Vanilla Prepaid Cards Reviews

My daughter and I received a total of 6 Vanilla Visa gift cards. Only 2 worked. The others I have been trying to get help with as they consistently declined. You rarely get anyone to answer with customer service. After about 6 attempts I got a representative on the line that confirmed my cards had been compromised and was sending out replacement cards in 1-3 days. In 8 days I got the new cards and with the first activation I am having the same issue. Declined and can’t get anyone on the line. If I go to report a problem online I consistently get that “A system error occurred. Try again later.” The Consumer Fraud department need to intervene and investigate this company. Sad that so many people are losing money to them.

My Vanilla gift card was a gift from my sister. When I go to Walmart to buy something, I tried swiping my card to pay for the gifts but the cashier said the card declined. When I get home I called, the representative was polite and help when I explain the card not working. The representative done the test or something to tell me the Vanilla card I tried using a defective card. Then I gave all the information she needed and I was told a replacement card would be mail and I would receive it in five to seven days. On January 6, 2025 the Vanilla card had not arrived. It was on January 9, 2025 I called Vanilla card about this same problem only to be told a replacement vanilla card will arrive in three to five business days. I don’t know that I can trust vanilla card at all.

Some company called offgamers made 2 purchases on my prepaid Vanilla mastercard. I contacted Vanilla Prepaid Mastercard. I was able to tell them when, where and how I bought my card for proof of purchase. I offered to send them the receipt. Instead of asking Offgamers the same information they wanted my name, birthdate and address to investigate. The whole idea of purchasing these cards is to protect our own cards online and try to retain some anonymity from scammers.

I will NEVER use them again. They lied and said money that was stolen would be on my card at a certain date then they said 90 days! I will never use them AGAIN! They are horrible and they lie! NEVER USE!

I have a bad experience with this card. I was given one as a gift, and when used at a retail store, the cashier charge the card for more than the left balance in the card, and the card was declined, and the balance, was put on hold permanently by the Vanilla company. When called to request a replacement card, as suggested in the back of the card, it was all a big scam: This company does not want to let you use the remaining balance, they are common thieves! Do not use this card, is not worth it!

NEVER BUY THIS (unless you want to harm your mental health and finances). The customer service staff, besides being rude every time I called; were unable to provide accurate and consistent information. Moreover, I've been requesting a refund for two cards ($500.00 each) that never worked and bought them in November 2024... Still waiting for my refund in spite of submitting all the required documentation more than twice. I keep calling for solving this problem and the only thing I hear are lame excuses. Very very disappointing: this is like money stealing. I really suggest taking a class action towards this company that only knows lying to clients.

This is the worst prepaid on market. I bought a card from the CVS and went paid for both cards one 50 one 300. Left the fifty dollar card finally worked but the 300 dollar one that put a block on the card. I haven't even used yet. it's been 5 days that they stole my money and yet haven't gotten anything. No reason. No nothing. I've been hung up on and it has cost me my elc cut off and I lost my ins because I can't pay it plus all the fees they charge me on all my other stuff. Thanks and still as of today have not given me my money back.

WORST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE. I LOST 1000$. I can’t believe these cards are just hanging in Albertsons like it is normal. I bought two 500$ to save money a few months before Christmas. Neither one worked and “customer service” said they had been compromised and new ones would have to be sent to my address and they said verbatim “the old cards are now useless” so I tossed them. That was my big mistake. But if they mailed me cards as they say you think they would have record of me existing. No record of me and refusal to look for my cards which I never received because I didn’t keep the old cards. Literally, nothing they can do. And they never even mailed them to me, they ripped me off so hard.

WARNING…This prepaid card is the worst card I have ever experienced. You can’t even pay a AT&T bill or PayPal…. BEWARE…You only can use it where they want you to…If you Google this card it says you can use it with PayPal…False Advertising and it says you can Pay a bill…False advertisement. Horrible Horrible Horrible.

Received a Vanilla Visa Gift Card for Christmas. The Front of the card has a nice winter scene on it, but the back (where I guess the card number would be) is completely blank. No magnetic strip to swipe through a machine, no card number or security code, nothing. This company is a SCAM!

I was given this card as a Christmas gift. Tried using the card only to have it to be declined. Called to check the balance and learned that it had a charge for a purchase to a place I have never heard of so I called customer service and was told to check my card in 3 to 5 days. The money would be returned to my card. I waited 8 days. Now I'm being told it will be 45 to 99 days before they refund the money to card or send me a new card or a check. Worse customer service practices ever. Worse card ever. Buyer beware.

My son was given a $20 gift card for Xmas, and he has tried to use it online for multiple purchases all of which have been declined. My father was also given one, and he tried at 2 different places in store, both of which were declined. I called to speak to customer service, and got zero help. One attempted purchase was on Amazon, and they basically told to me keep trying until I find a merchant that accepts it. I'm on disability so I have limited funds, and my son was so excited to get to buy something he wanted and I've had to see his disappointment each time it's declined. I've seen SO many reviews of people having the same issues, so I highly recommend no one spends their money on these gift cards.

DO NOT USE THE CARDS. Omg dealing with them has been an absolute nightmare. You can't use these most places online! Gift for gamers? Too bad. Can't use it for Brawl stars, Genshin, Wuwa or Star rail. The only place I've had it work is Walmart. That's literally it out of the 30+ places I tried. Customer service is an absolute joke. Can't understand them at all and there is so much background noise every time. Getting a refund actually credited back to this card is simply not going to happen. To file a dispute it can take 45+ days. This company needs to be shut down as at this point it's theft.

Used this at a pump. Yea it says to use inside. Hindsight is needed. Murphy says it Vanilla fault and vice versa. Truth be told is it’s the bank holder for Vanilla. Murphy was paid DAYS before but Vanilla says it won’t be released until 10 days later. No fault obviously but VANILLA and their bank holder. At what point isn’t this theft??!!

Basically what every other review says. I used it once to buy a couple of drinks at the store, and then the 2nd time I go to use it I was going to split the rest with my main card but for some reason it kept declining. Called the number after looking around online and In "3-5 business days" I should receive another in the mail. Maybe their business days are different because it's been 2 weeks and I'm still waiting. They never gave me a case number either, so I can't look up my case or anything, I'm just out $50. If I had no morals I'd get into the same business but unfortunately I actually have ethics so no worries from me. What a garbage company.

I received this useless card as a Xmas gift and turned out to be a Xmas nightmare. I made two online purchases and the card was blocked. They supposedly sent another card on the 22nd and I’m still waiting for it. I really needed that money and now I’m forced to spend money allotted for other expenses because of this ridiculous card. If I ever get this in the future I will return it and ask for cash.

I received a gift card for $25 for Xmas. I was excited to use it for a cruise credit on our cruise, but it was declined, so I thought Google Play as it would take care of subscriptions, but it was declined AGAIN, on to Amazon... DECLINED!! I check the balance, and it shows it still has the money on there, I just can't use it. I called customer service to only be referred to the website which does not have an option to help me and no way to contact anyone. I've never had a good experience with these cards and wish people would stop buying them because they are just stealing your money.

Horrible- huge scam!! Got gift cards from my dad as a Christmas gifts, and all 4 cards have been declined. He spent over $400.00 on these cards and cards DO NOT WORK! They have apparently sent replacements but I have no faith at this point. Awful experience especially when the kids are getting declined for the gift they picked... NOT COOL.

