATIONALY….
WHAT A MAJOR RIP-OFF…….
VISA gets almost $30.00 for doing nothing……..
I am telling everone I know wnd even those I don’t …..
DO NOT BUY THESE WORTHLESS GIFT CARDS…………………….
Just to let you all know I contacted the US House Financial Services Committee about this scam and included the link to all your postings. Please continue to post here and alert others about this scam.
I had $350 worth of these cards given to me at my bridal shower last year and found out they were now only worth $70, so I filed a complaint with the better business bureau and vanilla visa sent me a check for $350 and zeroed out my gift cards. I haven’t cashed the check yet but I suggest that everyone who got burned by these cards file a claim against them too. I filed the claim on a Wednesday and the following week the check was delivered by FedEx. Good Luck!
I completely agree that you should NEVER purchase all-access gift cards. I received one as a gift, & the gift giver purchased it well before my birthday. You only have a 6-month window to use the card before they begin charging you a maintenance fee of $4.95 a month. On the package I had, this regulation was on the INSIDE of the envelope. So, I had a $0 without even knowing it. Needless to say, they are not much help. I called the 800#, & once I told them of my problem, they basically put me on eternal hold. Nice. DON”T BUY THESE CARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From collective experiences, this appears to be an off-shore run rip-off, most likely to avoid US laws and regulations.
It sounds like my experience is the same as most of you. I have 3 $25 cards in my hand that I received as a gift. I tried to use them, they were declined. I tried to register them on line and got the “invalid card” message. I called the 800 number and was able to activate the cards. I confirmed with the agent/criminal from All Access Visa that cards were worth $25 each. He said that he did not know but that he would find out for me if I wanted him to. He looked up my balance informed that each of the cards were now worth $1.40 cents each, due to the fact that they charge a $2.95 per month administrative fee. He also informed me that since I had him confirm my balance $.50 would be deducted from each card.
In the end, my $75 in All Access Visa Cards are worth $2.70. They are only worth $2.70 if I can make 3 seperate $.90 purchases.
I will never buy a gift card again. All Access and Visa should be sued.
Recieved two $50 gift cards. The first one I tried to use to buy a $40 shoe, and it didn’t go through. I just found out on how to check the balance on these cards, and the first one had only like, $2 or something, and “newer” one had $25 balance.
I feel depressed.
I’ve had the same experience and can’t believe that a lawsuit hasn’t been filed on this company? They are thieves! I received a $50 All Access Gift card from my place of employment and tried to use it to purchase something over $50 (paying cash for the remainder) and it was declined. I put the card away and forgot about it. When I found it again I realized that it had expired and I called the 800 number to find out that while there was a $50 balance I couldn’t use it because the card had expired. WHAT? I told them that they were stealing. I also tried using the on-line service and kept getting the message “invald card number” message. I will definitely pass along the message that no one should do business with All Access. I hope that a class lawsuit gets filed soon.
I jsut filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau against NetSpend Corporation in Austin Texas, the corporation that issues these rip-off All-Access Visa Gift Cards. I recommend that everyone who has been ripped off do the same. Here is the name and address and fax number of the corporation that issues the cards to include in your complaint:
NetSpend Corporation
PO Box 2136
Austin, TX 78768-2136
Fax: (512) 532-8308
I just got this card for christmas bc it advertises that you can use it just like cash. So…I went online to register my card to make a purchase online…I tried to put my card number in…but it said my card was invalid. I called and they wanted me to give them all of my personal information in order to activate the card, but on the FAQ section of the website it says that card does not need to be activated. They transferred me to a noncompliance line because I said I wasn’t going to give them my information if they didn’t need it. The next woman said that I could never use the card if I didn’t get them my soc and activate it. I caved in and gave them all of my information and then she told me that my card will now expire in a year, rather than in four months. I said that my card says it doesn’t expire until 10/10 and she said that the cards expiration date is wrong. Ok…so…basically what your card says is completely different from what this company does. I needed to use my money now, but they voided my card and I should get a new one in about ten days! I said I didn’t want this and they were completely rude and wouldn’t let me keep it how it was. And they wouldn’t even tell me what they were doing…even when I asked!
