Vanilla Gift Cards
Reviews and Complaints

Received it as a gift. Activated it online. Tried using it online at 2 different stores. Declined. Plenty of $ on the card. Called Customer Service and was told to use it in person at a store that using online might not work. I tried using it on Amazon and LaneBryant. Pretty big online stores. No other options given by customer service.

I bought 3 gift cards paid same way on all three I walked out to truck and started to activate them the first two just fine I think but on the third one they put a hold on it by the it was the 300 dollar one they held but when I called. Them they lied and said I tried to use it before I activate it total lie so they said I had to send them all my info dl everything so I did 15 mins after I got off phone and it's been 6 days and they won't even talk to me they say reviewing it what is to review when u have the receipt in hand the card in hand and even gave them information they shouldn't have asked for total rip offs con job oh when u do call u will find that they are not even in the states and five u someone barely. Speaks englis

Received gift card 12/23. Tried to use it 3/24. [protected]@2 places {Macy's and Rag and Bone). Called and they told me they could see where I tried to use it I said release it . Stated they couldn't . Sent a replacement card . Used it at Chipotle so think its fine. Later tried it at a few other places and declined . Called requested balance be sent via check since card not working at places I frequent. Sent requested info with home address. Declined by Vanilla.com. forgot about it for several mos. Called on Dec 6 2024. Told voter registration card would suffice. Sent. same day. Dec16 received email telling me to contact them. Called but Acct not updated told to call back . Called 12/30/24. after 39min hold. Told I need to send something with my address that is < 90 days old. Since I Have sent what they requested x2 Asked for supervisor. why should I believe that sending something again will satisfy them On hold another 7 mins and then told I was being transferred. Surprise. Call disconnected! Limited stores where card can be used. Too difficult to get your funds back. NEVER buy this card for anyone ! Glad that I'm retired now. I have time to call back. Think that is their goal. Continue to make excuses to keep your money and hope we'll get busy and forget . WORST Gift Card ever received. AVOID purchasing gift cards from Vanillacom !

New card being rejected for use. Waiting for hours to speak with customer service. Customer service is Pakistan why.

Por qu? no puedo consultar mi saldo y ver mis transacci?nes siempre me sale error y no entiendo el por qu?. Tengo un buen rato de estar intentando y nada

I have tried several times and days to obtain my balance and the systems says try at a later date. I appreciate if someone would look into this problem and correct the problem. Thank you.

I received a $50 Vanilla Visa Card as a birthday gift. When I tried to use it the FIRST TIME, the system said my available balance was 94 CENTS!
I spent most of the night trying to get SOMEBODY in Vanilla's Customer Service to answer the phone but never got anyone.
I think someone inside the Vanilla Visa company is STEALING!
DON'T BUY VANILLA VISA!

Just need a patient and accuracy info for dispute.
After talked with customer service That took a very long time, I gave up all of the purchase that's been swept by theft to be disputed.
Surprisingly?about 2 months (as the representative said) they really send me another card with the rest of amount which the thieve stole it.
Thank you, I really appreciate it.
Suggestions for others, make sure check balance or activate card in "official website"

Over the past couple years I have bought probably four vanilla loadable gift Visa cards and loaded them with no more than $100 to $140 on each and have had no issues. I bought my wife, a bicycle, one year and a piece of jewelry another time with no issues and myself a couple things. Maybe I am the lucky one after reading all the other reviews. I thought the Vanilla card was the safe one actually Or maybe it's the tape that I bought, maybe? And still have a couple left with a dollar or two left on them. I Just bought a Green Dot card a few days ago, and I think from reading all the other reviews (500 of them) on that brand sounds like I made a mistake as I'm trying to get my money back out now. Isn't there any type of disposable card that is safe out there for making purchases on websites or with businesses that are possibly not trustworthy. ?.MR

Spent almost 400.00 in cards for christmas gifts everyone called no one was able to activate there cards delt with walmart they sent me to vanilla sent everything they wanted in to them after over 2 moths 2 cards activated when I got the email from incomm they are nothing but a scam outfit and should not be aloud in any store they don't resolve your issues if anything they make it worse been calling every other day all they tell you is they will fast track your problem I believe a turtle can do better then vanilla or incomm do not purchase from them there just out to steal your money