Bought the card as a gift for my son and it gets declined everywhere and can’t be used online as there is no address. It has been a terrible and frustrating experience. Customer support provided no help or guidance and we are now saddled with card that no vendors accept.

DO NOT trust these cards! My husband received one as a gift from a Vendor. He was told the card had $100 on it. My husband called to confirm the balance. He was told it only had $85.00 on it. When he said something didn't seem right, they blocked the card under fraud and then refused to unlock it! They said if we could not produce the original receipt then they would not unlock the card. We DID NOT have the receipt as it was a gift from someone that we have no way to contact. TERRIBLE BUSINESS PRACTICE - I cannot even imagine how much money they keep from unsuspecting purchasers.

It did not let me use all the money on the card. It only let me use less than half and when I go to website to put in the card # it has technical difficulties every time. It would be ok but I'm talking better than $400. Can't get real person on phone!!! Don't buy Vanilla Gift Cards!!!!

100% scam. I received a Vanilla Gift Card for Christmas. Once I unwrapped it, I found that the third set of the four digits that compromise the 16 numbers was scratched off. So I couldn't use online. Tried to use it at three different stores & restaurants - all said the bar code was unreadable. So I called their online "help" desk. Was told there was nothing they could do for me unless I had the full 16 numbers on the front of the card. Got the receipt from the person who gave me the gift card, and tried to return. The retailer (CVS) said there was nothing they could do either. So both CVS and Vanilla Gift took $500 from my friend and there is absolutely no recourse in getting that money back. 100% scam and no one seems to care to do anything about it.

Got a $50 gift card as a gift... Never used it... Recently found it in my drawer and went to check the balance... Tried 3 times... Keep saying "system error"... Called customer service which apparently I'd done before because they had a record of it... He told me the only way he could help is if I had the card purchase receipt... This is a SCAM operation for sure!!!

This place is trash, and needs to be put out of business. It take forever to get your money back because their card NEVER NEVER work. If I had the money to sue them I would. DO NOT SPEND YOUR MONEY on this trash azz place. They will keep and not try to help you with anything. Give cash, it's better than this dump of a gift card.

Wasted time and money. After you get charged to activate the cards you must actually activate the physical card and that's where the trick is. All they are trying to collect is your phone number. The website never works properly. Another one of their tricks is to shut off your card and force you call then they want to send you a replacement card weeks later in the mail. No No No more they need to be canceled by Walmart and other major retailers as they are causing more harm than good to its users as they control what and when you can spend your own money. SHAME ON YOU!! I will just give cash next time and lose my business.

I wish I could give this company 0 stars. My poor grandparents gave all the kids $200 gift cards for Christmas and none of them work. When you call customer service, they tell you the funds were never loaded. How is that possible when we have receipts for each gift cards purchased? Absolutely disgusting. How are they still in business?

If there was a way that I could give zero stars then I would absolutely give this company zero stars, and I would put that in all caps but I am not because I am trying my best to adhere to these guidelines but I believe I was scammed out $80 dollars because I was only able to make one purchase and it said on the instructions that I needed to set a four-digit pin whenever purchasing my first item but there was not a way to do so and I had tried making second purchases but I am not able to because the companies that I had tried to purchase from (GameStop and Ko-Fi) said that my card was not a valid method of payment and some of my other family members didn’t know why I was quote able to make one purchase but not multiple purchases and I currently have 80 dollars in there that I am not able to use.

These cards are a scam. The company's employees or owners wait for you to activate your card, and then they use it for themselves. The last card was given to me in August when I had open heart surgery. I activated it the night before my hospital stay, and by the next day, the entire $300.00 had been used to pay for parking in another state.

I purchased the gift card for a friend and they had Google*allo withdrawals that they didn't make. Called to complain to Vanilla company and was told they will mail me paperwork to fill out and send back which the lady said would take up to 90 days, please everyone do not buy or use this type of prepaid card as it's a scam.

This company has very fraudulent practices. They make it impossible to get a refund when the receipt isn’t provided- even though most people don’t have receipts with gifts. My 82 year old mother gave me a card with $250 and the store supposedly failed to activate it. Now she’s out the $250 because she doesn’t have the receipt and trying to help her figure out how to request the journal tape from that day at the store is too much for her! I can’t go help her handle it because I’m so far away. It is extremely frustrating and unfair. How is this legal???

Received a Vanilla Gift Card for Christmas. First of all, do not understand the need to activate a gift card. First tried calling the number, they literally gave me a math problem that had no answer in order to activate the card. I hung up and tried again. Same thing: something like what number comes after 056 in sequence (there was no sequence like that on my card). So, then I tried the online activation process and was supposed to match up "like" images which had nothing in common. I kept hitting skip and going to another image hoping to find one reasonable image. Finally just started guessing and made it through. What a joke. I will NEVER buy one of these for someone.

I received a Vanilla gift card from my employer and attempted to activate it, only to encounter an "activation problem." When I contacted customer service for assistance, they requested personal verification documents, including copies of the receipt and my billing address. This seems excessive and unnecessary for a gift card. The experience has left me feeling frustrated and suspicious—Vanilla gift cards come across as a scam. I strongly recommend avoiding these cards and opting for more reliable alternatives.

OMG! The worse gift card ever. Vanilla Visa Gift Card. Activated gift card on Dec 21, 1924. Go To Walmart on Dec 22, 2024 to purchase a few items from using the gift card. I scanned my items and attempt to pay with the Vanilla Gift Cards. I was prompted to put in a 4 digit PIN (number as for the first time use). The words "Card Error" flashed across the screen. Talked the clerk at Walmart who stated that there is always a problem with these gift cards. I left disappointed.

If you can’t use a gift card at Trader Joe’s, Target, or Walmart, it is a terrible gift card. Worthless. It also doesn’t work online. Trying to reach customer service is impossible, the options don’t even include speaking to a person.

I received a Vanilla Gift Card and when I tried to use it, it was declined. When I called the company they said this was because I tried to use it on a purchase that was more than the amount of the available balance. They explained that it won't just deduct the amount available from the charge and you can only use it on purchases less than the amount available, which essentially means that you can't use the full balance. Further, once it was declined it could not be reactivated and the only thing they could do was send me a new card. I will not be purchasing this brand again.

I have seen a steady decline in this company and its services ability to function consistently as a PREPAID debit card. $500 and not able to touch it. When I call a representative I am told that they see the transaction attempts and subsequent denials. They always offer a suggestion; "try using a different online retailer or go to a physical store."... Why can't they just approve the transaction and let me retry? Anyway now that I have the very well thought out problem solving advice from them, I thought I would head out for some Christmas shopping. There could not possibly be an issue if I used my "Prepaid" money at a brick and mortar. That is the one place they say to always end up if I am unable to spend my money at places that I would like or need to, right? Well the first stop the card worked. Still have more than 3/4 of the money after and next I spent over an hour shopping for gifts.

Got a card for family during the holidays, every card was put on hold before anyone could even use them. Then was told the card thought they were committing fraud so they blocked the card!!!! While we never heard of this before, we were told that the card had to be destroyed and a new card would be arriving after the holidays, not one accommodation made and our holidays are ruined. Never dealing with this place again

If I could give them a zero I would. Keep in mind that you can't use the card more than 2xs per day or it gets flagged as fraud and they have to ask you over the phone for your address and your contact information because they don't have it on file because it's a gift card not a bank account! To send you a new card which takes a minimum of 5 business days.

