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Yes, the title does deserve a period in it.
I got 4 gift certificates for Christmas just over year ago from some family members. They were Visa gift cards, which they were told were great because they could be spent on anything. Each one was worth 25 bucks (they had to pay like 5 bucks for the card, and each was loaded with 25 bucks). Total - 100 bucks of spending money for me (which was perfect, because I didn't need to take any bulky gifts home with me, since I had to travel for Christmas).
I tried to spend them on Boxing day sales this year (I neglected using them in the entire previous year). Since they were 25 bucks each, I tried to purchase things as close to that mark as possible. They were all declined. I figured there were still glitches from the Visa system (which had problems processing my real Visa as well), so I thought nothing of it.
I was just linked to an article, here, and was kinda shocked. They've charged like 5 bucks for the card, and since they are pre-paid, Visa is earning interest on the money. That's a pretty sweet deal for Visa when I'm not spending the money fast, but charging 1.50 a month? Well, I must have gotten hit with 1 or 2 charges, no big deal (kinda sucks that I'm out 12 bucks, but I'll live with that).
I decide to check my cards out. They all look like this:
+ Show Spoiler +
.....
I'm not out 12 bucks, I'm out 42 bucks..... The way they charge it seems to be the date it was sent to the stores or something, because my family members bought them in December..... I've already asked them about it.....
Essentially, at this point, Visa has charged 42 bucks (plus the interest on the 100) for not using the cards yet, as well as an issuing fee of 4.95 * 4. I'm getting the ability to spend 58 bucks, at this point.....
Word of advice - if you have any of these types of gift cards, use them as soon as possible. Also, cash is king!
+ Show Spoiler +There were no direct warnings on the back of the cards (only a "see this website for details" thing, which very few people will actually check).....
On January 03 2011 14:11 floor exercise wrote:
RBC gives all the money from service charges and the remainder upon expiry to charity btw
Now I don't feel so bad.
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Wow thats lame man, i would never get a visa gift card as a gift lol for anyone. I only use it to personally to buy stuff online.
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You know what else is great because it can be spent on anything?
So annoying that cash is not considered a good gift in most cultures. I ask anyway...
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No offense but if you read the terms of the gift cards it clearly states that the money depreciates. Its not visa's fault that you chose not to be careful about your money.
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On January 03 2011 13:34 krypti_c wrote:
No offense but if you read the terms of the gift cards it clearly states that the money depreciates. Its not visa's fault that you chose not to be careful about your money.
No offense about what?
I didn't read the rules about the cards by going online to check them, so yes, I did not know the terms. In fact, I think it's brilliant marketing for some quick cash from Visa. They're pretty fucking smart people for coming up with a system that relies on lazyness of their customers to actually make them more money.
But that doesn't change the fact that they're fucking assholes for actually doing it.
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You have like 6 months before they start charging fees which I think is a pretty fair deal. They provide all the services of a credit card without being one, there has to be some drawback
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On January 03 2011 13:38 Impervious wrote:Show nested quote +On January 03 2011 13:34 krypti_c wrote:
No offense but if you read the terms of the gift cards it clearly states that the money depreciates. Its not visa's fault that you chose not to be careful about your money. No offense about what? I didn't read the rules about the cards by going online to check them, so yes, I did not know the terms. In fact, I think it's brilliant marketing for some quick cash from Visa. They're pretty fucking smart people for coming up with a system that relies on lazyness of their customers to actually make them more money. But that doesn't change the fact that they're fucking assholes for actually doing it.
No offense regarding my pointing out your ineptitude. Also, cards like that require servers to keep track of the amount of money on them. Because of this, having a card for a long period of time is expensive for Visa. This means that it is not a question of them being greedy but rather being able to support the servers as well as provide an incentive to spend the money thereby lightening the amount of cards Visa needs to keep track of.
Also, the packet that the gift card comes in has all of the terms of service. The online rules are not the only set.
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I got a Discover gift card, and their policy is that if it goes 2 full years without any use, then they'll start charging fees. I've already spent the entire thing.
And yeah, shame that cash isn't deemed an acceptable gift. I sure as hell would love cash as a gift.
