Vanilla Prepaid Cards Reviews

Vanilla Gift Card tied up funds on a gift card. Customer Support not Interested. I received a Vanilla Gift Card. I tried to use it to buy movies at Fandango. I was able to buy a few things, but the card cut off with $17 left on it. I called Vanilla Customer Support. They said it was Fandango. I called Fandango & they blamed Vanilla. I called Vanilla back and the rep admitted to me that their new security policy is the reason it was cut off. I was buying movies at a movie store. Anyway, she told me to wait 2 hours and maybe the card will work again. If not, she said I should try another retailer. Basically, she was just done trying to help. Obviously, the first guy that lied to me was done helping anyone too. It takes an epic quest to speak to a person at Vanilla, to finally get one and they tell me to get lost, well that's too much. I'm Done with Vanilla.

The worst gift card company. If you really care about your money, do not do business with them.

I wish I could give them negative stars to be honest. DO NOT BUY THEIR GIFT CARDS!! My mom likes to give these out for Christmas and they are the worst ones you could ever buy. First of all they changed it now to where you cannot register your cards to buy anything online WTF!!! I was planning on using these to order our homeschool supplies but a big no there since they won't let me register. Then I called customer service and she said you have to register your info when you buy the card from the retailer??? Excuse me??? HOW DUMB!! They are always getting locked due to fraud also which is super annoying and they also never work at the grocery store. I mean wtf is going on with this company!!! It is such a SCAM!! I repeat...DO NOT BUY THESE!

These cards are worthless. They have been rejected by every vendor I have tried. Their customer service is of no help. Do not buy these for anyone.

Horrible company. I tried to make an online purchase of almost $400 with a $500 gift card that I received for my birthday. I received an email from the merchant stating that my method was rejected, and when I contacted the merchant for more details, I was told that their third-party credit card processor has a fraud alert that requires the credit card to match a pre-existing billing address. The problem is that Vanilla gift cards don't have predetermined billing addresses, and their website specifies this. Apparently, most vendors require a match for security reasons, though, so this card is useless unless it's used in person, which is an antiquated method of payment in modern times.

Absolutely shit from buying the card to speaking to customer service because their shit product doesn't work... AGAIN.

Complete utter scam. Card is immediately placed on hold. Then they claim to have to take 5 days to do an investigation. Then additionally 3 weeks to send a refund if approved. Don't understand why they are sold by retail stores.

Don’t buy. You can’t use it. Poor customer service. You are never able to speak person. It’s just automated system.

These cards are a total scam. We spent hours trying to use it. You go to the website to register or check the balance on the card and all you get is error messages. Online retailers won't take it. My wife finally was able to use it at Gap because the store manager was sympathetic and persistent. He called Vanilla and the first call they hung up on him. Finally after entering some redundant numbers from the card and creating a PIN (none of which you can do on the Vanilla site) it went through. The gift card turned out to be the gift from hell.

I paid $100 for a gift card and I’m calling support which is very poor and says, "Go on your phone and activate." I tried multiple times without success. Wasted $100.

Horrible customer service- this is a scam. I bought a Vanilla Gift card for $125 from Walgreens. I have all the receipts. The money never went to the card. Six weeks later still no response from customer service and no money. The phone number never lets you speak to a real person. NEVER AGAIN.

If I could I would rate it negative stars. The customer service is horrible and the person I talked to about my problem got mad at me and hung up! I will never buy prepaid cards again from this company based on my experience.

*****WARNING***** DO NOT PURCHASE… *****WARNING***** DO NOT PURCHASE VANILLA PRE PAID GIFT CARDS. Let me tell you about how bad this company is to deal with. I bought 4 x $500. gift cards in December as a xmas gift. In Feb. 2026 tried to use them. to my surprise, apparently a prepaid gift card can be frauded. So we are now at June 22.2026 and I've made several calls. (hours) trying to get my money back. Only to have at least 4 different agents "Fix it" On May 21st, 90 plus days after filing the fraud report they send a email saying "oops, their mistake, and they have put my $500 back on the card" However every time I have believed that in the past and tried to use the cards, they do not work.

It was a big mistake buying this trashy Vanilla Gift card $500, and when trying to use that miserable gift card it didn't work, it was a big embarrassment. I can't understand how the Government let this trash in business.