Never purchase a Vanilla gift card. They are a scam. My mom got me a gift card of $200 and every time I tried to use it declines. I tried calling customer service but no help. They can’t even speak proper English. I was told they were gonna send me a new card since my gift card somehow got compromised. But I never received anything. This company will take your money and there’s no way in getting it back.

I ordered a gift card from Vanilla Gift Card, online for my son's birthday. I placed my order on 12/10. The receipt shows that it will be delivered 5-6 days, Which should have been yesterday or today and it was not. I called customer service and was told that card wouldn't get the until then 23 Rd. You would think that I would have at least received an email stating this. I asked to speak to a manager. He put me on hold for about 5 to 7 minutes. He came back and said his team said that was the date.

Never purchase this card. Card was purchased two months back and before 2 days when I enter card detail to check balance on their website. The card was misused by someone and balance is zero now. I just enter red card details on their authorized website and it got misused what it means, company itself tracking card details and misuse.

If there was anything lower than a 1☆ I'd be choosing it. Multiple bad experience with Vanilla gift cards and their "customer service" department is complete garbage that provide no help, no resolution.

This card is garbage. Can’t purchase anything from eBay. Can’t pay my garbage bill over the phone. Can’t purchase anything online. I could have spent my money any way anywhere locally and should be able to get the $7 back it costed and can’t use it for what I intended and customer service was no help.

Bought 2 gift cards, and when checking the balance with the phone number on the card, and their website, they blocked my card due to "fraudulent activity." They refused to help in any way when I finally got a hold of customer service, and forced me to wait for a new card in the mail. Horrible customer service, and overall a rip off company and product. If you have money you don't want to be able to use, buy their gift cards. If you value your money, go with a prepaid MasterCard.

DON'T BUY THESE CARDS!!! I have 5 cards in front of me right now that I can’t use! The first card denied a purchase, then blocked the card until I clear it. But there is no way to clear it! I can’t reach anyone to clear this up. The second card, I didn’t even get to make one purchase, I just can’t use it. When I call, the recording tells me to go to the website. So I go to the website and the website tells me to call. The 3rd, 4th and 5th card are the same as the first. This is a scam.

Absolutely do NOT use this company. They took my money then said the card was "compromised" then because they "blocked" the card for no reason (card never left my possession) I can now not use the card at the online retailer I wanted to buy from. So now there is no reason to use the card and to send me a new one they want me to wait 3 weeks as they hold MY MONEY FOR NO REASON. I then called customer service and they hung up on me. THEY WILL ROB YOU. Agent's name was Romer.

I received a gift card during Christmas of 2023. I had put my cards away and just came across them in October of 2024. My card is saying not valid when trying to check balance. Spoke to customer service. They requested I send in images of the card for assistance. I waited from 10/31 to 12/10 before calling back. Finally was told if I can’t find a receipt, there is nothing to do. A total waste of my time, not to mention a waste of money to the consumer. I WILL NEVER PURCHASE THIS FOR ANYONE. I would have loved to give ZERO stars.

I purchased a Vanilla Visa Gift Card at a grocery store. When I attempted to activate the card, I had to enter the 16 digit card number. There is no physical card in these packages, so no account number. I called 3 different customer care phone numbers, no one could help, they all just kept saying to look at the front of the card. No one cared. I was scammed out of $150.00. Old adage of buyer beware sure holds true when it comes to Vanilla Visa Gift Cards.

If I could give zero stars I would. You can't use these on 99% of online retailers. Then they "flagged it for fraud" at a dang Target store. They refused to remove the hold and told me the only option was to send a new one in 3-5 day. Problem is I'm on a work trip. My work gives me cash to use, which I normally put on a card of some sort for ease of use (online food orders, etc.). Hopefully my hotel will let me have them send it to the front desk or I'm royally screwed.

I received a Vanilla gift card as a gift. I tried to use it online and it was declined. When I went into the store the same day, Nov 24, to make the same purchase the card was declined. I called Vanilla gift customer service and was told that because I tried to make a purchase that was a few dollars over the total amount of the card it deactivated the card. I was told that a replacement card would be expedited to me this was 3 weeks ago. I called on Nov 30 and was told the replacement card would arrive on Tuesday December 3rd. It is now Thursday December 5th and the card has yet to arrive.

Fake cards don't work anywhere online. I order a $35 Vanilla Gift Card, couldn't used it anywhere. Customer service was useless. How can company allowed to take people's hard-earned money, like this should be a crime.

I received a $100 Vanilla Gift Card as a gift. The package was intact and there was no sign of someone trying to open the package. In fact, I opened it and removed the card. When I tried to use the card online, it was declined. I went to the Vanilla Gift website to look for any activity on the card, and found two transactions dated 1/8/24 at 6:16 pm and 6:17 pm at the CVS in Rancho Cucamonga, CA totaling $100. The person who gave me the card is a 78 old female who is a friend and a co-worker who lives in the Minneapolis, MN area, as I do. I know she was not in CA in January and my work calendar shows I was in the office that week. I have never visited Rancho Cucamonga. Someone committed FRAUD.

Please people, Do Not buy Vanilla Visa gift card. The funds are depleted by hackers, scammers etc. The company Icomm has numerous class action lawsuits because they don’t acknowledge the hacked cards. They tell you to write a dispute of charges. Then they never answer the dispute. This brand of card is usually sold in CVS and Walgreens. I purchased mine in CVS. I contacted CVS and they were not helpful. Their answer was to contact Vanilla. I’m not sure as to why CVS and Walgreens still carry this card. It gives them a bad reputation too.

I suggest highly researching this brand. They are terrible because my wife has MS and has trouble remembering a transaction that never went through so there is no record on my end to verify they put the card on hold. Now since there is no record of transactions I can’t tell them what it was. I told them some of the transactions. Now they kill the card and have to wait 10 days for a new one. Getting someone in customer service that speaks no English is the most outlandish thing Vanilla can do. She couldn’t even say my address saying it’s not a word. Lady it’s my address. Do not get this gift card.

I got the card, activated it and a message said it is on hold and to call the number on the card. The guy on the phone said the card is compromised and has to be replaced. I have to wait to see if a replacement ever shows up in the mail.

****NEVER BUY THESE VANILLA PREPAID VISA GC'S.**** They are a complete waste of money and the CUSTOMER SERVICE IS AN ABSOLUTE JOKE!!! They will gladly take your money, but then they will NOT be able to refund you if you have an issue with the card. And it sounds like many people have issues with the cards. They will not send you a replacement card or offer any refunds. They ask you to send in all of your receipts and details and the email bounce back claims they will contact you within 3-5 days or in some cases it can take up to 30 days. HOWEVER they WILL NOT CONTACT YOU & IT WILL REQUIRE MONTHS & MONTHS OF YOU trying to contact them, without ANY resolution. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!! I never did get my money back!

So far this is a bad deal. I can't believe I'm being treated like I need to verify something because the gift card, stopped working. They had me on hold, came back with no real resolution, it's as if they are trying to keep my balance. I refuse and will seek this out to its entirety if I have to. No free rides here.

I am writing to formally express my frustration regarding an unresolved issue with a Vanilla Gift Card I purchased for the amount of $500. Upon attempting to use the card, I was informed that the balance was $0. I immediately contacted customer service and submitted all the required documentation to resolve this matter. However, despite my efforts and the two months that have since passed, I have received no resolution. Instead, I have been met with repeated excuses and vague updates about an ongoing investigation.