i too purchased a vanilla visa gift card. this gift card sucks!! i have used hundreds of gift cards in the past to make purchases online. for some reason i decided to grab a vanilla visa that day and now im out of a 100$. the card will not work at most retailors online. so i tried to be sneaky and use the piece of crap card to buy my normal card (i wont say the name of my normal card cuz everybody here says that one sucks too and then you will think i work for that company. well i dont work for any company. im lazy and i play poker all day.) anyway, vanilla visa gift cards suck!! i also have had luck using bank visa gift cards…for example, wells fargo sells a visa gift card which i have used for everything from groceries to vibrators for my gf.
oh yeah, the idea for using my crap card to buy a better one failed. cant buy credit cards with credit cards the lady said. i almost started to argue with her before i realized she was a 72 year old 5’1 tall elderly lady who probably couldnt even spell gift card. needless to say i agreed with her and left. i now use my vanilla visa gift card to scrape my windows when it snows. it sucks for that as well.
I have one of these cards, which is supposed to expire March 2009. I just tried to logon to their website to check my balance. But guess what – the All Access Gift Card website (www.allaccessgift.com) is not even online anymore! Either that, or they’ve changed the web address; but when I Googled it all the links that were listed had that same URL.
i really dislike the card. I received one for christmas and i used it this past week. i dont know the current balance on it though and the website, http://www.allaccessgift.com, is not available. i keep trying to go to it, but it wont load.
LAME.
also, the walmart visa cards specifically for walmart are horrible gifts. they require that the purchaser ‘activate’ the cards. to do this you have to have the number printed on your receipt. my cousin bought one for me and i cannot use it because she did not activate it. she didnt keep the receipt because the cashier at walmart, so kindly, never informed her about the activation number.
What a horribel card. My husband and I received a $100 card as a Christmas gift. We decided to get a babysitter and spend the money on a romantic dinner. When it came time to pay for the meal, the card was declined. When we called customer service to see what was wrong, they said that 20% was automatically taken off at restaurants, so the card had to be run for $83.33. After running the card for that amount, it was still declined. I had to pay cash for the dinner…and had to get out more cash for the babysitter. What a way to ruin a night. WHen I talked to “customer service” this morning, I tried to just get my cash back. They said they could cut me a check for $75. Apparently they charge $15 to close the account. THe superviser said that it would be in my best interest to keep the card, but that I would have trouble using it at salons, gas stations, and restaurants. What a scam. I hate you visa gift card.
NEVER, and I mean NEVER purchase an All Access Visa Gift Card. Check the back of card prior to purchase. My parents were given a $100.00 gift card in 7/2007 and in six months All Access started charging a mainenance fee of $4.95/month and when they tried to use this card in 12/08 the fees had rendered this balance to zero. (They had purchases of $63 but the remaining $37 went bye-bye. Rip off.
I hate this piece of crap.
I received a $100 Visa gift card. I purchased one item for $19.31 with that card. The item was defective. I returned the item to the retailer. Retailer issued a credit back to that gift card, but the credit has not been posted. Three days have passed. I don’t have the merchandise. I don’t have the money available on the gift card. It is simply gone. I have been ripped off, and there is nothing I can do about it.
I and several other family members had continual problems occur (just after Christmas) with the Vanilla Visa Gift card. Even though there were available balances on each of our cards, we kept getting told by merchants that our cards were declined with no explanation given. After calling Vanilla VISA Customer Service and FINALLY getting an actual customer service rep on the line, I was given a little more information explaining the continual card declines we were experiencing.
The first time my Visa gift card was declined, the company blamed it on IT technical issues they were supposedly experiencing at the time. THEN I found out that if the purchaser is attempting to purchase something that costs more than the value on the card, the store clerk must calculate the cost difference in ADVANCE and collect the difference in cost from the customer BEFORE scanning the Visa gift card. If the store tries to scan the card FIRST (applying it against the total purchase price) and collect the cost difference from the customer second, the card will be declined. Even though these merchants are supposed to have some kind of contract in place with Visa instructing them as to the exact sequence in which to process these transactions, the problem is that MOST store clerks are CLUELESS as to how to go through this ridiculous exercise.