So not buy these cards, it’s a scam. When you call they want all your information and they say they will send a new card but that comes along with a new activation fee. If I even get the card at all, this is terrible service. The reason that I buy gift cards so that I don’t have to share my information.

It’s a piece of garbage. Literally trash. Can’t use it anywhere it seems. What a waste.

If I could give this company zero stars, I would. I bought an e-gift card for my niece's birthday, and she has been unable to use it anywhere. They told us to add it to the Apple Wallet, and it has not been able to be added. We asked to have the card reissued, but they don't reissue e-gift cards. Now my options are go through the fine print for a list of retailers to be able to use it or get a refund that will be a check by mail that takes 15 days to receive. This whole thing just feels scammy. If you can help it, I would recommend never buying a gift card from Vanillagift.com. If I had known this would be such a headache, I honestly never would have.

Worst business ever, they lie when you call them (tell you a case had been opened even giving you a case number, but later deny it). Will also tell you things are being investigated and to 'allow more time' (going on 7 months now)...Or that the investigation people can only be reached by email (no response). When you insist on talking to a Supervisor, there is never one on the floor...But they will call you back...No call. We might as well have flushed our money down the toilet.

This Company does nothing but steals money off of your gift card, and can't explain where the charges was taken for, I do not recommend getting a card from them, they are scams.

Card is incredibly finicky and locks you out frequently. Then they refuse to assist with your card, you have to wait 10 days for them to mail you a new one. Horrible company.

I keep calling customer service the card had $140.00 dollars and couldn’t use them at all so I ask for a refund. They said they will sent me a check. It’s been more than 6 months already and nothing. These guys a bunch of ripped offs. I guess I’ll get my check when hell gets cold.

I was recently on a call with customer service and had a very disappointing experience. I was polite and patient throughout the conversation, but the agent kept giving excuses instead of helping resolve my issue. When I asked her to take a little more time to find the information I needed, she said she could not stay on the call for too long. This was so frustrating because I had spoken with another agent the day before who was patient and spent nearly an hour trying to assist me. Unfortunately, the agent I spoke with today came across as dismissive and unwilling to take ownership of the issue. As a result, my inquiry was not resolved, and the level of customer service I received was far below expectations. This was one of the worst customer service experiences I have had. Never recommend this business to anyone.

Please do not buy these cards. I received 2 of these cards as a gift. Activated them in the store but could not use as both got declined. When I called customer service they said that the cards were suspended due to "suspicious activity." They have to mail me the 2 cards and it will take 3 - 5 business days. After reading the reviews I am in trouble. It looks like $1000 down the drain but I am going to fight like hell. They could not tell me what is "suspicious activity" nor how to avoid this in the future. THIS IS A SCAM DO NOT BUY!!!

Used my card for an online purchase, was charged twice. I called customer service and was told they’d dispute the charge and I’d be able to use my card today. Today my cards “on hold”. Called customer service to have the hold removed and was told that it’ll take 45-90 days to have a resolution. 3 MONTHS??? This is a full blown scam. They’ve stolen my money and won’t do anything to help me!

Do not buy!!!! Fraud from company themselves!!!! I received a card for $80 my coworker paid activation fee of $7.95 and tried to use card was declined. When I called number on back of card they said they see and got paid the $80 but that the card didn’t activate and that I had to send in pictures of card and original receipt and I have called everyday for 2 weeks and that the case is being escalated. They all work in India with American names and nobody in United States of America to talk to even though these cards are being sold at all major retailers!!!! Give cash money don’t buy these cards.

These gift cards do not work. Do not purchase, you will just be throwing away your money. I've received two of these from my parents and they just keep your money or say there is no funds. I am telling all my friends and family to not purchase any Vanilla gift cards. These are a scam. I don't know why stores continue to support fraudulent companies.

Card did not work, and it’s been 3 weeks of back and forth with Vanilla to try and get my money back. They send emails asking for information they already received. It’s a scam to say the least. DO NOT BUY VANILLA GIFT CARDS. They will keep your money and make it impossible to get it back.

