How to buy a PS Plus Membership using a Gift Card

• 

  zonra on 27/12/2021 - 11:07

  Can I buy something using the gift card, then return it and get money back?

  Refunds (if eligible) will always be done using the original payment method. In this case, you’d either get it on another gift card or store credit voucher.

  This pretty much applies to every company / store, with the exception of Bunnings AFAIK, who would give you up to $9.95 in cash and the rest in a combination of $10, $20, etc. gift cards.

• 

  WookieMonster on 27/12/2021 - 11:24

  tl;dr it won't be easy.

  There is currently no way that I know of where you can directly redeem your gift card for a PlayStation Plus membership, as they are classified as gift cards by Woolworths and BIG W.

  • Woolworths updated their checkout systems a bit over three years ago to automatically stop people from using Woolworths Group gift cards (e.g. Woolworths gift cards, WISH gift cards) as a payment method for any gift cards (including PlayStation Plus memberships).

  • I think BIG W may have updated their systems before Woolworths did to automatically stop this as well, but it's definitely not possible now.

  ---

  You could buy something using the gift card at BIG W and leverage their generous returns policy, but the way the refund is processed back to you will depend on how you redeem the gift card:

  • If you select Card as the payment on the payment screen and swipe the gift card, staff may not notice you used a gift card and ask for your debit/credit card. However, if they look on their checkout system for the last four digits of your card to verify whether you are the original purchaser, the system will show that you swiped a gift card, so the scenario in the below dot point would apply.

  • If you select Gift Card on the payment screen and swipe the gift card, scan the gift card barcode or punch in the gift card number, staff will see that you use gift card, and they will most likely reload the amount back onto new gift card or the original gift card. (Yes, refunds can be processed back onto the gift card you used to pay for your purchase.) In some cases, staff will give the refund in cash or a debit/credit card, but that is highly unusual.

  ---

  You could buy something using the gift card at Woolworths and attempt to return it, but the issue is that Woolworths suspended their change of mind policy in September 2020 (or around that time) and you'll have a very hard time convincing a store manager or duty manager to go through with a change of mind refund, so the only two ways you can return an item and get a full refund is either:

  • Leverage the Scanning Code of Practice, where you find an item with a shelf price lower than the price charged at the checkout. However, Woolworths is usually pretty good at getting rid of old price tickets from their shelves, so this route may take months and would not be worth the effort.

  • Return an item that breaches the consumer guarantees (e.g. the item is not fit for purpose, is not of acceptable quality).

  The way the refund is processed back to you will depend on how you redeem the gift card and what staff decide to do:

  • If you select Card as the payment on the payment screen and swipe the gift card, the staff usually will not notice you used a gift card and ask for your debit/credit card.

  • If you select Gift Card on the payment screen and swipe the gift card, scan the gift card barcode or punch in the gift card number, staff will see that you use gift card, and they will may reload the amount back onto new gift card or the original gift card. (Yes, refunds can be processed back onto the gift card you used to pay for your purchase.) However, a lot of Woolworths staff seem to not been trained on how to handle this scenario, so they may give the refund to you in cash or a debit/credit card.

  ---

  Honestly, it would be easier if you used the gift card towards groceries and then used your own money to purchase a PlayStation Plus membership (or purchase a discounted JB Hi-Fi gift card and use that gift card to purchase a PlayStation Plus membership).

  Out of curiosity, what sort of gift card did you get (e.g. WISH, Essentials, Returns), and was it a physical or digital gift card? The only Woolworths Group gift card that can only be redeemed at Woolworths and BIG W is the Returns card, which is why I am rather perplexed you say the gift card can only be used at Woolworths and BIG W…

  • 

    cat-party on 27/12/2021 - 11:34

    +1

    Hey mate,

    Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. I'm going to try buying something and returning it from BIG W and just see what happens, worst that will happen is I'll just end up with another gift card lol.

    It's actually a WISH card (BIG W, Woolworths, BWS, Dan Murphys + CM) I just didn't list the others because they weren't really relevant to this.

    Thanks again!

    • 

      WookieMonster on 27/12/2021 - 11:37

      Ahhh since it is a WISH gift card, I’ll also add that you cannot use it to purchase gift cards at EG / Caltex Woolworths locations either. I have seen PlayStation Plus memberships being sold at a couple of these locations in the past, which is why I thought I’d mention it too.

      Good luck!

      • 

        cat-party on 27/12/2021 - 13:16

        +1

        I just tried a devious little trick at big w that actually worked!

        1. Bought a $27 item, paid $25 on the gift card and the remaining $2 on my MasterCard.
        2. Told the worker at the returns counter I lost the receipt.
        3. She found the digital receipt and noticed that i used a gift card then asked if I still had it.
        4. Said I already threw out the gift card, so she offered to refund it all onto my MasterCard.
        5. Successfully bought my ps plus card, less $25 :)

        I’m sure I just got lucky today and this maybe won’t work every time.

        • 

          WookieMonster on 27/12/2021 - 22:04

          @cat-party: I’m glad it worked out for you!

          The only tip I have for you if you are doing this again in the future is to not “lose” the receipt. If you lose the receipt and the staff at the service desk are lazy (i.e. they do not want to search their checkout system to find your receipt), they will simply follow an alternative process where they will ask for a copy of your ID and then give you the refund for the full amount onto a Returns card.