The process should not be this difficult and the burden should NOT be placed on the customer to have to teach store clerks how to process these cards!
The purchasers of these cards pay an additional fee over and above the value of the card. Then when the card recipient does not utilize the card within a specified period, the card’s value will steadily decline over time.
In my estimation, when you factor in all the hassles customers experience in just getting the card accepted for purchase, these VISA gift cards (and others like them) are a ripoff and a scam. If the givers of these cards really care about the recipients they are trying to gift, they should stay away from these cards. Better to give cash or a specific store gift card that will be applied against the purchase price in a NORMAL fashion, without having to go through this nonsense.
More about the “Vanilla Visa Card” which was given to me for my birthday. After repeatedly trying to use the card and having it rejected (to my embarrassment) by three merchants, I called the number on the card and was told that the merchants should be running it through as “credit” and not “debit”. I said “Why in the world should they have to do that when ‘debit’ is clearly pre-printed on the front of the card?” The customer service rep (and I use that term loosely) said “I dunno”. A few days later, my husband used the card to purchase some gas; when he saw the attendant preparing to run it through as a debit card, he told her to do it as credit. She looked at him suspiciously, but ran it as he asked. Finally, we were able to spend the fricking money that was on the card before those dreaded administrative fees started kicking in.
It is clear to me that this is a big scam by VISA and if anyone ever does a class action suit, I’ll be happy to join in. What a major ripoff, and it continues to be perpetrated on unknowing victims who trust the VISA name. Makes you wonder how much VISA is making off people who simply give up and throw the card away! I will never purchase one of these cards and I have told my son and daughter-in-law to never again give one to me or anyone else as a gift. It was the gift that made me want to throw up.
Exactly how much the open-loop (Visa type) card issuers are making off of the cards is a very good question. For gift cards, an often reported number is the “breakage” or what people don’t spend of the gift card value they pay for. A widely accepted number for gift card breakage industry wide is 10% of the value put on the cards. They get this number because retailers account for what isn’t spent as a liability on their financial statements.
Open-loop gift cards now make up almost 50% of all gift cards sold. However, as far as I can tell, these type of gift cards never experience “breakage” because the fees always eat up the remaining value. That means that it is possible that far greater than 10% of the value on these cards goes unused each year. We all know how hard they are to use, so that isn’t hard to imagine. This also means that the true breakage number for closed-loop (Target, etc.) gift cards is potentially far higher because the open-loop cards skew the overall numbers lower because they don’t report breakage.
The gift-card industry is making boatloads off of us.
sigh. Well you can’t order pizza online with it…my first attempt with this card: DECLINED. Its registered and everything. I’ll check in next time I try to use it somewhere…
AMERICAN EXPRESS IS JUST AS BAD…LOST ABOUT $75.00 ON THEIR CARDS…NO CUSTOMER SERVICE AVAILABLE…WITH SO MANY STORES GOING OUT OF BUSINESS….I NEVER WANT A GIFT CARD….JUST GIVE CASH OR FORGET IR COMPLETELY
RIP OFF – Can’t use balance on card against a higher purchase amount. A fee is ducted from the card balance every month. The bank is essentially STEALING your money by making it very difficult to access the full amount of the gift.
The all access card is a big RIP-OFF!!
My husband got a $50 all access Visa card, held on to it for a year, and discovered it was worth $17.95. After a month, it was down to $10 — and they would have charged an extra 50 cents to check the balance via the phone system (the on line system gave an error message). I’m waiting for ‘open business hours’ so I can try to finagle a few more bucks from this rapidly declining gift.
We’re outraged! VISA should be ashamed.