I received a Vanilla gift card as a gift (I'm a teacher) from a student. I activated and checked the balance and all seemed fine. I went to use it for a Kohls.com purchase (making sure my order was less than the balance). It denied it. Went back to the website to see the card was now blocked and I'd have to call customer service to unblock it. I called. I could barely understand the customer service rep - it was a hard call, but she assured me that I would get a new card in the mail and the old card couldn't be used. Ok - there were no other options. I did get a new card in the mail - for ZERO dollars. Zero. That's 0.00 printed right on the card itself. wtf.

My daughter bought my son a $50 gift card for Christmas. She bought it in a CVS in upstate NY. She mailed it to us in Miami, FL. The card was drained (money was stolen from the card) days before we even received it! Some piece of crap scammers stole the gift card balance! I filed the claim and it has been 10 days...Do Not Buy Vanilla GIFT CARDS! Use Zelle, CashApp or Venmo to send money to friends and family. They charge a high fee and then let people steal the funds. Absolutely DISGUSTING! Again - DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!

Bought five of these for Christmas stocking stuffers. Got worried immediately when my daughter told me she had read some terrible reviews about how difficult they are to fully use. I scoffed and told her Visa, Sam's Club, Walmart, etc. would deal with a ripoff company. It took one day after Christmas to prove I was wrong. My wife attempted to use a $100 card to buy an $84.00 + tax item at Hobby Lobby. No go. The cashier tried numerous ways to run it. All were declined. She gave up. The next day she tried the same card at Sam's Club against an item over $100. She told the clerk to run $100 first against the Vanilla card and then the remainder of the cost against our normal Sam's card. No go. Then she tried to run $90 against the Vanilla card. No go. Then she tried $90 one more time but didn't put in the PIN when it asked for it. It finally took the transaction. She finally got $9.99 of the last $10 on the card in the same way. She told Sam's that the Vanilla card was bought there and she wouldn't leave until they ran it successfully. It's also almost impossible to talk to anyone at Vanilla about the extreme difficulty in using the entire balance on these cards. I would bet that the average usage on these cards is far less than the face value of the cards. it's really a pretty sharp and probably legal scam. I just can't believe all these name brand retailers do business with a product provider that provides a product that receives consumer reviews that are this bad. I'm writing Walmart and Sam's Club a comlaint letter.

I received a $50 gift card for my birthday. Unfortunately, the magnetic strip was damaged at the store. When I got home, I called Vanilla to get a replacement. I was told that I needed to send copies of the receipt, my driver's license, front and back of both the card and the packaging.

I explained that I could not provide the receipt as the card was a gift. The agent told me to send the other items and provided a case number. This was in July. All information, except the receipt, were provided.

Earlier this week, I contacted Vanilla for the status of my replacement card. I was told via e-mail that I needed the receipt. I contacted the person who gave me the card to see, if by some miracle, she still had the receipt. She does not.

Called Vanilla to advise that I could not provide the receipt as the purchaser no longer had the receipt, did not remember when she purchased it, where she purchased it, or any of the other myriad of stupid questions the customer service rep asked. I don't see why I need to provide the receipt when I was able to provide all of the other information requested. Do you ask for a receipt for a gift from someone?

Anyway, the result was that I will not receive a replacement card, and Vanilla gets to keep the $50! This is not fair.

I received a vanilla gift card as a gift. When I peeled the sticker off the front, it a peeled the last 4 numbers of the card off so i couldn’t use it. I reported this on their website and when i check the status it says resolved but doesn’t say how it’s being resolved. I can’t get in touch with any actual people to tell me how it’s being resolved. If they could just tell me if they’re sending a new card that would be great

Received a $100 Vanilla Gift Card for Christmas. When I opened it the last four digits were missing off the card number and the security code was missing. I filed an online complaint with them, at the end of the process it prompted me for documents, such as the receipt, which I did not have access to at the time. regardless, I hit submit. Now there appears to be no way to add the documents they requested, even though they have a "track my case" section. So, it seems like VanillaGift is complicit in the scam because they do not have an adequate complaint process. You also cannot get anyone on the phone.