Please do yourself a favor and do not purchase a Vanilla Gift Card for yourself or for someone else (unless you actually don't like someone...). I agree with some of the other reviews as I believe the Attorney General from several states or the US Attorney General's office should get involved and review the business practices of this organization. It seemed a few years ago you could actually use this a Vanilla Gift card...not anymore. You will be holding a piece of plastic that is supposed to have $400.00 value in reality it is worth $0.00 as you can not use it anywhere. Never buy a Vanilla Gift card... you will be better off purchasing a retail specific gift card or purchase a Amazon gift card.

Card was literally glued to the packaging so when we took it out, the paper was stuck to the strip on the back. There is a spot that says “security code.” However there is no number next to it. The card also only has 12 digits, not 16. What a mess. I have seen nothing but terrible reviews of this card - I hope this money is not scammed. Looking forward to calling India or Pakistan tomorrow. It should be illegal for these companies to outsource their customer service centers like this. Probably some dude sitting on his couch with a script next to him.

I do regret purchasing this card because it is a pain in the ** to use. However I will say that for some reason most of the time it is processed it's done so as a debit card, but what I've found is that if you can get it to be ran as a credit card it works. Especially on Amazon...if you uncheck the debit card box it seems to work after asking for the CVC #. Otherwise these companies are treating it as a bank card, and that just doesn't work. This probably won't solve everyone's issues as fraud is rampant nowadays, but hopefully it will help some of you. Until this company becomes better at getting these cards to be more user friendly I cannot recommend one.

My mother sent me one of these as a birthday gift. We live in 2 different states. When I opened the packaging and went online to register the card, it asked for the 3-digit code on the back. I flipped it over and the Security Code box was blank. Called the service number and it took forever to get a support person on the line and kept getting referred back to website. Without the security code, you cannot access the site! Just received the "help" email which says it is required to send the receipt or electronic record of the purchase. Guess I will be out of luck on a replacement, and my mom is out $$$. I sent all the other info requested, but have no expectation of getting a new card.

I am very disappointed with the Vanilla Gift Card. I purchased 4 cards from a local store in the amount of $500 each. I very carefully checked the packaging to verify that they were entirely intact. I then went to make my purchase of 1795.00 and the 4th card showed up as possible fraud and wouldn't work. I checked the balance while standing there at the Costco register and it still showed $500 available but there was now a red flag on the page showing possible fraud.

I have a Vanilla gift card that has a balance on it. However, every time I go to use my gift card, it gets declined. This has happened at several stores and drive thrus. Always for amounts significantly smaller than the balance left on the card.

Don't buy My Vanilla Card. They block your card and keep your money. Bad business. I got a debit and had my direct disposit from my job for 7 months and all of a sudden they block my card refusing to release my money.

On November 1st I bought a $75 Vanilla Visa gift card to give to my mother-in-law for Thanksgiving shopping. Two days ago she went to the grocery store to buy food and guess what? The card declined. She paid out of pocket which infuriated me as she is on a fixed, limited budget. I called today and managed to get someone in customer service who had a thick ** accent. I have a case number but all communication henceforth, including submitting my receipt of purchase as proof, will be conducted through POSTAL MAIL. Not email. When I look up my case number on their website it gives a resolution date of early next year. I cannot recommend enough that you steer clear of Vanilla gift cards.

Will never recommend this card. The sad part is that I received two large $ amount cards for my birthday. I have no confidence that they will work anywhere. I tried using the first one THREE times with THREE different vendors. First two were online, second was in person at the post office. All transactions were declined and I have no idea why. And trying to find out why is a whole other story. Customer Service is non-existent. You call the number on the card and they refer you to the website if you want to report a problem. Not able to reach a person directly.

I would give zero stars if I could. I accidentally placed an order with a wrong address and neither the agent or the supervisor would assist me in changing it before the order shipped. They told me the address could only be changed after it shipped, which makes no sense. The supervisor spoke over me and ignored me over and over, refusing to help. I will be filing a dispute asap

I NEVER write reviews but after receiving 2 of these gift cards from a cousin for $100 each I am feeling so bamboozled!! One of the cards seemed to work just fine and the 2nd has been a nightmare since September, when first received. My husband and I have been talking to actual people on the phone and the first time they said it was not secure (for some reason) so they'd have to send a new one. OK, so that's fine and it arrives but still could not use due to a hold they put on it.

Vanilla Gift (Vanilla Gift cards) is a SCAM! Don’t waste your money. They will sell you a gift card, activate it, you will get it all set up and then when you go use it they will decline the charge. When you call them they will say it’s because the card was compromised but they can’t explain how or why. They then can only mail you a new card. Meanwhile they have all off your money invested in stocks trying to generate more cash off of what they sold you. Check their business model. Fraudulent. U.S. Gov't needs to investigate and shut them down. A class action lawsuit should occur as well.

I bought one of these gift cards for my grandson. The card was $7. In addition to the money for him. It was activated, but never usable. I contacted the company's customer service dept, which took days to finally get a person. I was told they would overnight me a new card. It has been two weeks and still no replacement card. All in all I give a 0 out of 5 stars. I will never purchase another one and would definitely NOT suggest that anyone else buy one either. The company's a joke and their product unreliable!

My granddaughter was given this card as a gift. Didn't work she was so embarrassed. This card is the worst gift card. I called and was told the card was deactivated when she tried to use it at Walmart.

Do not buy one of these cards if you can help it. Go with another company. Trying to find out the balance on your card is like pulling teeth. It always says, "Error occurred check back later." NOT. I wouldn't even give it one star.

This is the worst customer service experience. Can't understand these people. They don't grasp simple English. Can't get issue with unauthorized pending transaction removed. This has caused other payments not to go through. Says balance available, but not allowing other payments. What a scam.

I started a campaign to acknowledge our employee's birthdays by sending them a $250 Vanilla Gift Card via email with a cute ecard when they opened their email. I thought I would get some sort of acknowledgement, but did not. I was comfortable enough to ask our Office Manager about her gift card, and she told me that the other three employees had the same experience as her, but were not comfortable telling me. All four said once the email was opened, their were given a code that did not work or was expired. They tried calling for help, but the telephone system is looped in a circle. There was no live person to help them. I could understand if it was one person who had trouble opening/using the card, but this was all four employees with the same story. It was very frustrating and made me look stupid, as I also couldn't get a hold of a live person to help us. This was $1,000.00 out of our company's pocket.

I walked 3 miles to CVS, purchased an emergency visa gift card. I added in $400 to make an emergency purchased. Vanilla immediately put a hold on my card when I needed it as an emergency option. It was so inconvenient. I was so frustrated. Now my emergency card had a hold on it. I had no option but to wait for them to mail a new one that would take 5 to 7 business days. Now I’m stuck in a different state in an emergency with no cash, no credit cards. Vanilla made my situation a lot more worse. I DO NOT RECOMMEND USING VANILLA VISA. They are useless when they supposed to be easy and fast.

I received Vanilla Debit Gift Card and when I tried to use it, nothing happened! Then I went to their website to check balance, kept getting errors (I tried a number of times). Then calling the 800 number was a joke too! I’m beginning to wonder about these kinds of gifts. I personally am afraid to buy them, and will not. Now I’m glad I stopped. The phone number supplied should have real human beings answering instead of an endless loop or getting cut off. Makes me wonder about the company. Are they keeping the money and crying fraud? So frustrating and feel badly for the kind person that purchased it for me.

Vanilla Gift Cards are a scam at best. Bought one and waited a day to use it. Was declined everywhere, even at places where the security code was provided. Called the number. Have to wait for a new card to be send 3-5 business days. They are clearly spinning the money through financial services and purposely making the first card not work. Don't ever buy these. They are a total scam.

