This is one of the most common questions that have been asked by the people who are planning to buy gift cards. However, the answer to this question is quite complicated but overall it’s a Yes! you can buy gift cards using your credit card but it’s not that simple as you are thinking because it involves various conditions and restrictions as well. If the same question is in your mind then here we have answered that query in this following post. Today, we are going to share some crucial information regarding the same, so the interested readers should read this post till the end to get complete information on the same.

Different Kinds of Gift Cards

If you are new to gift cards and don’t know about its kinds, there are mainly two types of gift cards, one is Retail or store-specific gift cards and the other one is Generic gift cards. Let’s check out the working of both the cards.

1. Retail or Store-Specific Gift Cards

This kind of gift cards can only be used at the selected store chain and is also known as “closed-loop” gift cards.

Plus Point: The best thing about these gift cards is that typically you don’t have to pay any associated fees with these cards.

Negative Point: The only thing negative about this card is its usability in a certain store or store chains. Other than those selected branded merchants, you can’t use these cards in another store. In addition, if the store goes out of business, the card value is also going to get loose.

2. Generic Gift Cards

Also known as General or “open-loop” gift cards and it can be used wherever the card’s network has been accepted. In addition, you can also get generic gift cards for all the most important card networks. Visa gift cards, Mastercard gift cards, Vanilla Visa gift cards, Vanilla Mastercard gift cards, among many, are some examples of these gift cards.

Plus Point: The vest thing about Generic Gift Cards is that the cardholders can use these gift cards anyplace that can accept the regular credit cards as far as the card’s network is accepted. Also, there are generally no usage fees for the person that has been using this gift card.

Negative Point: The cardholders of this gift card have to pay an associated fee which is typically between $2.95 and $6.95. The fees may vary based on the issuer and the denomination.

Which Is The Best Place To Buy Gift Cards?

Other than the specific stores or store chains where you can buy these gift cards, there are many other different stores where you can buy generic gift cards. These gifts cards can be purchased from Supermarkets & warehouse clubs; Gas stations; Grocery stores & supermarkets; Convenience stores; and even from the Drugstores as well.

Some of the well-known retailers from where you can buy these gift cards consist of Staples, Amazon, Walmart, Target, among many. In addition to the retail stores, you can also buy these cards from online gift card web portal such as GiftCards.com, Cardpool.com (can be used to buy and even sell unused gift cards), etc.

Can You Buy Gift Cards Using Your Credit Card?

In most of the cases, it is a Yes! You can buy gift cards using your credit card. But, in addition, there are some circumstances where you may face a little issue regarding the same. In order to understand this, you should understand the difference between a debit card and a credit card. A debit card is directly linked to your account savings, if you make any payment using this card, it will get deducted from your saving or current account. In this way, you can spend what you have in your bank account. However, the situation is quite different in credit cards as here you can spend money even before you have it in your account.

So, the Gift cards are more likely of a debit card which allows you to get the services through your existing balance. As soon as your funds are no more in the card, it will have no more value. However, there are rules & guidelines overriding the credit cards as well as gift cards usage; it’s most commonly natural to think if you can use one to buy the other one.

Points To Consider While Buying Gift Cards With A Credit Card

First of all, you all must take note that buying a gift card is more of a complex task and for that, you just need to know certain things that we have listed below:

• The one who wanted to buy gift cards by using a credit card can make it happen, however, in some of the cases you may possibly run into a problem buying a store-issued gift card.
• It’s not necessary that you can get gift cards very easily via credit card. There are many retailers who will not accept credit cards as a medium of payment of gift cards, or else, they will be asking you to provide extra ID in order to check against your credit card as well.
• While buying a gift card using a credit card, you must take note that you may possibly not earn any reward on your purchase, and it will also depend on the terms and conditions of your credit card that has been set by the card issuer.

Final Verdict

It’s not like that, that the gift cards can’t be purchased using credit cards or there are many restrictions if you do the same. But if you planning to do that, you must be aware of certain things and about the frauds related to this. We have also mentioned all such important points that are related to this factor. Earlier, the cards were not used to have EMV chips, due to which many stores restrict buying gift cards via credit cards and that’s completely understandable as there was a higher risk of frauds. But now, many things have changed and therefore, now you can easily get your gift card while using your credit card.