Should be zero. When you try to go to the website to activate the card it pops up captcha puzzles that go on forever. Even when you finally finish and get to click verify it just refreshes the page and says, "Sorry, error occurred." I was patient because my son wanted to use his gift card. I tried several times over a few days. You never can activate the card.

If I could give a NEGATIVE star rating I would. So apparently you can't use these gift cards at all online retail stores, specifically Amazon due to Amazon not accepting them since they are anonymous. I've had no issues in the past using any other gift cards, so I found myself really puzzled. The customer service was horrible, I couldn't barely understand the guy I was speaking to about the issue. I sat waiting for over 45 minutes just for someone to pick up (if it's that long of a wait time, there's nothing good about that company). It's honestly a shame! Nothing was fixed & I left with more questions than answers. Horrible company with horrible customer service. Do Not Recommend EVER!!!

TERRIBLE!!! I sent an e-gift card to my nephew for his birthday and it didn't work. I've spent over a month trying to get a refund and have called customer service at least half a dozen times to try and resolve the situation. The first time, I was told it would take up to 2 weeks to receive the refund. After 2 weeks, I called again and again, and each time have been told to await an email update which has never arrived. BUYER BEWARE!

Shittiest customer service ever. Rude, dismissive staff that loves to mumble so you can't understand them. Card policies are a joke. And they don't work at self checkout. But nowhere does it mention that on the packaging. 0 stars.

To say Purchasing this Vanilla e-gift card has been nothing but a nightmare is an understatement, I literally cannot use it at any place I try and getting customer service to understand the frustration and come up with the best resolution for you the consumer is a whole another nightmare.

SCAM SCAM SCAM!!! SCAM...I wasn't able to use the Vanilla Visa gift card at Amazon online or Walmart online, and PayPal online. Customer service wouldn't tell me where I can use the card at. They just tell me to go into a store and try to use it... Anxiously, it's a SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM.

I am writing to formally report a serious issue concerning a Vanilla Gift with the resolution process provided by your Supervisor Henry. On December 15th, my husband purchased three Vanilla Gift Cards from a local Walgreens establishment. Subsequent to this purchase, it became apparent that one of these gift cards had been compromised, with its balance being accessed and depleted without authorization shortly after its acquisition.

The cards this company issues are not worth it. They decline most orders placed with online merchants. They even state in their fine print that to avoid declines you should use your card at a physical store. Beware!

This is a scam. I could not use this card to make online purchases with Amazon or Walmart. It could only be used at the store where purchased and in person only. Was charged $6.84 for this privilege. A ZERO cost Walmart Card I could have used online with Walmart. This information is not listed on card packing which I still have.

You cannot reach a human being, I tried going online to replace a card and the computer kept stating that there was an error. I tried several times, then tried again the next morning and same message saying there was an error. I continued to call with no success. Your customer service is horrible. I have a balance on card and cannot use card.

I purchased a Vanilla Prepaid Visa card paid 400.00 from 7-Eleven. Went next day to purchase gas. Did not work. Called the customer service. Told me go to another place and try went to Tim Hortons. Again did not work. Called them again. They told me card has been compromised? How can that be when it is properly sealed? They got complicated of how to reply to me on phone? All I said was, "This is your card not mine. I paid funds to get it working? Why is it my problem. I paid 400.00".. They couldn't give me a answer or refund me my money. Went to 7eleven. Of course same thing. Not responsible they said for the fraud that has been happening.. Why is it my fault if card is compromised. My advice do not purchase these cards. It's a whole scam with their operators online as well.

Scam, can’t use the 2 gift cards for an online purchase because they don’t allow you to pay through PayPal. So I am stuck with 1000 dollar bill that I can’t pay. If I knew that I wouldn’t purchase from this company. They should have it displayed on their packaging that you can’t use cards on your PayPal account.

DO NOT BUY THESE CARDS EVEN IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT! You will regret ever buying this diabolical waste of time and money. I purchased a card that I loaded with $240.00 and tried to use it once I got home. DECLINED, DECLINED, DECLINED... so I check on the site and it says the card is active. I then try again to use the card. DECLINED, DECLINED, DECLINED! So I call the number on the back and they tell me that the card is now blocked for fraud alert because of the many declined transactions. They then tell me that there is nothing they can do about it and I have to wait to get a new card in the mail.