Prepaid Mastercard - Virtual Giftcard - Where to Use Online?

Lhuggsymersh on 06/01/2021 - 11:31
Last edited 06/01/2021 - 14:19

*THANKS EVERYONE- QUESTION HAS BEEN ANSWERED***

*****Pay your utilities with these weird prepaid cards****

Hi All

Anyone know any online stores that accept prepaid virtual mastercard giftcards? Woolworths recognise the card number but payment is blanked out. Amazon states that they accept a prepaid card, but it cannot be combined with a credit card on a single purchase.

I received 2 x $7 Virtual prepaid Mastercard Giftcards through recent anti-histamine tablet cashback offers. Opted to receive the card digitally as I thought it would be easier than receiving something in the post.

Didn't occur to me that it would be a virtual card that required NFC to be used instore. I have a budget phone with no NFC! So I'm stuck with using the cards online, but it seems that they aren't as widely accepted as I assumed they would be.

Anyone having any tips? It's not a huge amount of money, but not being able to use them is like feeling a coin stuck behind a couch cushion but having it jammed so tight that you can't get it out. Mildly frustrating!

Thanks in advance for any tips.

General Discussion Gift Card

closed Comments

  • Luo18740 on 06/01/2021 - 11:39

    I thought Eftpos meant it can only be used in store?

    • huggsymersh on 06/01/2021 - 11:43

      Yeah I think you're right, but I think y terminology actually may be off. It's a Digital Mastercard, held in a Vault Payments wallet.

      https://www.vaultps.com.au/faq/activate-card/

      As per the Vault website

      "Online Purchases

      Just like paying with a credit or debit card, you’ll just need your card number, expiry date and CVC number.

      In the Vault Payments app, tap the card once to view your card number and expiry date.
      Tap twice to see the CVC number.

      Complete your purchase online per normal.

      Checkout and select ‘credit card’ as the payment type.

      Enter the card details and input your name as the cardholder."

      • Luo18740 on 06/01/2021 - 12:01

        Ok, that makes sense.

        I had a Prepaid Mastercard that I won in a comp, had some difficulty finding anywhere that would accept it too, although it wasn't a Vault one.

        I ended up being able to use it on Dan Murphy's Online.

      • sharka on 06/01/2021 - 12:26

        I used a $30 on ebay yesterday to make a payment

    • huggsymersh on 06/01/2021 - 11:47

      I've edited the original post to delete the references to EFTPOS as it's not actually relevant. Thanks for the pick up.

  • avoidfullprice on 06/01/2021 - 11:50

    Ask any if your friends with phone that supports NFC, go to say Woolworths, and buy some Woolies gift card. Then you don't have to worry about NFC.

    Sacrifice a bit of flexibility for actually using the $14?

    • huggsymersh on 06/01/2021 - 13:56
      +1

      Thanks that did cross my mind but unsure about how to transfer any cards from my phone (activated and stored in my Vault wallet) to another person's phone. Then there's the pain of organising a shop with someone.

      I've found a solution however!

  • hamza23 on 06/01/2021 - 12:07
    +2

    Use it to pay $14 towards a bill that accepts credit card online. Even if it's not due you can prepay it.

    • Choc0 on 06/01/2021 - 13:12

      This. Just pre-pay your health insurance. Leave a few cents on the card so that you can still use it to sign up to free trials, provide to restaurants that insist on a credit card number as a deposit with fees for no-shows, etc.

      • huggsymersh on 06/01/2021 - 13:58

        Thanks, good idea to keep the card alive for free trials. Turns out I can't use the full value anyway so the dollar left on it will be my free trial 'security deposit'.

    • huggsymersh on 06/01/2021 - 13:57

      Thanks great idea. I've used it to pay my powershop bill.

      Interestingly was not able to use full value because I think there's some kind of $1 authorisation charge or something. Still, 2x$6 free antihistamine cash is better than nothing.

      • hamza23 on 06/01/2021 - 14:08

        It sounds like you tried to pay for something, which didn't go through, but the $1 authorisation charge is still pending. Check back in a week or 2 and it should have disappeared and you can use up that last $1.

        • huggsymersh on 06/01/2021 - 14:13

          Interestingly the Vault wallet shows a $1 preauthorisation charge, but the Powershop account doesn't. I'm sure it will be ironed out later. Thanks again for the tip!

  • CC123 on 06/01/2021 - 12:20

    Had a similar issue, but wanted to buy eBay GCs from the PayPal Store (on eBay) using the virtual cards. Didn't work, had issues checking out. Support had no idea what was happening.

    Linked the virtual cards to my PayPal account and got them directly from PayPal
    Had no issues at all

    Unsure if you can use multiple payment methods when purchasing a single card though

    • huggsymersh on 06/01/2021 - 14:17
      +1

      Thanks for suggestions. Managed to pay my powerbill which had to be paid anyway, but good to know paypal is an option too.

  • WookieMonster on 06/01/2021 - 13:05

    Here are some gift card ideas:

    Personally, I think it would be easier if you ask a mate to purchase 2x $7 Coles Group, WISH or JB Hi-Fi gift cards in-store (assuming you spend your money at any of those stores).

    • huggsymersh on 06/01/2021 - 14:10

      Thanks for the suggestions. I ended up paying my electricity bill, but good to know that the gift card portal is an option too.

      Just to clarify, I don't want to acquire gift cards, but I want to spend the ones I've already been given -given that not all online merchants accept these weird mastercard prepaid giftcards for payment.

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