American Express Gift Cards Reviews

Please do not waste your money on purchasing one of these bogus cards. They do NOT stand behind them. We purchased one and put $480 on it. Shortly after we purchased it, it was hacked and had $200 taken off of it. We immediately called them to lock the card and file a dispute (that was the ONLY thing spent off the card). After 5 months, they send me an email saying the dispute was over and they were "unable to approve the dispute" and they were "sending me a replacement card with the remaining balance." Why even go through the process? I will NEVER EVER purchase another AMEX gift card for any reason.... and I will be deactivating my regular card as well. This is a BS company for sure....

Never will I ever do business with this company. I received a gift card from a friend in June 2025 for 100.00. I tried to use it back in August 2025 and the balance was showing .01. I filed a dispute with the company same month. I notice it had fraud on it. It is now January 2026 and they refuse to replace my card and cancel my dispute. I am just writing this review for other people NOT TO BUY THESE CARDS.

They are fraudulent. Do not do any sort of business with them. If I could leave a zero Star I would. They are not sending refund Cheque yet it’s been more than 90 days. Amex and Amex Giftcard running scam together.

Got 3 Amex gift cards from my work. They say they are already activated. When I go to check the balance, no info is provided. When I go to use them, they are rejected - both in store and online. I even tried to convert them to an Amazon gift card e-balance and that didn't work. This publicly traded company's bungling of such a simple transaction is so bad they literally feel like a scam.

I live in Massachusetts and received a $100 gift card from my boss for Christmas. I spent $20 at one store, and the next day, when I went to buy groceries at the supermarket, there was no balance left on the card. I checked the app and saw that a purchase had been made with the card on DoorDash in California. I immediately called the card issuer, who said they would refund the money in 6 days, but that didn't happen. I called again and was told it would take 45 days to investigate the incident. I explained that I live in Massachusetts, where the first purchase was made, and that the fraudulent purchase was in California, but they said they couldn't do anything. I do not recommend gift cards, because if there is fraud, you will never see your money back.

Purchased a $250 gift card, it was all the money I had to my name, I have a wife and child. Ordered some food and didn't go through, my card was put on hold. I called and was told they would send another card arriving in 7-10 days. I was furious nothing could be done, not lift hold, not give new card information over phone. My family had the last dollar we had taken away. BAD BUSINESS. "UNACCEPTABLE."

I bought 2 gift cards and had put money on both of them. The cards keep getting declined even though there's money on them. When customer support was contacted they said the cards were fine. But they keep getting declined. With a 16 dollar charge to buy the cards it's a rip off. Ill never buy these again let alone have anything American Express.

Worthless. Make silly claims about an inability to transfer funds owed back to my account and stated would send check within 30 days. After 31 days claimed someone failed to send the check and would issue new one (for another 30 day wait.). Put on hold forever hoping I'd get bored and hang up. Deliberate evasion and passing the buck. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

Horrible. Got this card as a wedding gift and activated it and went to use it. Card declined. Called Amex and they said it was locked due to fraud. Wanted me to send in my name, address, and driver's license picture for them to send me a new card. What a joke.

Really bad card. BEFORE I received, it was already used by a scammer. After 120 days of dispute AMEX closed the case, stating no issues was found. Dispute department not able to investigate correct and I just have to deal with the loss.

Worst SCAM ever. Bought a $200 gift card for my son's birthday. Tried to activate for a few times and when I finally got it to activate, I had 0.01 dollar left. They took the money and claimed we were doing something wrong and maybe somebody used the card. Really? Called tech support multiple times. They got my name, email and address all wrong. Kept calling to open up a dispute and took them about two months to process the dispute. A few weeks later I got a new card with $0.01 dollar on it. I just wanted to called back to tell them to shove it up their #$%@. DON'T USE OR BUY AMEX GIFT CARDS PLEASE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOUR MONEY. WJ**

Never buy these cards!! It's a rip-off!! I bought three cards, and one didn't work. They've just wasted my time sending emails. They keep answering the same thing and take no responsibility. The customer service is rude and they can't help you with ANYTHING. They just tell you they'll follow up and send you emails, and they just send the same thing.

