Giftcards.com Review: Is It the Best Place to Buy Gift Cards?

Giftcards.com legitimacy and licensing

Yes. Giftcards.com has sold gift cards online since 2002 and has been part of Blackhawk Network since January 2016, when Blackhawk bought GiftCards.com and OmniCard from their Pittsburgh owner for about $120 million. Blackhawk, founded in 2001 in Pleasanton, California, runs the gift card displays in grocery and drug stores and was taken private by Silver Lake and P2 Capital Partners in June 2018 at $45.25 a share. Its BBB profile is accredited with an A+ rating since 2010. The Visa and Mastercard products sold on the site are issued by Pathward, N.A., an FDIC-insured national bank, under Visa and Mastercard licenses.

What the ‘scam’ reviews describe is almost always a card that would not work: a declined payment at checkout, an eGift that would not redeem, or a balance that disappeared. Those are real and common enough to show up as 629 CFPB complaints against Blackhawk in three years, 292 of them filed as ‘trouble using the card’. The company answered 94% of those on time and closed most with an explanation. It is a legitimate retailer with support problems, not a fraud.

Giftcards.com fees explained

Brand gift cards (the site lists 450+, from Airbnb to Texas Roadhouse) carry no purchase fee and follow each brand’s own terms, which for most means no expiration and no fees. Visa and Mastercard cards are different. The site says Visa requires every retailer, including Giftcards.com, to charge a one-time purchase fee of $2.95 to $6.95 depending on the type of card and the quantity. After that, physical Visa gift cards have no activation or monthly fees and the funds do not expire, although the plastic carries a valid-thru date and Pathward will issue a replacement.

Visa and Mastercard Virtual Accounts, the digital version, are stricter: they expire seven years after purchase, and an account that sits unused for 12 consecutive months is charged $4.95 a month until the balance is gone. Cards load in any amount from $10 to $250; the multi-brand Giftcards.com eGift loads $25 to $500. Physical shipping is extra and never refunded; USPS Standard mail has no tracking. The site runs promotions constantly, including fee-free $100 Visa Virtual Accounts, which is the only time a Visa card here beats the grocery store rack.

How buying and using a Giftcards.com card works

You choose a brand card, a Visa or Mastercard card, or a multi-brand eGift, set the amount and, for Visa and Mastercard physical cards, can add a photo or custom design. eGifts go out by email or text within minutes or on a date you schedule; physical cards ship in about 4 to 9 business days by USPS or UPS, and only to US addresses. Merchant eGift orders are capped at $2,500 per checkout and $5,000 per day.

Recipients activate physical Visa and Mastercard cards at giftcards.com using the card number, expiration date and CVV, then can register a name and billing address so online stores accept the card. The cards work anywhere Visa or Mastercard debit cards are accepted in the US, with no cash or ATM access, and the balance must cover the whole purchase for online transactions. Balance checks require a login for anti-fraud reasons. Cards bought from a Blackhawk rack in a store are serviced through the number on the back of the card, not through Giftcards.com.

Complaints and how to avoid them

Trustpilot’s 16,626 reviews split 53% five star and 27% one star. The praise is for the site and fast eGifts. The complaints cluster on declined payments and frozen checkout pages (the site runs fraud screening on card purchases), promo codes that did not apply, eGifts the recipient could not open or redeem, and support that means long phone holds or chats that drop. The CFPB data for Blackhawk shows the same pattern: cards that do not work, purchases that fail, and unexpected fees.

To avoid the common problems: pay with a credit card in your own name and billing address that matches your account; screenshot the order total with the promo applied; choose a tracked shipping method for physical cards; tell the recipient to check spam for eGifts; and keep the order number and the recipient’s email, which support will ask for. If a card is declined at a store, the usual cause is the balance being lower than the purchase or an unregistered address for online orders; check the balance first. For a card that never arrives or will not work, contact support, then your card issuer if you paid by card.

Refunds, cancellations and lost cards

Merchant eGift cards are non-refundable once purchased. Personalized cards cannot be changed after submission, and cancellation before processing is ‘not guaranteed’. Shipping and handling are never refunded. If a physical card does not arrive in the expected window, support can help with the invoice number and recipient email; without tracking on USPS Standard mail there is little proof of delivery, so use a tracked option for anything over a small amount. Lost or stolen Visa and Mastercard cards are handled under Pathward’s cardholder agreement delivered with the card, which generally requires the card number and proof of purchase.

Rules that protect you

Federal rules under the Credit CARD Act and Regulation E (12 CFR 1005.20) say gift card funds cannot expire for at least five years from purchase or last load, and dormancy or inactivity fees may be charged only after 12 months without activity, no more than once a month, and only if disclosed before purchase. Giftcards.com’s Virtual Account terms (7-year expiration, $4.95 a month after 12 idle months) sit inside those limits; its physical Visa gift cards go further with no expiration. Several states, including California, go beyond federal law with no-expiration or no-fee rules for cards sold there. Because the Visa and Mastercard products are issued by a bank, complaints about them can be filed with the CFPB, which is why Blackhawk appears in its database. The FTC also warns that anyone who asks you to pay a bill, fine or debt with a gift card is running a scam.

Who should skip Giftcards.com

Skip it if you just want a plain Visa gift card at full price; a bank branch or the store rack charges a similar fee with a person to talk to, and cash has no fee at all. Skip the Virtual Account for a recipient who may not spend it within a year, because the inactivity fee will eat it. It is the right choice for a brand card you cannot buy direct, a photo-personalized card, a scheduled eGift, or a Visa card during one of its fee-free promotions.