Yea, me and my wife got my in laws play tickets for broadway and a 50 gift certificate visa, for them to go out an dhelp pay for a meal, they went to the city that night came back said the card did not work, they went out again 2 weeks later and once again then card did not work. My mother In law came and called customer service, the lady she spoke to said that the card leaves a window open for 15-20% tip so if the meal cost 45.00 bucks which is what their meal was that night the card would not cover it because it does not leave enough for the tip even though you can pay the tip cash. This damn card has so many things to read between the lines before you actually use it. The last time i ever buy one of these cards . What happens if someone couldnt afford the meal? and that was their only way to pay for it?
I’ve had one of the VISA gift cards and had no trouble. If you want to use up the last few dollars you just need to know the amount, so you can tell the clerk, “I want to charge $3.99 to this card” and they should know how to do that. Now . . .no offense, but I’ve found Wal-Mart clerks do not know how to do many transaction options they should, so I think this was Wal-Mart’s lack of training, NOT the VISA card. As for fees these cards deduct, they are all listed on the card’s packaging or on the card directly, so anyone “surprised” by fees and a reduction in their balance just didn’t read the packaging, can’t fault VISA for that! Again, at the risk of sounding rude, if you cannot read directions, maybe these cards just aren’t for you?
Maybe you didn’t read most of the replies above, but by the time anyone has recognized those little things, it was already too late. Most people here received them as a gift. The senders were not aware of these deductible fees, as well as the package that holds these gift cards. I’m looking at the card right now, and I can barely read the words. I had to go online to confirm this. And by the way, you accuse of Wal-Marts lack of training? Try explaining that to all the clerks from other stores who attempt to use this card, and then trying to explain to them you have to use it as a credit card.
Melissa: Everything that Albert said is correct and also for the record, the card packaging did not always have the disclosure they have on it now. It’s because of the MANY complaints Visa has received about these cards that they began putting it on the packaging. Anyways, I do not think it is very ethical for a company like Visa or any other for that matter, to charge a $5 activation fee and then start deducting fees off when you don’t use it fast enough. Most people receive these as a gift so they don’t really have a say if it is for them or not. If someone buying it as a gift pays for the full amount of the card plus and additional activation fee, no other fees should be taken off. If you ask any other respectable retailer, they will tell you that is not the way to do business. I have had trouble using these cards in all types of stores as well. It sounds like you may just have something against Wal-Mart.
I just called to check the balance of my All Access Visa card. I was disappointed to find out it has a $0 balance. NOWHERE on the card does it explain about the service fees or the time limit to use the card. When I talked to the customer svc rep, he explained that after 6 months they started charging a ridiculous monthly fee for non-activity. 6 months!! I’ve never heard of a card that started deducting after 6 months! I also think the “expiration date” on the front of the card is deceiving – it says “good thru 09/09!” I would expect the balance to remain the same as the value of the card until that date. I went on the all access website and wouldn’t you know, they don’t have an email address on their customer service page. They probably don’t want to be flooded with complaints.
99.9% of all complaints here are borderline retarded. I’ve purchased All Access, Gift2Go, and Vanilla VISA’s and they ALL include the terms and conditions (the “fine print” for you laymen out there) It’s not VISA’s fault if you fail to read and/or understand them.
So is charging monthly fees in addition to an up front fee criminal? No. Is it a scam? Perhaps, but it is what it is. Caveat emptor. Prepaid credit cards and gift cards do serve a purpose, and you pay for that purpose. Instead of complaining about the fees why don’t you either a)get yourself a “real” credit card (and enjoy the fees there too!) or b)Actually put some thought into the gift you’re giving for a change. Gift cards (and “cash” in the “good old days”) are considered a tacky way of saying “I don’t care enough to actually choose a gift for you” by some.
Yeah, more like you’re an employee of Netspend or whatever.
Walmart Visa Gift card – I sent a $50 card to my daughter in another State to buy my grandson a gift. I wasn’t told to hang on to the receipt so I didn’t. Now it’s useless because it can’t be activated! You can’t get a live person on the customer service number, both VISA and GE Finance say it’s not there problem. My Walmart atleast spent a couple of hours with me trying to locate a receipt but I paid cash. You’d think that SOMEWHERE they could use the bar code number where the cashier scanned to load it – but NO! I will NEVER give a gift card again!