The card can't be used everywhere. I called the number on the back of my card for customer service since I wanted to buy something off of eBay. A well-trusted site that has been around for decades and should be good to use this kind of card on. After dozens and dozens of tries, the card just wouldn't go through. I don't know if it had to do with what I was buying (I doubt it did), which was a few books. I couldn't buy from this particular seller or any seller in general on eBay so as it turns out, I had to go to the official seller's site to actually buy the books I wanted at a slightly higher cost due to having to pay for shipping. Because of this I could have saved myself some of the money the gift card had and bought myself a few more books that I really wanted to read without having to pay out of my own pocket, had the Vanilla Gift Card's "security measures" been such a hassle on a trustworthy site like eBay.

This company is a scam. I got a gift card from a client, and it only worked once. Then I had to get the card replaced. Still does not work. Their helpline is based in India, and the people were very rude. DO NOT BUY.

This card should not be sold in CVS or anywhere else. I purchased 4 $500 cards and they disabled all of them and told me I have to wait 10 business days to get another one and I have to send in identification and receipt so after spending 2000, I now have to fight for my money. This should be illegal. Beware!

Bought prepaid card for online transaction. 3 different vendors refused the Vanilla card. Was told it takes an hour to activate. Vanilla said 24 hrs. Still didn't work. Vanilla doesn't work and is almost a scam. The joker card worked with no fuss. Regret grabbing the vanilla one. Note I did set up postal code and even tried using my business one when person address said it wasn't going through.

Two times in a week I bought a pre paid visa only for it not to work and a investigation is going to happen. Like I give a crap I want my money back. The customer service is no help and I will never ever buy one again. Vanilla prepaid are the worst gift cards ever.

Avoid this card. This is one of the worst cards to use for online purchases. I bought some items on Amazon and the payment was DENIED 4 times. The card was activated and the balance was there but the payment would NOT go through. It has taken me 4 days and the Vanillagift.com web site was no help as it gave 'System error' several times when checking the balance. There is also NO customer service number to call for help. I was finally able to get the payment through after the 4th attempt by changing the cards name to "Gift Card". So when you fill in the info as a debit card make sure you use the name "Gift Card" or it will be rejected. I won't purchase this card card.

Received a gift card for my birthday. Tried using it several times and unable to do so. Even the store I purchased it at the sales people cashiers and customer service were not able to figure it out therefore the person that sent me the birthday card is out the money and so am I. Is there any way a customer service rep can be contacted. This card needs to be taken off the shelves. Would never recommend and I mean never recommend anyone purchase a vanilla gift card.

I received a Vanilla Gift card as a gift. Once activated, fraudulent charges were made and I filed a dispute. My card was immediately inactivated and I went through the proper channels, waiting 90 days to have this resolved. After 90 days, I contacted customer service to be told 10 more days, then 10 more days, then 2 more days. I never received a replacement card or refund of any kind. Complete scam, probably done inside as there are over 1700 complaints of the same thing. I see there are several class action lawsuits against InComm Financial Services (the company that distributes and services this card) for fraud.

I received a Vanilla Visa gift card for Christmas 2023. Tried to use it in 2024. It didn't work, thought maybe I forgot to register it. It was registered. Called them, they said they could replace. I sent them an email with all of the information they asked for. Overseas customer service rep said to allow 7-10 days for processing and gave me a case number. Checked case number online after 2 weeks. Called customer service today 10/30 (18 business days since getting a case #). New overseas customer service person says, "You need to wait 30 days for case to be handled." Asked why first person said 7-10. He had no response.

This is the worst card ever. You can not make a purchase online anywhere, nor can you buy anything at any store, it is literally useless and customer service runs more drag than using a micro reel to catch a salmon.

Loaded $300 to use card for a specific online purchase deal of the day (meaning order today). Card wouldn't Auth online. Advised to use in person, still no Auth. Now waiting on a 3-5 day replacement Card. Bye deal. Money tied up for a week now.

By far the worst card, basically just lost $325. Because somehow it was compromised. Should start a petition to get these pulled off the shelves, it's a scam, plain and simple. There is absolutely no help when you call.

Vanilla gif is the worst card I have ever had, I do not recommend it to anyone, if you want to lose your money do not use it!!!! They gave me a $100 card on October 2, 2024 and I opened it on October 25 to make a purchase, it turns out that the card had no money, zero dollars, because when I checked on October 8 two xx purchases had been made, my question as if with my card I had sealed this happened? They do not explain that these cards are a scam, I would never recommend it to anyone, I contacted customer service and it turns out that the processing of my claim takes 30 to 90 days, I do not know what the result will be, but I feel very disappointed with what is happening, why is this happening, I do not know? But they should take measures to eliminate this scam?

In the age of digital transactions, a Vanilla Visa gift card is perhaps the worst form of money one could have. There is not a single virtual transaction you can use it for -- and you can't even put the money into Apple Pay or your Venmo account to facilitate some online transaction. Go to a restaurant, and you have to make sure the card is at least worth 120% of your bill, and even then there can be problems. Doesn't work at the gas pump. Cash is far more versatile than this "virtual account." Please, don't give this to someone. Would give this product 0 stars if I could.

My boss gifted me two Vanilla gift cards for Christmas. When I opened the envelope both cards were damaged. I contacted their customer service who is no help whatever. They asked me to email them proof. I did and still haven’t heard back from them. Awful!!

The Vanilla Visa cards are not working across many merchants. These cards are essentially useless and our money is not accessible. They get declined both online and in person even though they have a balance. It seems to be an issue where the merchants are declining it due to the VISA gift card needing to be registered to a billing address or zip code, which Vanilla gift card does not give an option for.

I bought Vanilla gift card. Did some purchases then I was not able to use it any longer. They said they blocked it off without my consent cause of suspicious transactions without my consent. I am now having trouble with a merchant to refund me back on that credit card. They said they can’t reverse that blocked transaction. This gift card doesn’t work for all of the website online.

I was given a Vanilla gift card on 6/16/24. I opened the package on 8/11/24 to check and confirm the balance. Instead of a $200 balance, I had a $5.94 balance. The card was used for an online purchase at Microsoft. I filed a dispute with Vanilla and told them no one could have used my card since I was the one who removed it from the package. They told me that it would take 90 days to resolve the problem. This is ridiculous. Received a denial for dispute on unauthorized purchases.

Bought my daughter a card. She opened it up to use it. Told her insufficient balance. Called to find out 75$ purchase was made. At some place we haven't even been to. She literally just opened it up. Called them for them to say, "Call back in 8 days to resolve it." Worst way to run a company.

WARNING! WARNING! Vanilla Prepaid Cards company does not stand by their products. Unauthorised transactions for the amount of $111.86 Canadian dollars was done on my card somewhere in Dubai for tickets for Museum of the Future. I reported these transaction and after 3 months of investigation they told me that they will not refund me the money lost. I am in Canada and never been in Dubai or ever purchase anything from there. This card was used to make purchase on amazon only. I never shared any details with anyone about this card. I got it at store and took it home and that is where it stayed. I have a feeling this could be an internal scam. Be aware when you buys these cards. I won't buy this type or card anymore.

