Visa Gift Cards is often thought of as a great way to increase your spending power. However, with so many companies competing for your business there is a lot of competition in the amount of money that you can spend. This can mean that a small balance transfer on your Visa card can save you hundreds of dollars per month. Find out how you can do this with your favorite credit card company.
If you already have a Visa Gift Card that you would like to change to a more generous one, you have several options available. You can redeem your points for travel miles or for cash back. Some companies will let you do both. It all depends on what incentives they are offering to get you to switch over.
Most companies will allow you to make one simple transaction to get your old Visa gift card back. These transactions will be available balance transfers and purchases at select retailers. The only limit to these transactions is the limit on your Visa card, which cannot exceed the maximum available balance.
You will not be able to take advantage of the unlimited transactions option when you make purchases. However, it is still possible to make unlimited purchases and balance transfers. The problem comes when you have reached your maximum available balance. Your replacement card will then come into play.
Your replacement card will allow you to make unlimited cash advances. These cash advances can be used for purchases, but they cannot exceed your current balance. You must pay off any cash advance balance before using it for a purchase. You can also use these cash advances to reduce your current outstanding balances on your credit cards.
You must be careful that the credit card company you are using does not change the rate after you have made purchases with the cash advance. You should know that once you have paid off your balance and you are now using cash advance as your source of funds, you will likely receive a much higher interest rate than you currently have with your cards. Since you are replacing your Visa gift card with a cash advance, you will likely pay a lot more than you would with the original value, unless you choose to pay off the balance every month in order to keep the rate at its original value.
How Do You Know Your Available Balance?
If you’ve received a Visa gift card and would like to know what your spending is because it’s not a lot, one option available to you is a Visa debit card. Using a Visa debit card works just like using a regular Visa card. You use your normal Visa card to make purchases (the same as if you had charged that card with a credit card), and then when you are done, simply use your Visa debit card to pay your bill.
Look carefully at the back of the gift card. In most cases, there is a toll free number you can call to find out your balance. Alternatively, you can check your balance by going to the card issuer’s website and entering the 16-digit code and pin number. Some websites also allow you to enter an email address so they can send you a temporary credit code via regular mail. Once you receive your temporary visa debit card in the mail, start making purchases as usual with your regular Visa credit card to see how much money you’ve really spent.
Once you’ve determined your actual spend, look up your available balance online. You’ll see how much your current balance is and if you need to apply for a new card or transfer your existing balance to another Visa gift card. Keep track of the transactions you conducted during the month, as these will be useful later. Remember that it’s only cards you make purchases with that show on your statement and that they must be active at the time of your transaction. Transactions made with gift cards that are carried over from month to month are not reported. Also keep in mind that if you transfer a balance from one Visa card to another, your existing balance will be credited and your available balance will be decreased.
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