We too were scammed with the blatantly absurd monthly fees for the All Access Gift Card. My son received one as a gift for $25 and did not use it for over a year and now the balance is ZERO. I spoke to a customer svc rep and they of course couldn’t help. I then spoke to a “supervisor”…aka a junior high drop out and they too said there was nothing they could do about it. I wish people would not buy cards like these. Send cash if you can’t think of a gift to buy!!! I accept blame for not reading the microscopic print that came with the card…..of course we threw that away when we received the card because it said ‘good thru’ 3/09. WRONG. Loser company.
As someone that loves getting gifts and sometimes a giftcard is nice because the person can get whatever they want with it, I have to agree there are some cases where it is just a pain and a ripoff. Cards where the balances decline because of non-use or have an expiration is just wrong, the companies issuing these are just hoping you won’t use it or all of it or will forget for awhile so they can leech off the balance and leave you with nothing.
As someone that works in a bank, here is my advice anytime you get one of these Visa/American Express Giftcards. If you do not know the balance, call the number on the back of the card or use the URL to look up the balance on the web. Take the card to your bank and ask them to run it through their cash advance machine for the balance of the card. Even if it’s like the one person stated earlier $4 left on it. Have them run it and clear the card out so you get your value for the gift that was given to you and these companies stop getting free money through these shady business practices.
I see lots of negative comments but I don’t see anyone proposing a reasonable alternative for those of us seeking an anonymous online transaction card. I pay cash for most things, most of the time. There are times when I want to purchase something (usually shareware) online and don’t want to give my information to a company I don’t trust. In those cases, if the price is $30, I go get an allaccess card for $35 or $40, register it online with fake information, then use it to make the online purchase. Since I’m buying something for download, it doesn’t matter that I’ve given the merchant a fake address and contact information. Yes, I overpay. I realize that. But I was a victim of ID theft several years ago when someone used my credit card information to spend a couple of weeks flying up and down the west coast of the U.S.; that mess took me forever to sort out. Ever since, I’ve placed a high premium (in this case, in the form of a willingness to overpay) on being able to do online transactions anonymously.
Is there a better alternative than allaccess?
But the thing is, most of us are unable to use our cards online either. I’ve tried, called the helpdesk as well as going online for help. Using our cards online will have our “account” frozen.
I gave one of these cards to “my boss” for christmas.
Everytime she tried to use it she was decline. no would honor it. they said it did not have any $$$.
when she called , on the phone. it said she did have $$
ITS A RIP OFF. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER BUY THESE CARDS.
I BOUGHT MINE AT VON’S IN WEST COVINA. C
I am not going to complain because others already have enough but I am never going to buy one of these cars again. Never buy one. I hate, hate, hate them.
Just like the rest, I lost my money!!!
Someone here recommended Gift Card Mall. I’d not go anywhere near these utter incompetents. Worst experience I’ve ever had with an online retailer. Ordered a Safeway card and two Visa Cards as gifts. The Safeway card’s activation code arrived via email but not the Visa code. I called to ask where the activation codes were, but nobody had a clue. Turns out the Visa codes are mailed USPS, there was something about this on the original order page, but NOTHING in the order confirmation, so unless you notice this difference from the other cards at that one time, you’re not going to be clued at all. Meanwhile I had requested new codes be sent out, so when the original codes finally arrived, they were no good. And no new codes ever arrived until I demanded a refund, which they refused. It wasn’t until the third call that someone figured out what was going on. Then, after three more calls over a week — two weeks in all since the order, my people finally got their cards activated. GIft Card Mall are liars and thieves: Liars, because they never sent out the new codes in the first place after saying they had, thieves because they kept my money, earning interest, while they diddled, out of spite, i suspect, for my raising cain.