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On January 03 2011 13:45 krypti_c wrote:Show nested quote +On January 03 2011 13:38 Impervious wrote:On January 03 2011 13:34 krypti_c wrote:
No offense but if you read the terms of the gift cards it clearly states that the money depreciates. Its not visa's fault that you chose not to be careful about your money. No offense about what? I didn't read the rules about the cards by going online to check them, so yes, I did not know the terms. In fact, I think it's brilliant marketing for some quick cash from Visa. They're pretty fucking smart people for coming up with a system that relies on lazyness of their customers to actually make them more money. But that doesn't change the fact that they're fucking assholes for actually doing it. No offense regarding my pointing out your ineptitude. Also, cards like that require servers to keep track of the amount of money on them. Because of this, having a card for a long period of time is expensive for Visa. This means that it is not a question of them being greedy but rather being able to support the servers as well as provide an incentive to spend the money thereby lightening the amount of cards Visa needs to keep track of. Also, the packet that the gift card comes in has all of the terms of service. The online rules are not the only set.
Oh, I know I didn't check it. And I got burned by 42 bucks for it.
And those cards have to be generating a lot of money in interest for Visa..... A lot more than server space for them..... The longer I leave the money in their hands, the more money they'd make anyways.....
Plus, I didn't actually get the packet that the gift cards came in..... It would have probably helped (although I'm not sure if I would have actually read it then).
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That sucks. Most of the hidden fee bs isn't legal in the US any more.
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Honestly I don't have enough data to back up my point but now I am honestly curious about the intrest vs server load/card production ect. argument. Im not saying you are wrong, but rather I would love for someone to research it for me. (im looking at you bob!)
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It's cost 4.95 on our end to setup the card, without any money loaded. I'd assume that the retailer cut, transportation costs, and creation costs are all included in that, pretty easily.
If Visa's MARR was less than 20%, I'd be shocked. For the 25 dollar card, that'd be 5 bucks of interest, per year, that they keep. Minimum. Probably more. If it cost more than a few cents for the server space per year for the cards, I'd be shocked..... So they're making profit on these cards, and more money when it sits there, even without the fees. Not to mention lost cards that weren't registered, or the leftover money on the cards that you can't spend.
It's just clever marketing by them. A gift card you can use anywhere, on anything, even online! Even without the fees, they'd be making tons of money. This is an awesome way to make even more.
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Thats pretty outrageous. I may be old school by saying this but, I tend to avoid using ANY type of card. Cash is the best way to roll.
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RBC gives all the money from service charges and the remainder upon expiry to charity btw
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On January 03 2011 14:11 floor exercise wrote:
RBC gives all the money from service charges and the remainder upon expiry to charity btw
O.O
Did not know that either.
Now I don't feel so bad about it.
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Wait, now I'm confused.....
I just checked the terms a little closer.
The cards I got were the Olympic 2010 style cards. That one says that September 2010 is the last time to use it, and it will be charged a fee equal to the balance on the card to close it. With no mention on where the money goes.
My cards still have a balance on them.....
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On January 03 2011 14:11 floor exercise wrote:
RBC gives all the money from service charges and the remainder upon expiry to charity btw
I find this hard to believe honestly.. where did you hear this?
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On January 03 2011 14:24 Gatsbi wrote:Show nested quote +On January 03 2011 14:11 floor exercise wrote:
RBC gives all the money from service charges and the remainder upon expiry to charity btw I find this hard to believe honestly.. where did you hear this?
Terms of agreement for their gift cards.
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On January 03 2011 13:17 sob3k wrote:
You know what else is great because it can be spent on anything?
So annoying that cash is not considered a good gift in most cultures. I ask anyway...
I feel like this is an economically driven idea. Credit card companies can't make money off of people giving cash as a gift. Stores can't precharge you for shit you are going to buy if you have cash.
Give cards are so fucking stupid. Why should you shop where someone says you should? Oh and the best part about those issue fees is they are charging the person buying the card, charging the value of the card, then charging retailers when you use the card. Shit is fucked up.
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On January 03 2011 14:29 RebirthOfLeGenD wrote:Show nested quote +On January 03 2011 13:17 sob3k wrote:
You know what else is great because it can be spent on anything?
So annoying that cash is not considered a good gift in most cultures. I ask anyway...
I feel like this is an economically driven idea. Credit card companies can't make money off of people giving cash as a gift. Stores can't precharge you for shit you are going to buy if you have cash. Give cards are so fucking stupid. Why should you shop where someone says you should? Oh and the best part about those issue fees is they are charging the person buying the card, charging the value of the card, then charging retailers when you use the card. Shit is fucked up.
I dunno, a gift card for the LCBO is never a bad thing. lol.
Except, of course, the fact that they had to charge you for the card.
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