Applying for a credit card is a very easy task; however, you must need to fulfil the minimum financial requirements set by the card issuer in order to get qualified for getting their credit card. Applying for a credit card is not a tricky task at all, but getting approval is the one. Most of the credit card issuers and companies will check your credit scores, your monthly income, your financial status, and so on which complicates the things for those who are not that financially strong. However, now many companies and issuers have been providing their credit cards to even those who don’t have a good credit score. Today, we are going to talk on the same topic and will enlighten you regarding credit card and its usage and how to apply for the same.

What Exactly a Credit Card Is?   

A credit card is a plastic card that has been issued by any financial institution and credit card company or issuers. This major function about this credit card is that the cardholders can borrow funds in order to pay for their purchases from an amount limit that has been already pre-set by the card issuer. This limit has been set on the basis of their credit score as well as their account history. In general, higher credit score and better account history lead to allot you higher card limit by the issuer. When you make any payment from the debit card, the amount is going to be deducted from your bank’s account automatically. On the other hand, when it comes to the credit card, the amount paid for any purchase from this card is going to be deducted from that pre-set limit of your credit card. Credit cards can be used for making online transactions or else you can swipe the card in the store for making the payment.

Requirements For Getting A Credit Card

Before you apply for a credit card, you must take note that you should fulfil the requirements for that. If you have failed to do that, then you are not going to qualify for getting an approval of the credit card. Here we have listed some of the major requirements that you must fulfil if you want to get a credit card without facing any issue.

• Your age matters when you apply for a credit card and you must be at least 21 years old to get a credit card. However, you can also apply for it if you are of 18 years but your parent’s permission will be required. The ones who are working whether they are 18 or 21 years or more, they must provide their provable source of income while applying for the credit card.
• In order to create a credit history, you must require a Social Security number and that’s why it is required while you apply for the credit card. If a non-citizen doesn’t have a Social Security number then it is most probably that you are not going to get a credit card.
• A good credit score is a must for applying for a credit card. It should be a minimum 700 or more than that for getting selected for the card. Different credit card issuers required different credit scores, based on which they allot their different credit cards that suit your credit score. However, a good credit score will provide you with a better card and better offers.
• The credit card issuer or financial institution will definitely ask you regarding your estimated monthly income in your Credit card. Make sure, if you have any debt to pay, the banks are not going to lend you money. A good monthly income with good credit score increases the chances of getting a credit card very easily while the opposite situation will decrease the chances as well. Don’t worry, if in case you are a full-time college student as you may meet the requirements for a student credit card even if you are earning only a little bit of money from a part-time job.

How To Apply For A Credit Card

To apply for a Credit Card, you need to know your own requirement. The requirement of what type of credit card you want or are eligible to apply for. So, there are certain types of credit cards such as rewards credit card, low APR credit card and limited credit’s credit card.

If you find your requirement then you’ll be able to complete the application for applying for a credit card. So, here is how an application for credit cards looks like. The online application helps you to get time to fill up the form properly with less error. Nowadays you can easily fill these applications on your smartphones.

The basic information that will be asked in your credit card application will be your Name, D.O.B and Social Security number. In addition to that, you will be asked Gross annual income, Housing situation, your Signature, etc. You have to answer all these questions honestly. After that, you have to submit all these details and all your provided details will be verified. After the verification, the issuer will check whether you qualify for the credit card or not. Once you have fulfilled all the requirements you have to follow the further process guided by your issuer or the financial institution based on their policies.

Final Verdict

With the help of this post, we have tried to cover all the basic and major things about credit cards and how you can apply for it. The best part about having a credit card is that you can earn reward from its, pay off our debt and can also build credit as well. As you can see that the credit card applications are very straightforward and also very quick as well. However, if you have applied for the credit card online, you may get an immediate decision or else be communicated within a few days. But if you have applied through paper applications then it is going to take one or two weeks for processing time. Therefore, we will suggest you apply online if you want your credit card as soon as possible.

As per to the NRF(National Retail Federation), they have researched that the gift cards have been the most requested present over past nine continuous years. Everyone loves using a gift card. Many people have gift cards but still, know less about it. So, in this article, we will tell you about the gift cards and how you can access those through your mobile phones or how to use your gift cards. Even if you have non-working gift cards then we have also explained that how can you replace those cards very easily. In addition to that, this article will tell you about how to use gift cards. If you are also new gift card holders and want to know several things about these Gift cards then you are at the perfect place. So without any further ado, let’s get started….