They are fraudulent. Do not do any sort of business with them. If I could leave a zero Star I would. I received a gift card from my work and the money was stolen before it was even given to me. I live in SC and it was for a charge in CA for a pet store. I don’t own a dog. I filed a claim, listing all my proof, and it was denied. I replied to the email it stated and was ignored. I call the customer service and they straight up lied to me. I requested to talk to the supervisor and when she refused to help me she did worse than just refuse to get a manager. She left me on hold to just tell me that the manager is not available and that they will give me a reference number to call me back. Since I was ignored before, I refused and stated that I would rather wait for a manager to become available. I waited for over 40 minutes and kept being told that they are not available.

American Express gift card.... IT IS A BIG SCAM. Do not waste your time and money to purchase an Amex gift card. I was presented a $200.00 value card. I used the web site on the back of the card to ensure the correct amount was on the card..... and that was it. In minutes the balance was 0. I file a complain to the so-called detective team that don't respond to emails. I was told I cannot be refunded the amount. I must contact the merchant.... Is there any one above these scammer I can report to. I don't intend to lose my 200 bucks to scammers.

I am in a hard spot. My mom gave me a gift card to purchase the things for my son to go to college. I activated the card purchased on Amazon and it declined. I then tried to use it at a store and it declined. I then went to see why and it said contact customer service the card is on hold. After 5 calls and 4 hang ups they told me the card was compromised and to give it 10 days to receive another one in the mail. My son leaves in 7 days. Never ever use Amex gift cards. They should be taken off the shelves

I received a gift card in the spring for a pretty decent amount and had been using it sparingly for purchases of importance. Bills, groceries, gas, etc. July 5th, I went to the Amex website on the back of the card to check my balance. The site said that I had $1101.69 available. Less than an hour later, I went to the store and attempted to make a purchase and only had 69 cents on the card. I went to check the balance again and heard that there was a pending charge for exactly $1101 at Michael Kors in Las Vegas. I live in CT. I immediately contacted customer service. The representative placed me on hold after hearing my issue. When she returned, she told me that I should be able to get the money replaced since I notified them so quickly but I had to wait until the charge was accepted by the merchant.

Do not buy American Express gift cards – terrible experience. Do not waste your money on American Express gift cards. We’ve purchased thousands of dollars’ worth of these cards over time, but our recent experience was extremely disappointing. I bought a $500 gift card as a birthday present. When the person I gave it to tried to activate it, they found that the card only had a $10 balance. Someone in California had already made an online purchase with the card before it was ever used or activated. The recipient contacted American Express and was told to send an email. After waiting over a month, they finally received a response saying, “Sorry,” and were issued a replacement card with only $10. Completely unacceptable.

Close to Father’s Day I went to the Walmart near his house and bought an American Express Gift Card with $200 on it. My daughter activated it for him and gave it to him. He went to use it the next day and all $200 were gone. Somebody in Pennsylvania used it at 1 AM and we are in Alabama. American Express will not make it right. They could tell that it’s fraudulent because it was. He’s somewhere Way far from us. I would not ever trust Nor buy an American Express gift card nor the company. Don’t buy any gift cards from Walmart either. I will probably never buy another gift card.

My 14 year old autistic son received an American Express Gift Card, purchased at CVS in Warminster, PA, for his 8th grade graduation on 6/17/2025. He used it one time @ Rita's Water ice. That same day, only a short time after, someone used his card in Texas to pay for Health Insurance for $35, leaving Aidan with $2.81 on his card. I immediately called Amex Card services & disputed this charge. They DECLINED my DISPUTE only ONE WEEK after filing it. If Amex Services will decline something like this, so obviously FRAUD/THEFT, considering the age of the card holder, his residential city, state, along with the fraudulent purchase occurrence, nature and city, state, then NO ONE WILL EVER WIN ANY DISPUTE! Do NOT EVER BUY an American Express Gift Card! This was the 1st & last time I purchased AMex vs. Visa or MC.. That right there speaks volumes.