On September 16 2024 I buy vanilla gift card they think some one has stolen the card I paid for. They block card . I try used it and it say get in touch with vanilla gift card. I call them and they told me to send them pictures of the vanilla gift card and receipt and my ID card they gonna investigate.I called them again and they say they never received my documents so I resend it back to them . They say I have to wait 30 days then they put my money back on the bank card and I pay the vanilla gift card with my current bank card.I need my money. It was Emergency and I emailed them and told them I need it before my lights get cut off. They never responded back to me.That’s all I have to say. My mom pay for the card for me with her current bank card her name is Deborah Merritt and she got it for me my name DeTisha Merriweather. Thank you DeTisha Merriweather The amount is $300

I went to Walgreens to buy a 250.00 gift card. When I got back home the card was declined and I could not use it. I called Vanilla Gift card customer service and it was the most frustrating cs experience I have ever had. They gave me and email address to send copies of the front and back of my card, receipts, etc. My case number was [protected]. I got an email back in a couple days saying the my case was solved and I am free to use my card. I went to use it again and was declined. I then called customer service and he told me that my account was closed and there is nothing I can do about it. I was not going to take that answer and just lose 250.00. I went online to check my balance and it read 50.00. I am beyond frustrated and will file a complaint with BBB, Atty General of GA and OH, and also Walgreens.

On 17 March this year I bought a Vanilla gift card with a calue of $200. When I opened it the last 4 digits of the card number and the 3 digit security on the back of the card were missing, so I was unable to use it. I called the number on the back of the card, but it always asks for the 16 digit card number, which I obviously don‘t have because of the missing digits.

I called over 2 months ago about a $25 pre paid card that would not work after purchase and the person that took my information informed me that a new card would be mailed out and that it would take about 20 days I still have not received my replacement card, I'd like to know what's going on please

Tara Bjelan

23 Kelly drive

MISCOUCHE PE

C0B1T0

Canada

Tried to use a gift card and was told the balance was 0 from a 100.00 gift card I never used the card . They make it impossible to talk to a live person for obvious reasons. Supposedly there was a debit on record but it was not me and no information of the transaction . Tried to use the card and it was denied at first use. These guys are a total scam. If there is an issue they run you around in voice mail and never make contact. This way they keep the money when it becomes a situation that the time is not worth it..

I am deeply frustration and outraged regarding the recent incident involving my Vanilla Visa gift card. On [date], I purchased a Vanilla Visa gift card and, to my dismay, I have been unable to access the funds loaded onto the card. It has become apparent to me that my hard-earned money has been wrongfully taken, and I strongly believe that your company is responsible for this unauthorized access to my funds.

My attempts to contact your customer support have been incredibly disheartening. After enduring long wait times of over an hour, I finally reached a representative only to be met with shifting blame onto the merchant and no viable solution to retrieve my money. This experience has left me feeling deceived, frustrated, and deeply disappointed in the level of service provided by Vanilla Visa.

As a consumer, I trusted that my funds would be secure and easily accessible with the Vanilla Visa gift card. However, this incident has shattered my confidence in your company and its ethics. It is alarming to think that this may be a recurring issue affecting other customers who have put their trust in your brand.

I demand an immediate resolution to this matter. I insist on the full refund of the funds loaded onto the Vanilla Visa gift card, including the cost of the card itself. Additionally, I expect compensation for the time, inconvenience, and emotional distress caused by this ordeal.

Please be advised that if this matter is not resolved satisfactorily and promptly, I will have no choice but to escalate my complaint. I am prepared to share my experience on various social media platforms, review sites, and consumer advocacy forums, warning others about the unethical practices of Vanilla Visa and Visa.

I implore you to take this complaint seriously and rectify the situation without further delay. I trust that you will uphold your responsibility to your customers and demonstrate your commitment to consumer satisfaction.
I expect to receive a written response detailing the steps being taken to address this issue and resolve my complaint within [reasonable timeframe, e.g., 10 business days] of receiving this letter. You may contact me at the provided email address or phone number to discuss this matter further.
Your immediate attention to this matter.