Storing Gift Card in the Phone via App

Most of the people prefer their gift cards on their mobile phones, especially if they are having a bunch of these cards. They have clicked the picture of the front of the gift card and have stored in some apps in their phones. This makes it very easy for the cardholders to carry your card more safely and easily. There are many apps which are specially designed for storing the cards in your smartphone such as the Gift app, where you can not only store your gift card but can also back them up as well. Another example of such an app is Stocard and this helps in storing your gift-card easier. From this app, you scan your cards and can also add them to a “digital wallet”. By this way, it also lets the cardholders to know the recorded balance and to manage their card as well.

Gift Cards Also Have Expiration Date

There are many people who are not aware of this fact that the gift card can also expire. However, these cards don’t expire within five years and according to the Credit CARD Act of 2009, your gift card will not expire until 5 years after the date when the card was purchased. Therefore, before you buy these cards, you should know that these may expire after a period of time so be smart enough to figure out when the card is going to expire so that it doesn’t take you by surprise.

Protect Your Card From Theft And Loss

The best thing about most of the gift cards is that you can protect your card from any kind of theft and loss. Earlier, there used to be no policy for the protection of these gift cards. It used to be equal to cash, you can’t do anything if stolen or lost. Nowadays, you can protect your cards from any loss of theft by issuing bank branded cards. You can register your card to the issuer so that you can replace funds if the card is stolen or lost.

It applies to the retailer’s card also. If you want to register your gift card then you can go to the website behind the card or can call the toll free number of free registration model. You just need to provide the card number, PIN, expiry date, name and address. It will hardly take five minutes and your gift card will get registered.

Be Careful Of Gift Cards For Poor Businesses

One thing about gift cards which most of the cardholders ignore while purchasing the card is that these cards are tied to many companies. However, most of these gift cards are linked with such companies that are not doing well in the market or are at the stage of bankruptcy. So when you buy these cards then you can no longer redeem it as the company has gone broke. This factor definitely makes the cardholders unhappy and takes it by surprise. So, whenever you buy these cards make sure you check about the companies to which these cards are tied with.

Retailers Also Prefer To Use That Card

You must have suspected sometimes that a retailer won’t use this card as it will let him keep its entire value but it is not true. Timm Walsh, board chairman of the Retail Gift Card Association and vice president of sales for Regal Entertainment Group says that they want it to be spent. If the gift cards are spent, they’ll make more of it.

What Can Be Done For Inactive Cards?

Sometimes what happens that you pull out a card to register but in the place you get to know that the card is no more in working condition or its worth is less then what it should be. In this situation, you need to have an activation receipt. It is with the person who purchased the card. Mostly it is the cardholder. So, you need to have an activation receipt in order to provide proof that this card was activated. A malfunctioning store card will be taken back to the store and if it is the bank branded card then you should call the toll free number on the back of the card.

Conclusion

So these were all the necessary points that you should know if you are planning to buy gift cards. Moreover, in the holiday season, the supermarket gets flooded with these gift cards and at that time not only you are the one who will be gifting these cards to your friends and family but you will be also among them who will be receiving these cards as a gift from other people as well. That’s how these cards have become a popular and very common gift for almost every celebratory occasion. The range of its kind of these gift cards is out of our imagination. These cards can cover almost everything that your favour the most such as department stores, restaurants, music or video streaming services, bookstores, among many. So you can buy these cards as per to your preference if you are purchasing it for yourself or else as per to the preference of the one whom you are gifting these gift cards.

MyVanillaCard Vs OneVanilla: Whether it’s MyVanillaCard or OneVanillaCard, both usually work as prepaid debit cards. Talking about the functions of these cards in the USA, these are basically used in order to manage your money securely. These cards are used and have been accepted any place where debit cards are accepted. So, you can easily use these cards in restaurants, shopping complex etc. both MyVanillaCard and OneVanillacard will be helpful for making transactions.

The best part about these cards that these can be accessed very easily and no paperwork is going to be required for the same. The cards are very convenient to use and have many amazing features that attract lots of customers. You must be wondering that these two cards sound very similar and so as its functions, so is there any difference between MyVanillaCard and OneVanillaCard? In order to sort out your query regarding the same, you must read the following post till the end which will help you out in deciding which card will be a better choice for you.

What is MyVanillaCard??