Don't trust using this company to buy a gift card. It is not owned by American Express, they do not stand by their card or company name. Spoke to American Express rep, and then suddenly the next day $499.99 out of $500.00 gift card was used, I reported the fraud immediately to the American Express Gift card division, filled all necessary documents and was told they are denying my claim after 1 month they had the nerve to send a check for 1 cent. They are not a part of Amex, the only people you speak with are located in South East Asia, I've called and emailed a million times they do nothing.... Never buy American Express.

These cards are effectively useless for any and all online transactions. I have tried it at no less than six online retailers, and it continually declines. When you call Amex Gift Card customer service they can offer no explanations or assistance, they just tell you to use it in a physical store.

Do NOT purchase an American Express gift card. I purchased a $200 card for a recent graduate a few weeks ago. The next day, there was a $78 unauthorized charge out of Chicago. We disputed the charge, but Amex denied it with no explanation. They're compromised, but won't acknowledge it. Stay away!

I bought the card and activated it at 7:43 pm. I went to make a purchase online at 7:48 and when I placed the order it said my order could not complete. After a few checks I realized that the card was already used at 7:45 to make purchases in Chicago. I live in North Carolina. How on Earth was someone else able to get hold of the card by the time I activated it??? This makes absolutely no sense. Please do not buy this card. It’s a scam.

I purchased an AMEX GIFTCARD and before I could even use it the balance had been depleted. When I reached out to customer service to dispute it, they stated they would investigate it. After a month they declined my dispute saying the merchant said there was no fraud on their end. Well duh they will say that. So I’m out of money and they do not care. I don’t even want to give them 1 star. They deserve 0.

You cannot trust the expiration date for the value of an American Express Reward Virtual Card!!! I had a value of $150 and made one purchase after activating of $45. Relying on the expiration date, I made no further purchases and checked the balance 2 years later, but still 4 years away from the expiration date, and found that the balance was $0!!! Because American Express had been taking $3 monthly for inactivity of the virtual card!! Customer Service told me that I should have read the terms of the Agreement or the back of the card, both of which I would have had to actively look for. So American Express took back over $100. I feel ripped off!!!!

DO NOT EVER purchase an American Express Gift Card!!! I purchased an American Express Gift Card and made a small purchase with it. When I attempted to make another purchase with it later that same day it was declined for insufficient funds. They told me I had to wait for them to do an investigation. After a month and a half I received a form letter via email stating I gave my card information to a third party by phone, website, email, in person or by any other means. Are you serious!? Could they be any more vague!? I did not give my card information to anyone in any way so they obviously did not do any kind of an investigation like they told me they would and now they are telling me that I cannot have my money back.

Absolutely horrible!!!! This the second American Express gift I got as a Christmas gift and I hope that I never get one again. Both cards I had nothing but trouble using. Apparently American Express wants to dictate where we use our cards. They say it is for security reason, or I like this one. The company doesn't accept American Express gift cards on line. That is bull!!! From now on if asked what gift card I want I am going to tell them Mastercard or Visa. At least then I will know I can buy my dogs toys at Chewy or perfume on line at Sephora with out getting it denied!!!!

Horrible. Never buy these gift cards. The amount was never loaded to the cards and I have been going back and forth with them for almost a year and sent proof of item they are asking for and still no money on the account nor my money back.

Horrible. Don't use them. Buy it from the store and mail yourself. I ordered the gift card 2 weeks ago, no tracking. They say it will arrive by next month, that will be 3.5 weeks. They would not refund me or change it to an email gift card or give me a refund for the card. What a joke, DO NOT USE THE AMERICAN EXPRESS GIFT CARD SYSTEM through American Express Or online.

My dad brought me a gift card so I could buy an iPad and I cried because I thought that the checking balance website was a scam which I still think, my dad wasted his money and I feel so guilty. He was so happy to buy it for me.