I bought a Vanilla cards, the 2 packs for $75.00, each packs which is 3 cards 25 dollars each, imagine 6 prepaid cards not working totally rip off. When I get home waited for 30 mins to activate the cards, all of the cards invalid, cannot be traced. I call the customer service, they are going to file a case, take a picture the receipt and the card and send it to them. After, 3 days follow up them once they received, wait for 30 days to process the refund. Then wait for another days to received the replacement cards by mail. You bought the cards not even 1 min. It's not my fault this card's not working so I penalized for this. Worst nightmares. I’m not even bothered to purchased this prepaid card anymore. Too much stress.

It's kinda trash when I buy the card to buy something on sale. I wait eight hours. Still can't. And by the time I can actually even use it the deals are gone and the card is useless and leaves me with no need for the card. Anyways just a waste of money.

Unable to activate my card. Tried a number of times. The issue gets stuck on the verify. Even verifying 23 times, 3 different days. Unable to reach them by phone. It was a birthday present and I don’t know how much is on the card.

Bought this card. The card was completely stuck to the packaging to the point where the scan was defective and the number was unreadable. Took back to store within two hours of purchase and they had me call. The only solution I was offered was a card mailed to me in maybe two weeks. Ridiculous. Too much technology out here for this to be the only resolution. Plus you are now out of money and cannot use it for the purpose in which it was bought. Will never buy another one. I had to come up with more money to replace this "gift." And that little receipt they give you in the store....worthless, no point at all.

I call to activate the card and they do ask if you have Medicare, if you own your house, attitude after explaining that I'm not interested then proceed to say that their system is down, by their accent call service in India, it sound it like scammers.

Bought this card for birthday gift purchases. I put $165 on the card expecting it to work, and have had numerous problems with it. Whenever I call in, the people on the phone are rude, will interrupt, and frankly do not care that you’re having an issue with the card. I’ve called in a total of 6 times in the past week because I have had so many issues with the card, and each time the following has happened.

"Nightmare". If you need help of any kind there is no one at any of Vanilla gift cards phone numbers to help you!!!. And just because you have a pretty gift card it doesn't mean you can spend it where you would like or need to. So.... Before you buy one make sure first to check all retailers and any place you might need to use the car, especially if you need to pay a bill that can't wait. Why? Because they might not let you use the card saying it's not compatible with their system....".warning " Avoid a nightmare.

Used cash to buy a card and immediately went to use the card for a large purchase, I guess Vanilla decided that it does not like the retailer I was shopping at. Nobody to help with on the phone (which is crazy considering that you pay 4.95 activation fee there should absolutely be some type of person to offer assistance in matters.) All you get is their webpage (that never tells you your balance) or the phone that you will absolutely not be able to get a human on to speak with and they will just tell you (Via recording) to try a different retailer or go in person. Wow what a great solution! Worst lack of staff and worst customer service EVER!!

We bought a Vanilla gift card to go on vacation with and we had been using it just fine and then they decided we had our card compromised and locked it up. The card stayed with us the entire time. Then wait for another card 3 to 5 business days. And we will already be home so this sucked. Because we have to figure out how to feed ourselves and all the other things until we get home.

This company sucks! I bought my daughter a $200 gift card and she did use some of the money. She tried to use it at Walmart and they said it wasn't working, twice. I called the company several times and the recording told me to go on the Vanilla web page. Guess what? The site is not working, try again later. I give up... Please do not use this company, they are a rip off! I'm going to Walmart today and I'm going to tell them what's going on.

BUYER BEWARE! Tried to use these cards to pay on a balance on a cruise and was told they can't take the card because you need a zip code attached to it. $500 wasted! I've used other cards and was able to put my address in when I activated it. THIS ONE DOES NOT allow that!

I am having the worst experience with Vanilla card. I got $75 gift from a mobile shop in the month of July, but still I am not able to use that. Several calls to customer care doesn't work, even their is several mail.

Attempted to use this card at a point of sale for less than the balance on the card and it was declined. Tried to use this card online for less than the balance on the card and it was declined. Contacted customer service. They just gave me a runaround of excuses and eventually told me there was nothing they could do. They even tried to blame it on the other vendors. Complete scam.

I was given a Vanilla gift card on 9/5/24. I opened the package on 9/11/24 to check and confirm the balance. Instead of a $25 balance, I had a $2.44 balance. The card was used for an online purchase. I filed a dispute with vanilla and told them no one could have used my card since I was the one who removed it from the package. They told me that it would take 90 days to resolve the problem. This is ridiculous. It does not take 90 days to check one unauthorized purchase. I will never use a vanilla card again and I have spread the word about their ridiculous policy

NEVER BUY THESE CARDS. CUSTOMER SERVICE NIGHTMARE IF THERE IS AN ISSUE. Horrible company. I called in Jan. 2024 about 2 cards that didn't work. Was told it would be escalated. Sent drivers license and pictures of cards as they requested. Fast forward, called at the end of January and was told it would be escalated. Nothing. Called back in September to see whatever happened. Was told escalated again. Oct. 1, received an email that they needed receipts and couldn't do anything. Basically they said I was out of luck.

BIG WASTE. Got it a couple months ago for $150 and shows online it has a balance of $0.00. I called them so many times and they keep asking me to send them the receipt and copy of the card and every call I hear different answer. They are scammers.

Just don't purchase. Can't use them anywhere anymore! I used to be able to use them on eBay, online bill pay, gas stations, and more. NOT anymore. Not even worth the purchase anymore. What's the point?

Decline EVERYWHERE. Big wastes. Just got yesterday as a gift and shows online it has a balance of $50 still and is active but has gotten declined every single place I have tried for even small amounts. The phone number for help is an automated system that doesn't help at all. Suggests if your card is declined to try another place which I have several.

Honestly, when I bought my Vanilla gift card I thought it will work and every website I order from it didn’t, if you wanna order from a website using a vanilla gift card don’t use it on Amazon. I don’t know what other website you can use it on, but not Amazon. It didn’t for me and I called them to give me a refund and they said they'll give a check. I haven’t seen my check so, yeah but so far I'm doing whatever I can to get my check. I’m gonna get my money back that's what I know. They just be taking too long, too much information for an address.

My Dad Sent me A 200 dollar Vanilla Gift card from Texas to California.. I used it once online to buy a 30 dollar car screen off A TikTok website,, worked fine,, I received my car screen,, then a few days later I went to Walmart to buy A Battery for my Truck for 136.00. It was declined.. Asked me to type in a pin number?? I called customer service while still at Walmart and set up a pin number..and it still didn't work,, My card was declined for suspicious activity.. I called customer service and spoke to Habib..who could barley speak English and was told they will send me a replacement card..

I purchased a gift card online. Visa took the money from my account but never sent me a confirmation email saying the gift card was purchased. I however receive a text message from my bank saying they took the money out. When I call customer service the guy on the other end was rude and was acting like I was making the story up. He told me if the statement I am making are true then my money will be returned in 7 to 10 day... So basically they take your money, don't give you any kind of feedback on why they took it or why it happens and then tell you your money is tied up for 7 to 10 day. I told them I have the bank statement that show Vanilla took the money. He didn't want to hear it and hung up on me. Do not I repeat do not buy these gift cards online. Visa as crooked as they come.

I bought this card for my son bday, he didn't use it at all for almost one year, when he tried didn't work. This is the biggest scam ever- stay away- don't buy- they will block your card and ask for receipts even if you bought year ago and if you don't have it they won't be able to help you- this is joke- you can't even understand person on other end- I wish I could give negative star but I can't- don't waste your money and time.