I purchased 8 gift cards. 3 of them for $50,1 for $70 and 4 for $500. I have had nothing but problems since I purchased them. I gave the smaller ones to my employees for a small appreciation and kept the other 4 larger ones to pay bills in the office. The guys kept telling me that they were having problems using their cards. I then went online to see the balance, and all was fine. They all showed a balance. 3 of the guys took there's back and said they would just use them online the other guy with the $70 gave me his to keep and maybe get a replacement. So, on one of the $500 card I paid the cell bill of $174.74 and one another $500 card I paid the commercial auto and another small bill. That pretty much ate all of that amount up. So, on the card that I paid the cell bill with I should've had $325.26 left. I went to go use it and it was denied. I then went on the website to check the balance and it said the card was no good. So, I called. I was on hold for about 15mins before I got to talk to someone. She told me that the card had been reported stolen, so they issue a new card. I asked to who? How is it stolen when I have the physical card, the receipt and the credit card they were purchased with. She said because of privacy issue she can't tell me anything and that I could make a report and have a new card issued in 45-90 days. I told her that makes no sense since I purchased these cards on October 13th and they had already issued a new card to someone else, but they clearly didn't have to wait 45-90 days. I asked to speak to a manager. They put me on hold for almost an hour. The "manager" finally got on the phone, I told her how long I was waiting, and she said they were busy, at first before reading these comments I told her how busy you can actually be. So, I proceeded to explain once again what happened and she said she would send the paperwork for me to fill out to get a new card issued. So, she asked the name to mail it to, I told her my company name she said no your name, I explained they were purchased for a company, on a company credit card so to mail them to the company, well she hung up on me and now I can't get through. I then went to check the balance on the other 2 $500 cards, and nothing is left on them. Someone used them at Target at 2 in the morning. I am out $1,339 total for this and can get no answer from anyone. I will never use this card again; I will tell everyone how fraudulent this company is and am going to file some kind of complaint with the BBB and am going to talk to my lawyer about filling a claim.

Someone is using my wife's name and our old address to order replacement gift cards. Thanks to Fedex, We were notified of a delivery to our old address, we later discovered that the package contained vanilla gift cards. We have never ordered, purchased or used any product from Vanilla Gift.

We will be filing a police report as well as notifying other fraud investigation agencies of this activity.

A prompt response from you will be needed. We were able to go to the old address and found the opened Fedex envelope with the paper which had the card attached, and the card had been removed. We will be submitting this to the proper agencies.

I received a $250. V. G. Card for Christmas '23. Purchased at the CVS in S. Yarmouth. I recently opened the card and it is missing some of the imprinted numbers. They begin 4097 5824 (spaces) 4432. Card expires is also illegible "06" (?). On the reverse, it's even worse. Readable #s are: [protected], Sec. 842. Very Bad experience. HELP!

...

I have charges on my card I didn't make! I have 7 charges to Helium mobile for $1.00. I have 6 for $5.51 for Helium mobile. I have 5 for Steam for $3.99. PLEASE look into this for me. Thank you, Rose Kresak [protected] ALL THESE except one was made on March 6, 2024, one on March 7, 2024 I have NEVER bought anything from any of these sites! The total they stole from me is $60.01

Got a giftcard in november 2023 from my work for $400 activated it and used it one time for $50. Went to use it again and it was declined. Got on to check balance and december 6th 2023 it was used in a different state for the remaining $350 at a target store. I filed two different disputes and sent proof of receipt. We are now in march 2024 and I still yet to be refunded. No one will e mail me back regarding my dispute and now I cannot check balance on online website. First dispute filed 12/11/2023 sent documents got a confirmation that documents were received 12/14/23. No communication after that. Called the number in the back and spoke to someone after waiting and waiting told I had to file another dispute because the one I already had filed wasn’t done right. 1/25/2024 filed and signed my dispute and again no communication about where my dispute is going I emailed and have yet to get a response. I want my money i’ve waited more then enough time and sent them everything they asked for.

The Vanilla VISA Gift card was lost, reported as lost, was emailed documentation of purchase, proof of address, a journal from the store purchased ( which was a Ft. Knox Military Installation store ) originally reported on January 7th, 2024. After claiming loss and emailed a verification of a replacement card being mailed, the card was found, cut up and discarded.