I also was taken by these gift cards. I will never purchase them again and I always tell everyone to stay clear of them. It is a crying shame that we spend our hard earned money on them and then they cannot be used. I would have rathered flushed the money down the toilet then hand it over to some large corporation. If I were visa I would be ashamed to have my name affiliated with these gift cards.
All-Access Gift cards from Visa are by far the BIGGEST RIP-OFF EVER.
It is my own fault for not using the card right away. Who would think a gift card from a huge organization like Visa would be a problem. I received my Visa gift card as a coaches gift and was waiting for the chance to go to dinner with it.
Several months went by and I tried to use it at a local bistro. The check came and the card was not working for the waitress and I felt like sh*t putting her and myself through this embarassment. I called the number on the back of the card and low and behold there is a 50 cents charge to call them.( on-line is free)Then it turns out, FOR EVERY MONTH YOU DO NOT USE THE CARD THERE IS A $2.95 CHARGE FROM VISA. By the time I used the $50.00 card, I lost $15.25.
STAY AWAY FROM GIVING THESE CARDS AND USE THEM RIGHT AWAY IF YOU ARE UNFORTUNATE ENOUGH TO GET ONE…….I hope I helped someone with this message.
DO NOT BUY THESE CARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THE BIGGEST RIPOFF EVER!!!!!!!!!!!
2.95 A MONTH FOR YOUR OWN MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s kind of funny how this article has been here for 3 years and people are stilling getting ripped off.
Just to let everyone know also.. I read that these cards are NOT directly from VISA..they are made by smaller companies who have BOUGHT the right to USE the name ..obviously for marketing reason’s seeing that VISA is a HUGE name.. VISA isn’t necessarily a name for just ONE particular product. Think of it as a name of a person..which it could be.. not just that one person is allowed to be named Visa…so yea..like I said I wold have to get my friend to look into it and find out WHO WHAT WHEN AND WHERE ..this company is located,who they are,when they started making these cards and whatever else we can find out.. talk soon xoxo and STOP BUYING THESE CARDS NOW..SPREAD THE WORD!!
It acts like a Visa, but yes, this card comes from a particular bank which happens to have horrible service.
My card was made “dormant” so I could not use it. After I called them they said they have ‘activated’ it. But I still could not use it. Has anybody complained to the Federal Trade Commission. I sure would like to hear from folk if they have. These gift card SCAMS are costing the public bilions of dollars.
People – STOP Buying These Cards AND COMPLAIN ABOUT IT.
Hi, I’m a foreign tourist and I’ve received a Visa Gift Card as Gift during my last trip in USA.
and…I don’t recommend the VISA Gift Card!!!
I’ve tried to use this card in an automatic gas station (SHELL) in the card reader set in the pump, it asked me for a NIP code but Gift cards don’t have any NIP code. I’ve cancelled my request and tried again. Finally I used cash.
After 2-3 days, I’ve tried to pay something in a shop and they informed my that my card was empty. I’ve checked the online account and sow that Shell stole me $150 (2x $75) for… no gas and no signature.
I tried to call the VISA hotline, 1 hour without any answer. And the online complaint form is valid only for US addresses….and you must print it, send it and wait during months.
Finally, I’m back in Europe and I’ve tried to check the account which is now suspensed, considered as…fraud.
That’s why I recommend you to avoid anyVISA Gift Cards, don’t use it, don’t buy it even if you are US citizen or simple tourists. That’s not secure and you’re money is not really in your pocket.
DO NOT buy this card. I got a $50 as a gift and tried to use it a few months later, per exp date the card was good for another year. After calling customer service I was informed that if I don’t use the card for 6 months they start charging you $3.00 monthly fee. The card had zero balance since they charged my card this fee for a number of months. They told me that after getting this card as a gift I should have logged into their website and read the card policies. Total SCAM! I also logged into their website trying to find the policy and I couldn’t. DO NOT BUY. Buy American Express instead.
i agree with Anna above. Same thing happened to me, got a $50 gift card, didn’t use it, found out today I have 64 cents left on it. AllAccessGift.com and VISA took the rest. I’ll be sending it to my congressman to look into.
