Good morning everyone. I just received an email from Gift Card Mall about a promotion going on now through January 29 for $2 off Visa Gift Cards when you use promo code NewYou2016. (The links are affiliate links and I earn a commission on your purchase – thank you for supporting Travel with Grant.)
I wanted to test various ordering amounts to determine the optimal order size. I started with 1 Visa Gift Card at $500.
Shipping is free for 1 Visa Gift Card and the original total was $505.95.
After entering the promo code NewYou2016, you save $2.00 and bring the total cost down to $503.95 for 1 Visa Gift Card.
If you order up to 3 Visa Gift Cards, shipping is still free via USPS First Class Mail.
If you want faster shipping, you can pay extra for USPS Priority Mail or UPS.
You can order up to 9 Visa Gift Cards online and shipping starts at $10.95.
If you want faster shipping, you can pay extra for UPS.
Unfortunately, you cannot order 10 or more Visa Gift Cards online.
Based on the info above, the optimal order size is 3 $500 Visa Gift Cards since you get free USPS First Class Mail delivery. With the discount, your total comes out to $1,511.85, or $503.95 per Visa Gift Card. That price is really good considering these gift cards are personalized with your name and will be shipped directly to you.
Thank you for supporting Travel with Grant by using this affiliate link to shop on Gift Card Mall.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone!
Are you able to load amount on bluebird?
I don’t have a BB, but assuming you can add a PIN, you should be able to load these VGCs to BB.
Are they back to being all PIN cards? There was a time not too long ago of reports that there was no PIN available.
I haven’t ordered any VGCs in a long time, so I’m not sure. I think they come with PINs.
I’ll wait until we have confirmation re PIN.
I just found this link in the FAQ section: https://www.giftcardmall.com/help/faqs-visa-metabank#FAQ267
Can I use a PIN for debit transactions with my gift card?
Yes, your initial Personal Identification Number (PIN) will be the last 4 digits of your card number. However, you may personalize your PIN through the cardholder website or by calling the number on the back of the card (for more information, see the “Personal Identification Number” section in the Cardholder Agreement below). Note the PIN can only be used for purchases and cannot be used to obtain cash at ATM’s or cash back with a purchase.
since they have a name on them, can they be used at Walmart stores to fund bluebird?
Yes, you should be able to load your BB at Walmart with the VGCs.
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For some reason, I was asked to call for order verification, in the middle of the email, it states: “Just a reminder, Visa gift cards do not come with a PIN, cannot be used good for cash back, or online bill pay.”
When I called and talked to the rep, she told me that, I can not use Visa gift card for activities like ATM access, online bill pay, etc. PIN is not enabled.
It would be really nice if those cards come with PIN, now, I’m not so sure.
Hmm, it seems that either the rep is misinformed or the FAQ is incorrect. I’m leaving on a trip on Saturday so there is no way for me to test it before then :(
I purchased these gift cards in December and they do come with a pin. The pin is initially the last 4 digits of the card number, but you can register them on a website and customize the pin. I registered 5 of the 6 $500 cards I bought and had no issue loading any of them on Serve.
Thanks for the datapoint, Andrew. Glad the PIN is available which makes it easy to unload.
@myoldsmoky – I got the same email and had to call. I can tell you in the past they worked fine to load to BB and I will be testing them for MOs. I do not expect any issues. Worst case still a good deal and will just spend on stuff.
Thanks for the datapoint, Rene. Hopefully they can be unloaded easily :)
Citi still treats GCM purchases as cash advance?
No I don’t think so. If you call Citi, you can set your cash advance limit to $0.
Just ordered a Simon gift card from them — it went through as a regular purchase on my Citi AT&T Access More card.
Thanks for the datapoint. Have a great weekend.
GCM (a/k/a CardLab) just cancelled my order for 3 VGC after approving it earlier today:
“Unfortunately, after reviewing your order, we felt it was best to cancel it and refund the purchase price in full.
At CardLab, new and repeat orders are subject to risk and compliance reviews. The policies and procedures we use to review an account are proprietary and cannot be disclosed. The policies are in place to comply with federal regulations, and to protect cardholders and our company from potential fraudulent activity. Even though a review may result in the cancellation of an order, this does not necessarily indicate that you or order are fraudulent. The anonymous nature of an online transaction requires us to be cautious when choosing which orders to accept.
We sincerely apologize for the inconveniences this may have caused.
Thank you for using GiftCardLab!”
That’s not cool GCM :(
I can’t believe anyone still has a working Blue Bird
Haha, only the lucky few :)
Will the use of a coupon code invalidate cashback from portals like top Cashback?
I don’t know, probably not.
Yep, they approved, then cancelled, my order too.
Dang, that’s frustrating. How many VGCs did you try to order?
I placed one order for 3 cards for $500 each from GCM. The only thing i can think of is that I’ve also ordered VGC from staples.com over the last few months in batches of 6 $300 cards. I think staples orders are fulfilled by GCM. But, so far, staples hasn’t declined any of my orders.
I would call GCM and ask them what the exact reason for cancelling your order was.
They cancelled my order and locked my account. I ordered one. I think they just want to make everything impossible…
Bummer Jayson, that shouldn’t happen. Boo GCM
My order for 3 cards was cancelled with the same language as noted above. I’ve done plenty of business with giftcardmall with Staples and Ebay over the years, all without incident.
They sure don’t want to ship these!
Oh well. It’s a good deal, but not the deal of a lifetime. I’ll do business elsewhere.
I just don’t understand this company…
Yes, mine was cancelled too — the same day it was approved, and I received the same message.
I’m really sorry they canceled your order. Why are they selling VGCs if they keep cancelling orders?
Same as other. Order for 3 cards cancelled after being approved. Will try again tomorrow
Good luck Carlos!
I also received an email saying that my order (for nine) was cancelled. Called the number at the bottom of the email to see what all the fuss was all about. Rep said that the “wrong email” was sent and that my order was not cancelled, just under review (I wouldn’t be shocked if I’m not the only person who got the “wrong email”). Rep said I was supposed to receive an email asking me to call in. Rep asked me a few questions (name, quantity of GCs) and then said that these cards were not PIN-enabled. When I asked if they sold any cards with PINs the rep said no. Asked rep to cancel my order.
I’ve read that GCM is now sending cards issued by Sunrise rather than Metabank, which is apparently why these cards are not PIN-enabled.
I’d be curious for those who receive their cards if they are actually able to set a PIN and which bank the cards are issued by.
Thank you for the datapoint, Mike. GCM is all over the place right now. They don’t know what is going on.
I had that “interview” with a “pass”, but a few hours later, they still cancelled the order.
Such a b.s. Placed an order for 3 x $500 as gifts (wedding gift for my cousin, etc). Received email saying to call. Called. Was asked all kind of questions from “what is the closest street to you” to “why do you need such large amounts”. After answering, a rep said okay, and put on Q. Few hours later, I received the same email with “unfortunately”.
Why even offer these gc if it`s a too risky for them?
That is very frustrating, I’m sorry you have had such a bad experience with GCM.
It`s their loss-not willing to waste my time and money on them. Sorry you didn`t get your commissions.
That’s ok, it’s not worth a commission to have GCM screw with my readers and cancel orders randomly. I though GCM was a more well-run company. I guess not :(