Similar to the Payments workshop but for gift cards this page is designed to share data points on rules for using gift cards at various merchants. This is a user generate resource so share your own experiences below so we can improve on this.
| App | Maximum Gift Cards per Order | Can Combine Gift Card(s) + Other Payment | Can Reload Gift Card |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arby's | 0 | n/a | n/a |
| Burger King | 1 | N | Y ($5 increments) |
| Chick-fil-A | 1 | N | Y ($10 minimum, $1 increments) |
| Chipotle | 1 | Y | N |
| McDonald's | 0 | n/a | n/a |
View Comments (30)
AutoZone
Beware: They will not allow a giftcard to be used on an online pickup or same day delivery order. Be sure to check your item's delivery options before buying a discounted gift card for them.
In my case, I had to overpay 10% for a battery inside the store to spend my 10% discounted giftcard.
Advanced Auto Parts
Gift card per order: 1
Can combine with other payment: yes
Can reload gift card: no
I was not able to complete an online order where my gift card balance and the order total were exactly the same. The page would just hang on submission, and I tried in multiple browsers. It's not an ironclad DP, but if you buy a discounted giftcard for a single AAP order, I recommend the card be $0.01 more or less than your order total.
Sonic has no minimum balance reload
Sonic will let you reload a small card balance to the exact amount needed to submit an order during the checkout process, so you can zero out and delete the card. You can store 5 different gift cards in your account at one time.
That's good info for using up small balance waiver credits. I've been doing the $2 Dunkin reload for my Discover card but most of my cards only waive $1
Data points (for online purchases, unless otherwise mentioned)
Dp...Hotels.com will allow you to split tender, but only one gc can be used per reservation. You can call, or use their online tool, to add smaller ones together. Walmart allows individual gcs to be loaded to an online account, but you can only have a max of 5 at any one time. Btw...if you have a choice of which pre-paid card to purchase...avoid the "Vanilla" gc brand. Their gcs cannot be registered for use online and as such it can be very difficult finding places that will accept them. Have a blessed rest of your day!!
Five Guys cards bought at Five Guys allows reloads. Unknown on the other categories.
Burger King should have a HUUUUUGE caveat. Physical cards from grocery stores are great. e-GC's, on the other hand, can only be added to your BK account which is annoying as f---. If you have, say, $10 in eGC balance and your purchase is $10 or less, great. If it is $10.01, you cannot combine payments. It'll auto-load another $10 (minimum amount) using your saved credit card such that you jump to $20 balance to cover the $10.01, leaving you with $9.99 balance. I've had $1.xx eGC balance in my app forever because I'm not willing to load $10. You cannot use the eGC balance AND credit card.
Best Buy GC's are not-reloadable, not-combinable. Limit 10 online. Can use GC's and CC payment.
Shell GC's are not reloadable but you can combine them up to the face value via e-mail support. If the face is $50, you can combine balance from another card until $50 is reached. Any excess will be left on the original card. E.g. if you have a $50 with $30 balance and you buy a $25 card, you can put $20 of the $25 on the $50 to get to $50 and you'll be left with $5 on the $25 card. You cannot combine payment methods - it is either GC or CC at the POS terminal. The Shell app does not support GC's. Considering GC's are used at POS, limit would be 1 per transaction.
CostCo and BJ's GC's are not reloadable. You can pay with GC and CC at sale. Unknown limit.
To add what TDD said about Shell GCs, there are variable Shell cards that make combining balances easier. I once got one with a one cent balance by talking to someone at the issuer. Lately I’ve seen them in some retail stores.
Would any of this post be related to which merchants/sites take visa gift cards for payment (and the terms)? For example, auto financing, colleges/universities, etc
cheesecake factory gift cards bought in store can have funds added. I add my $10 credit to the same gift card each month.
Sonic depends on the card if you can reload in app. Ones you get from the grocery store I don't think can be reloaded. You can pay the difference with a CC by reloading the gift card with the exact amount you need. One gift card per order in the app.
Lowes.com allows a max redemption of (5) Lowes gift cards per order then the balance can be paid with any other credit card.
CVS allows (5) payment swipes per transaction. For example, for a $600 prescription, you could swipe (4) $50 gift cards and then the $400 balance on another card.