Yeah Every time I try to activate it I says It is not right I Flippin looked over it 5 times! All the Data is correct I get that every time and when I tryed to call and I live in New York so FEES ARE ALLOWED!! I dont know I think I ripped off on top of that my 25$ one expired because of their Fee game so I Bought a $100 dollar one I think I Wasted 100 dollars!
First of all Im sorry you all had such bad experiences. However as a longtime user of the real card AllAccess Visa (the picture above is the actual card), there are many prepaid Visas with similiar names.
All Access is owned by Netspend Visa. I am really surprised that no one read the package/instructions. I have used literally $8,000-$9,000 worth of these Visas.
Heres the catch. Read the instructions first.
Its says very clearly not to use it for gas, car rentals etc. If you pay at the pump it is normal to charge 50.00 (this is true of any Visa). They do it because its an open ended amount. Go inside and pay the exact amount you want.
Same is true at the grocery store. You must tell the cashier how much to use off the card first and then you pay the balance in cash.. So you have to KNOW how much money is on the card. They cannot check for you. This card has no user fees but it cost 3.95 for a $25.00 card plus the $25.00
A 50.00 or 100.00 card costs 4.95+.
So $28.95.
If you dont use it for 60 days they charge a fee. Yes it will eat it up.
Another thing READ READ. They can not be used at ATMs. They are made for online shopping mainly. In order to use them you must register your name and address first. Go to allaccessgift.com
If the business you are buying from has a different spelling or address or even email it wont go through.
Personally my real Visa costs more to use. I pay .50 to 1.00 to use it. I then pay interest on all of that. I use it overseas (UK) online with no problems.
So I guess a real Visa is free? Nope.
If you cant activate it online usually its because you need to clear your cookies and temporary files.
You can also remove your info and put in another persons info (say you sold it or gave it to a friend). Takes 1 minute to do. I do this alot when my kids who are away need something.
There are others with different rules but they look like the AllAccess Visa. Hope this helps remember read the instructions first
They would be more accurately named as VISA RIPOFF cards. The original post in this column specifically references the problems experienced with the “All Access” VISA card and I have no reason to doubt that the individual complaining about the card misnamed it. Even so, the problem is that there are so many of these pre-paid VISA “gift” cards out there now (many under different names and companies who manage them) that they all sort of blur together. If VISA does not want to take the wrap for these complaints, perhaps they should disassociate their company name from those cards causing all the problems. The one overriding common denominator that users are experiencing on MOST of these prepaid cards (overall) is that they are NOT user friendly.
Despite the fact that store merchants who sell (and are supposed to accept) these cards have a written contract in place with VISA, supposedly instructing them on how to process these stupid things, most store clerks are clueless on what to do. I for one DID read the microscopic fine print instructions on the particular pre-paid VISA card that I received and the problems I experienced were not addressed on the card itself. It took several unsuccessful attempts to use the card, several phone calls to the card company’s customer service number (when I could ever get through), diligence, and lots of patience before my prepaid VISA “gift” card was finally expended and even then, I as the customer had to TEACH the store clerks how to process each transaction. Climbing Mount Everest is easier than trying to use one of these ridiculous cards in a restaurant.
The companies who market these cards are counting on the fact that once purchased, most of the people who were “gifted” (more like stuck) with these cards will give up using them out of sheer frustration and that only adds to the profit the company has already made on the sale of the card itself. I will “gift” either cash or a specific store gift card that can be applied toward purchases in a NORMAL fashion without having to go through the confusion and absurd nonsense that most of these VISA prepaid cards (as a whole) inflict on unsuspecting customers.
i bought a variable load vanilla visa put 54$ on it to buy something i wanted online come to find out it wont work with paypal so there goes that idea then i went to the gas station got gas cigs and an iced tea used the card payed 40.75$ went to taco bell ordered 11$ worth of food didnt work went to supermarket and got about 13$ worth of food(should be 13.25$ left on card) swiped the card and it only took off 10.25$ after my first purchase they took a 3$ fee
NEVER GET THIS CARD THEY WILL SCAM YOU