This woman felt embarrassed after using this Visa Vanilla card to pay at the bar. But why?
When you don’t know what to get someone, a gift card to their favorite spot is a safe choice.
If you’re really unsure of what they’re into (like when gifting something to a coworker you’re not close to), a generic Visa or Mastercard gift card does the trick. Unlike store gift cards, those types of gift cards function like a debit or credit card.
Gift cards on the rise
Gift cards are only getting more popular. It’s estimated that Americans spent 7% more on them in 2024 than in 2023. That took the gift industry from a $200 billion industry to a $214 billion one, WalletHub reported.
There are still billions wasted in unused gift card dollars. However, people have been using their cards more and more over the last two decades, according to WalletHub.
(FYI, because of the CARD Act, gift cards must be effective for at least five years from the date they were issued.)
Well, this woman tried to be a good gift card user. But it seems some people are trying to shame her for using her free money.
Gift card use gone wrong
In a viral TikTok with more than 622,000 views, influencer Sofia Giovanna (@sofia..giovanna) shared an uncomfortable situation she was recently in.
Giovanna had one of those generic Visa Vanilla gift cards that you can pick up at Walmart, Target, CVS, or even the grocery store.
It’s unclear who gave it to her or for what. But it easily could have been a holiday gift since we just passed that season.
Well, Giovanna wasn’t going to let the funds on that card go to waste (especially since you can use those gift cards anywhere that accepts a normal Visa debit or credit card). She pulled it out to pay her bar tab. But she was surprised by the bartender’s reaction.
“When I tried to pay with a visa vanilla gift card at the bar and the bartender looked at me like I had 10 eyes,” Giovanna said.
Listen, as long as the card works, there should be no issue. Money is money.
Plus, if you don’t look closely, those Visa gift cards look like any old credit card.
Why bars don’t like Visa gift cards
People in the comments section explained that there’s a valid reason why a bartender may not want to swipe your gift card.
“The reason they don’t do this is bc people will hand them a card with like $5 on it, run up a huge tab, and walk out on it. when they go to close ur tab at the end of the night and it declines. their computers are prob programmed to not take prepaid cards because of the scams. no way to match the form of payment to an ID. and you can’t tip with them. at like 99% of bars you can’t use em,” a commenter explained.
“I’m a server and we don’t accept visa at my restaurant bc it will decline unless you bought the exact amount on the card, they’re so difficult unfortunately,” another chimed in.
“I’ve tried to use them in person once or twice and they never work. they always work online tho, i just keep track of the balance,” a person said.
@sofia..giovanna ♬ original sound – Jordan Stone
The Daily Dot reached out to Giovanna for comment via email and Instagram direct message and to Visa via email.
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