They repeatedly requested several proofs of purchase and were emailed proofs of purchase several times. This seems to a scam with no intention of replacing a lost card taht has never been used. It was a 100.00 gift card and 5.95 fee was charged at the time of purchase. They have dragged their feet too long and it appears to have been a malware money making scheme before refunding the gift card to the customer. It may have targeted military soldiers at Ft. Knox.

CVS Fraud Department<

2/2/2024 We purchased (3) $500 Visa gift cards from Joseph REG #01 TRN#1961 casher 1235549 STR 3144. We purchase these every few months to give to employees as an incentive. I lock them up until use. The one I gave out today when opening they were super glued(see picture) and security code was scratched off. I sent my receptionist to walk over with another unused card and they opened if store and guess what. They were tampered also with; Your manger witnessed our two staff members open the sealed card.

He is the odd thing; your manager was fidgeting and would not look my employees in the eye. The only way this could be happened is one Joseph the cashier or your manger is stealing. I understand you will not take my word for they were not tampered by us. But we are a multi-million-dollar company, I have no need to steal or lie. I understand you feel it could be my employee, but I had two that do not know each other go over there with unopened cards I just unlocked front my cabinet that no one knows they are there or have a key for. You need to be aware and watch your employees. I know you have cameras and can look up date of transaction 2/2/2024 9:13-9:17 am. You would also need to check that whole day and whoever looks at transactions.

I will be contacting Visa in regards of your fraudulent behavior at this location.

My name is Cindy Elaine Washington address: 3516 Meadow Lake Lane Orlando Florida 32808. The last four of my social 3016 I was an employee at Dial America here in Orlando Florida from 04/15/2022 thru 2/23/2023 and was awarded two (2) VISA cards during my emolyment. On February 28, 2024 my wallet with the cards were stolen. I do have a police report of the theft. Because I am in civil litigation against my employer becasue of the theft of my identiy as an employee there they will not give me the tracking number . The value of the (2) cards are $50 & $25. I do not have the card numbers becasue I honesly did not anticipate loosing my wallet

Yest on the 18th of feb I had a friend gift me a 25 dollars vannilla gift card and I spent only 7 dollars and some change on my gift card, wheres my remaining balance, I want my remaining balance, or I will press chargeres againest the vannilla gift card people gift card number is [protected] exp date 06 33. Secuity code 382, I want my remainin g on there please

I attempted to verify a card received as a gift at the website suggested by Visa Vanilla. Several attempts have been made since I received the card, every time I try it I enter the requested card information and go through the "security" games to be told there was a system error and to try again later. A $25 gift from my son, a marine, is a big deal, they don't get paid nearly enough! I then tried to call the [protected] where I found out that it was used on 12/18/23 and had a zero balance. I had NOT opened the card until January 2024 and had been attempting to verify it on the website before using it. The robo-system couldn't give me any details on WHERE it was used and I can't find a HUMAN to speak with. HELP! Do I have any chance of speaking with someone?

Hi team,

I bought a gift card at Safeway, activated and made the first transaction. The next day when I tried to use my card, the balance was $0, and noticed 2 unauthorized transactions from different state altogether. Disputed the charges and the Vanilla gift card team blocked the card and the status of the dispute shows as resolved online saying issued a different gift card and I haven't received the card for the last 3 months. Multiple calls and emails and no proper definitive response. Please help. Thanks.

We received a Vanilla Gift card with $100 as a wedding gift in Sept 2023. We traveled to Ohio for thanksgiving. Tried to use the card at a gas station opened the packaging in front of the clerk. Card would not work noticed scratch marks over the numbers. Card was declined for gas. Called Vanilla Card was on the phone over an hour they seem very helpful. They even noted that the card was for $100. They sent me a replacement card arrived in early December 2023. Wife attempt to use the card on Feb 2024 and it was declined. Check the balance and the card balance was $0 and said the entire $100 was spent at a Target and later declined at a CVS in Sept 2023. My argument with vanilla card is if we didn't have money on the card why would you send a replacement?