I have purchased Vanilla gift cards with a total value of $550. Both cards were tampered with. The cards were inside the package unopened. Once opened the last 4 digits on one card was scratched out and on the other the first 4 digits were scratched out. As a customer, there is no way I could have done this. But when I called to make a claim these people give you the runaround like it's your fault. I know there are scammers out here, but if I haven't even opened the package, then I think you better start looking in-house because this is definitely happening before the product is even shipped. Vanilla gift you guys need to do better and do right by your customers. I tell everyone now to not purchase them, because if you have an issue, you will likely just be out of your money.

Wish there was a 0, or "minus -" number rating. I would ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY NOT recommend buying Vanilla Gift Cards!! Two family members received gift cards Dec 2023, $150 total. Went to use, and the 2 cards had .05 & .04 balance. After reviewing activations & discovering unauth'd purchases that took place, after 4 mos of mult calls, emails & faxes to obtain & complete dispute reports, we finally receive an email declining refund or reassurance of gift cards. So my dear brother is out the $150, & I'm out the many many hours of my time wasted on this total SCAM of product!! Grrrrr!!!! NEVER EVER AGAIN!!!!

I received a Vanilla gift card from my 92 y/o mother-in-law. It was activated accordingly and I still cannot use it. Customer service was routed to another country and I had a difficult time understanding what the gent was saying except for "what's your name and address" "do you have any other cards in your name". I am livid because I have $100 that I can't use!

I purchased $250 worth of Vanilla gift cards. The gift cards were e digital gift cards from Walmart. After I purchased them I added them to my Google wallet as well as my Walmart.com. I didn't realize that the address was incorrect so it denied it a couple times. The transactions also show that on the website. Before I went to get groceries the card was active. But as soon as I used it I was denied at the register which I felt like was pretty strange since I just got them and they were active last time I checked. I look on the website and it says that there's a hold on my card and to call customer care to resolve it. Customer care was very rude and they seem like they didn't know what they were talking about and they could not help me at all.

Absolutely awful. This card doesn't work with most online orders and very few in person purchases. One hundred dollars on a gift card and I can use it and maybe five places total. Do not buy these, they really aren't worth it. Total scam. If I could give these cards a zero start review, I would.

Card received.

I wish I could give 0 stars. My card shows a zero balance and it should not be. It is impossible to reach anyone. Never again will Visa Gift Cards receive a dime from me. That was grocery money for my grandchildren but why would you give a damn. Sincerely, Pissed Off

HORRIBLE... Don't buy. I have a $50 gift card that won't work and their customer service is worthless!!!! I've had a case with them since March and no resolution. My son received this as a graduation gift and it's worth $0.

People need to stay away, felt like scammed. Had 2, one they decided to freeze saying was compromised, like what used they you decided compromised, still haven’t seen replacement card. 2nd card they decided the same thing. DO NOT BUY THESE!! Haven’t made good on anything!!!!

I found this gift card in an old birthday card. Called to activate it and on the first call I received an advisor who informed me that there would be a 1.50 transaction fee. I questioned it. Immediate disconnect. Pretty sure at this point I know it's a scam. Called again and this advisor tried to sell me with a hundred dollarr gift. I said no thanks and guess what happened. How Walgreens and Walmart can can sell this fraud is beyond me. Anyway, buyer beware, if ya can.

The main reason why a person buys this is to buy things online. This card will block everything literally but if I gave this card to a scammer they can drain the entire card…. On top of that the website never works to check balance etc. Avoid any of these cards. You may even see different names. They are the same Vanilla card network.

Updated on 01/31/2025: My card had fraud on it. I sent Vanilla card the documentation they requested. You can't even speak to a person anymore, only e-mail. They have never gotten back to me since they received my documents. I e-mailed them again over a month ago and have gotten no response. Worst gift card ever. They deserve to go out of business.

Company does nothing to protect the end recipient of these cards. A card was purchased for my son as a birthday gift. When he went to use it had $0. The investigation showed that a short time after the purchase it was used at an adjacent gas station from the place it was purchased. Two consecutive swipes for $10 within minutes. Vanilla disputes declined the dispute and provided no detail on their investigation. Don't buy these.

I wish I could give negative stars! These cards are hacked immediately after activation and THE COMPANY IS AWARE! Yet they are still in the shelf then it takes 45-90 days to get your money back! And that's IF their system isn't conveniently down when you finally get ahold of them.

On Visa Vanilla "You can redeem it in anywhere Visa is accepted" - IS A LIE. I've been trying to spend down a card I've had for over a year now. It was usable, then at $37.00 left - It is being declined everywhere. I can no longer check the balance (also for over a year) on the website. I finally broke down and called. I got excuses and repetitive generic answers from the lady on the other end. Visa vanilla is the one actively doing the declining - but is telling us that it is on the retailers end. So far it's no go for: Walmart, eBay, Amazon and multiple other smaller retailers. Buy something else, they are not the only pre-paid cash card on the market.

First of all the patience and calmness of the service rep, Tony, was amazing. Good on you Tony. A Vanilla Visa prepaid card was taken to the till at a local gas station from their rack of cards. It was paid for and I took it off the counter, unopened. I put it in my pocket and went to work. Four hours later, I take it out of my pocket and open it to enter the info into my Google account. Maybe I should be sure that the funds are released or the card has actually been activated, "So I go online to check the balance. Apparently Vanilla gift dot com was unable to give me my balance, wrong website. So I go onto Vanilla Prepaid, check balance. $2.55. I just pulled the card out of the package. I never stopped at a store since the gas station. I hadn't been online shopping. How had I spent 70 something dollars??"

Scam. Be aware of this company. The card packaging was sealed and intact, and I had to rip it open, so it's not a case of theft draining, it's inside job. I can't believe they're getting away with this in America.

Please do not waste your money on buying this card. I have a 350 card I purchased from them and cannot use it at all. Contact them. They will not offer to replace it every time I make an order. It has been canceled and cancel every time I make another order. Cancel. Cancel. Save your money. Is a waste of time, just cause you more headaches and more headaches. Poor customer service skills like they do not want to answer the phone. Require you to email them but won’t answer your email at all. Please do not waste your money buy this card.

I received a Vanilla Mastercard gift card from my employer for a few hundred dollars as a bonus. I am certain it is a valid card (I even have the gift receipt, and it was brand new in the unopened package). When I tried to use it online, I got an error message. I then tried to use it at a brick-and-mortar store but it was declined. I called the Vanilla Gift customer service number, and they said that the card does indeed have the money on it, but that it had a block put on it (they did not tell me why) and I needed to send a bunch of personal information and documents to an email address so they would be able to unblock the card or send me a new one. I did everything they asked, including sending a copy of the gift receipt.

A VISA card is supposed to have 16 Digits. Why would a company print phone cards with less digits? A fraudulent company would do that to make a profit. I contacted the issuer bank, Vanilla [even the name looks suspicious] and nobody took responsibility. Not even by contacting VISA. So next time you buy a gift card, do a little research. I didn't. I paid the price. I lost 50 dollars with the Vanilla Card fraud.

Whatever you do never buy this card. The card had $500 on it. Never been used. Activated the card. Tried to use it. It was flagged as suspicious behavior. How does a brand new card. Get marked as suspicious behavior. Call customer service. They said the card was active and usable. Didn’t work for separate times, best they could do for me is send me a new card with no guarantee that this card would work either. Why would you do any business with these people?