MyVanillaCard is basically a prepaid debit card, that is accessible in Visa or else in MasterCard, that is going to give its cardholder a fast as well as an easy way for managing their cash. In order to use this card, there is no credit check required and also no bank account will be required to get it started. You can use this card in any place where this debit card is accepted, which also includes making online as well as telephone-based acquisitions. One must take note that there is no monthly fee related to the MyVanilla prepaid debit card, however, signature as well as PIN debit purchase transaction fees are applied. Every transaction sustains a minimum fee of $0.50.

What is OneVanillaCard??

In order to handle the money of the customers, the OneVanillaCard Prepaid Card is one of the easy, safe, and convenient ways for its cardholders. One should take note that OneVanillaCard is not a credit card, and therefore, there is no credit money required to go through along with no paper forms for fill out. The best thing about OneVanillaCard is that you don’t require having a bank account for utilizing its card in order to make it function. The card can also be used everywhere, where the Visa debit cards or Debit Mastercard is accepted and allowed for making payment. If you are not comfortable carrying cash with you everywhere, then One Vanilla card is a trustworthy option for you as it is also ideal for money control as well.

MyVanilla Vs. OneVanilla: What’s the Difference?

After getting a little idea about MyVanillaCard and OneVanillacard, it’s quite obvious for any customer to get confused about whether MyVanilla is better or OneVanilla. Therefore, we are here to give you certain points that may help you out to choose which choice is better for you.

Card Reloadable Feature

MyVanilla lets its cardholders to make direct deposits that let you load your entire payroll automatically, government benefits as well as the tax returns onto the card very easily. In addition, you can add funds through two resources with much ease.

• Rapid Reload: It is quite easy loading your MyVanilla at Walmart or any other partaking stores.
• VanillaDirect Load: This lets you adding cash to your card very fast and quite easily. There are several retailers that offer the VanillaDirect load facility as well.

The cardholders can easily make use of the MyVanilla website; from there they can transfer the money from their bank’s account or else from one MyVanilla card account to any other card very easily. The MyVanilla customer care service can easily help you with the process. On the other hand, the OneVanilla card cannot be reloadable nor it can be refundable. Also, another thing to take note of is that you can’t share the funds from OneVanilla to any other card.

Card Acceptance

Both MyVanillaCard and OneVanillaCard can easily be used at any location that can accept these cards as one of the modes of payments.  The Visa debit card or Debit MasterCard can be used as a debit card for day-to-day transactions. With the help of these cards, the cardholders can easily pay bills online and that too very safely and very conveniently. At the time of shopping online, you will be asked to key in the card’s credentials in the payment field. The personal details are not related to the card, you can easily make use of your email address at the time of shopping for making sure that the merchant can easily make the contact if in case any issue arises.

On the other hand, the OneVanillaCard does not offer any kind of service at the ATMs. By taking this point into consideration, the MyVanilla turn out to be more beneficial than the OnevanillaCard. In addition, MyVanilla lets you use funds at several ATMs located across the globe, that allow you to access fast cash very easily and conveniently. Also, the cardholders can also use any MoneyPass Network ATM despite paying any additional charge on the transaction.

Easy Access

The MyVanillaCard allows you a free mobile app that let you manage all your funds in the remote area as well. In addition to that, you can also check the balance of your card; find Vanilla Reload Locations as well as checking the transactions very easily. Additionally, you can add your MyVanillaCard to your mobile wallet app along with paying for all the acquisitions via any electronic device such as smartphones, tablets or smartwatches.

Meanwhile, the OneVanillaCard does not have any kind of dedicated mobile app as well. Whether it is MyVanillaCard and OneVanillaCard, it can be easily purchased from several retailers at various locations located all around the United States. These locations consist of Seven-Eleven, Walmart, Walgreens, Family Dollar, etc. and also many other stores spread all around the country.

Conclusion: Which Card to Choose?

The MyVanillaCard and OneVanillaCard, both are very simple and easy to use. Both are accepted at all the locations where debit cards are accepted. You don’t have to go through any paperwork and also doesn’t need any bank account or credit checks as well, to get access to these cards. However, it will be more suitable for those prepaid card users who usually make limited purchases in a period of a month. Though there’s nothing much difference between these two cards, if you want to reload your card along with requiring ATM services, you must go for the MyVanillacard as OneVanillaCard don’t offer any kind of such features or services.