I’ve seen a few tweets on Twitter recently from people who lost and then found Visa Gift Cards with full $500 balances on them. On one hand, it’s great that they found these cards, but on the other, it’s awful that they lost these gift cards in the first place. I decided to write a post about the topic.
To date, I haven’t lost a single Visa gift card (that I know of) and I think that’s down to a pretty good system I have for keeping track of them. But what if you do lose a Visa gift card? What recourse do you have for getting a replacement card? I’ve compiled a summary of lost Visa gift card replacement policies:
GiftCards.com Visa Gift Card Replacement Policy
If you lose a Visa gift card purchased from Giftcards.com, you can get a replacement card by calling 1-877-944-3822. Giftcards.com does impose a $4.95 re-issue fee, though customers who opt to pay $7.45 for delivery confirmation will get the re-issue fee waived.
Gift Card Mall Visa Gift Card Replacement Policy
GiftCardMall, which sells Visa gift cards through their website and at Staples, claims to have a straightforward gift card replacement process that doesn’t involve calling customer service. I say “claims to” because I logged into my GiftCardMall account and wasn’t able to replicate these steps. I couldn’t even find any of the cards I’d registered in the past.
Cardholders who have registered their gift cards are supposed to be able to login to their accounts, go to the “Wallet” section, click on the card they’d like to report as lost or stolen, and select the “lost/stolen” feature.
If you’re prone to losing your gift cards, you might want to start registering them. That will enable you to get a replacement card in the event of a loss or theft.
Gift Card Mall’s info page states that if customers can’t login or don’t have their card number, they can call 1-888-524-1283. Gift Card Mall does not charge a fee to replace lost gift cards. If you lose your card and it’s used fraudulently, Gift Card Mall limits your loss to $50.
If you let them know no more than two business days after finding out about the lost card. How Gift Card Mall will know when exactly you found out about the lost card, I have no idea, but it’s in the terms and could work against you, so keep that in mind.
Simon Mall Visa Gift Card Replacement Policy
Simon Mall has one of the best gift card policies out there. They will replace any lost gift card free of charge. You’ll need to know the gift card number to report the loss, which is why my Simon Mall rep always recommend I hold onto my receipt until my gift cards have been liquidated. That’s pretty solid advice and one I personally abide by in case I do lose a card.
If you lose your receipt along with your gift card, there is still hope. Simon guest services may be able to recover your gift card number if you can provide the date, time, and location of purchase along with the card value.
If you find yourself in this scenario, simply email Simon with the required information at GiftcardsCS@simon.com.
Of course, to take advantage of these policies, you’ll need to retain proof of purchase.
Walmart GreenDot Visa Gift Card Replacement Policy
Walmart sells Visa gift cards issued by a few different banks. However, it’s best that you buy the ones issued by Green Dot, especially for gift card churning purposes.
In case of a lost card, you can get your Walmart GreenDot Visa gift card replaced free of charge by calling 1-866-633-9096. You’ll need the card number, 3-digit security code and card expiration date to request a replacement.
You really should do your absolute best to track and avoid losing Visa gift cards between purchase and liquidation. To err is human. If you do lose a Visa gift card, at least these merchants cover your losses. In most cases, card replacement won’t cost you any fees. Just be sure to hold onto proof of purchase and be aware of each individual merchant’s gift card replacement policy.
Have you ever lost a Visa gift card before liquidation? Please share in the comment section.
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Also Simon Mall has the ability to simply mail you a check for the gc value. (I’ve had a few cards from them that won’t swipe properly and they won’t offer this option unless you ask). The check takes up to 30 days to arrive, but in my experience it’s only a week or two. Also the check comes on a postcard that is not secure since the amount and your info is on the outside. I’m not sure if they’ll issue a check for a lost card instead of a damaged card, but wanted to give you the datapoint.
That’s good to know, thanks Jordan!
Very useful post! I hope I never need it. =)
Fingers crossed. 🙂
Nice post, Ariana. My advice “If you’re prone to losing your gift cards” is that you look for another hobby. This one can get quite expensive if you lose them too often!
Totally. You need to be really organized to get by in this hobby, but so many people who aren’t still jump onboard.
Can only VISA cards get lost? Not Master Cards, too? In my Simon Mall here, cards are not activated. You have to call up to activate them and, if you want, to set a PIN.
This goes for Visa and MasterCard gc’s, but most of us get Visas. That’s not the case at any Simon Mall I’ve ever been to – they’re activated on the spot and the PIN is the last 4 digits on the card. But I get it – MS sucks in Dallas.
Any problems with buying MO with Simons VGC in SF area?
I’ve bought visa gift cards as gifts only and don’t MS. However, I always take a photo of each card with my phone in case I or the recipient may lose them.
That’s a good way to keep track of them.
I want to share my experience with GiftCards.com last month. I had two 4 card orders (8 cards total) vanish into thin air. I have no idea where they went. I called gitcards.com and ordered new ones. They didn’t charge me for either the replacements or the shipping. They arrived within 5 days – sent in 8 individual priority mail packages. Really? Corporate waste? Anyway, that’s the good news.
Now for the bad news. After activating them, when I went to use them they didn’t work. I reached out to CS who advised me they were registered and that I should try again (via email). Went back to Walmart. No go. Reached out to CS while I was still in Walmart. Waited for 15 minutes, then told them if I didn’t get help before 5pm that day, I was taking the matter to social media. I never got a response, so I posted Twitter and left a scathing review on TrustPilot.com – https://www.trustpilot.com/reviews/57c0c02a0000ff000980938e
I received an email from Stephanie in CS within 10 minutes of leaving the review. She was extremely helpful. We wound up cancelling both orders, refunding my money (including shipping fees) and I placed new orders. Lots of time wasted, but it was ultimately resolved without any additional financial cost.
Based on this experience, if you do lose cards from giftcards.com, after checking to be sure they haven’t been used, simply cancel the order and place a new one. Your only cost will be the $7.45 shipping fee.
I’ve never heard of Trustpilot but will definitely check it out. I’m finding companies are becoming more and more deaf to social media complaints. I’m so glad it worked out for you though. This is definitely something everyone should be aware of if they’re churning gift cards in large quantities.
Ok. I bought mine at Walmart. Is there a way to report it stolen if you DONT have the card number ?