I received a Vanilla Visa gift card as an award from my employer. It is a virtual card only. I activated it online & it showed a $500 balance. I tried using it at several on-line retailers (both as a debit and credit card) and all rejected it immediately. Amazon submitted a request (which I can see online) and Vanilla Visa rejected it, with displaying internal code only. Online support was useless, and tried calling and was put in phone tree circle, with no human to talk to and it just said goodbye and hung up on me. I have no idea how to redeem this, and clearly retailers know not to trust this card. They had no problem taking payment from my employer, but refuse to let me use it. What a scam!!! Don’t buy this card!!

If I could I'd give ZERO. They don't work and lately I can't even get a customer rep and the last one I tried I couldn't understand hardly at all. Plus a few times I had managed to successfully get it unlocked but this time suddenly I had to wait 24 hours until that retailer could be used again in an emergency when that had NEVER been the case the last two times. I'm furious. I thought VISA Gift Cards would be better because theoretically they can be used anywhere but now they're more or less USELESS when nobody will even accept them AND they can't be used at ATMs so you can get ACTUAL MONEY. And of course this is all to protect the big biz at the cost of the customer. Big biz before people after all. Real great "protections" there.

Went to use second time. Was on hold. Had to call. They ask me what site and I tried to make a buy from which didn't work so I moved on to a site I knew would work. Like how would I remember what random site I was on and purchased price it was that declined, This card sucks and will never purchased again.

This card doesn't work anywhere. Online portal says I have funds. There is no live customer service via phone or email, no way to resolve. My parents gifted me a $200 useless piece of plastic that serves only to make me look scammy at retail establishments every time it is declined. It also has an expiration date, which is illegal in CA. But whatever, we all know banks are above the law.

9/11/2024 4:36PM ((WEDNESDAY, September 11, 2024)). In the beginning, I remembered when I first got a Vanilla Prepaid Gift Card for Christmas!!! Boy, was I excited! There was $150 put on that gift card! I was able to use that gift card in-person at any store and even online at any franchise of my choice. But, now, when you go to any retailers that sell Vanilla Gift Cards they are locked up in safes, on the card booth, the serial number is marked with a big bold X across the back, or if you are not looking closely at your gift card, you would not be able to tell if it has been tampered with or not, in this case, it has been definitely tampered with.

Never buy anyone a Vanilla Gift card. These cards used to work online easily but this has changed. I was reading that since changes made in 2024 to protect companies against fraud, most retailers will decline this card. Amazon doesn't accept it anymore, nor does Walmart, Trader Joe's, and many other businesses. I have personally tried using it on Amazon, Walmart online, Trader Joe's in person, Ebay, Poshmark, and even Geico to pay a specific amount of a bill. It declined on every platform and requested I use a different payment method.

They basically stole $400 from me, I purchased and load this card to give to our friend, when she try to use, card was declined and was told only $0.35 on it. I open the case, submitted all documents they requested, month later I was told nothing they can do and case closed. So today I opened small claims to sue this **** company. TBBK Card Services, Inc., Pathward, N.A. Or Sutton stealing people's money, period!!!

These are a nightmare to use. It's like pulling teeth trying to get a transaction to be approved. I've only tried Amazon. I've tried over and over for days. When I called their customer service they couldn't give me a reason why it was declining, just told me to clear my cookies and delete and re add the card. I did that multiple times. Feels like I'm being scammed.

I purchased a Vanilla Visa gift card for $120 and it's declined everywhere at ShopRite, Amazon all big even wawa. I try calling support. You can't get live person, and website always saying try again later!! They should be sued!! I am filing on Better Business Bureau too!!

I have gotten my 14 year old niece a $50 gift card for her birthday. She use it once at 99cent store for $5 bucks. Her remaining balance is $45 dollars so she decided to use it again and it was declined. I checked it and it look like some weird company stole the money. I put a claim for them say there's nothing they could do. The network regulations will not support the claim for the funds. I will never purchase their gift cards ever again. They are a fraud company that steals from customers.

Thank goodness I did not purchase this horrible card to pay bills. Card was declined for every transaction tried. Contacted customer service. NO LUCK there at all. Told it will be at least 3 weeks to receive my refund (I will keep you updated). Sold at Walgreens, CVS, Winn-Dixie and more. DO NOT PURCHASE THIS GIFTCARD EVER!!

They want to keep your money that is on the card. I was given as a gift. I do not have a receipt for the card. They will not take it off hold unless I have a receipt for the card. This card was given to me in June for a special purchase in September. I activated the card with a pin in July. I tried to use it to buy a book in September and it is on hold. They will not release until I can get original receipt which my mom doesn't have. So they get to keep the money. What a racket. They can not say why on hold. Never use them for gift cards or anything else.

This company is a scam!! Over the last year I have purchased three cards totaling $350. Each time I go to use them immediately they are declined. I call them and always get someone who can barely speak English. Very frustrating. They always tell me that the card needs to be replaced and it will take up to two weeks. Plus, they want all of your information including your drivers license. The replacement cards never come! I purchased them at my local Safeway and they couldn’t care less about what is going on. It’s the same as just plain stealing. They are scammers and thieves. NEVER USE THEM!!!

My daughter received a $30 gift card for her birthday, but when we went to use it we noticed that there was no CVV number so unfortunately we could not use the funds on the card. When I called their customer service number the agents basically gave me the runaround and had me call more than 6 times over a 2 month period and they told me that they needed the original purchase receipt and couldn't do anything without it. Now it's impossible for me to get this receipt as this card was a gift and Vanilla card services couldn't do anything to help me. Am trying to spread the word so nobody purchases these gift cards as they are a scam.

If you don't want to get all your money stolen, never buy a card from this company. I was unlucky when I received a gift card from my boss, but before I could use it, all the money in the card was mysteriously taken. I contacted them to report and resolve the issue but it's been 2 months and they still haven't given me a satisfactory answer. They won't help you, they will just waste your time and never get your money back.

Good Evening, as far as I’m concerned I didn’t know that I needed a pre-authorization to purchase a ticket with my money that I put on a card. I believed you guys were reliable. Unbelievable now I have to wait 7 days and oooppps there goes my ticket, all because they needed a pre-authorization that the airlines were supposed to send. And then the airlines thinks it’s a scam. Wrong that was not right. I was supposed to purchase my ticket and that it. Instead, I was the one who’s losing out because now I have to wait and if it gets back. You guys have me crying, oh yes and the airline said it was declined 3 times and yet only 15 in it!!! Thank you very much, that’s not right!!!!!! All I wanted was to be able to pay for something I purchased with my OWN MONEY.

I have an old Vanilla gift card and tried to find out what the balance is by calling the number on the back of the card and by checking their website (by phone it is impossible to get a human) but because two of the code digits disappeared I was not able to get the information. I will never buy Vanilla cards anymore because IT IS A WASTE OF MONEY. You pay for the card, it is almost impossible to use the card for its exact face value and whatever the balance is left you can say goodbye to it.

Worst gift card ever!! DO NOT BUY!!! I made a huge mistake and bought one of these cards. I got $500 dollar egift card, gets declined all the time. I had to call them 2 times to get hold off and declines every other transaction. I got to use about $60 of my own money when the 3rd time I had a hold and called the rep, asked me to confirm my recent transactions. When I told them to her she told me they were not right, my statement said on the 21st I had used my card at 1159pm and her screen said I used the card on the 22nd, even though she could see I made the transaction on the 21st because her screen said the 22nd she had to report a "case" that takes 20-30 days to complete and when it's over they will either mail me a check or another egift card. What a joke!!! DO NOT GET THIS CARD. YOU WILL GET SCREWED ESPECIALLY IF IT'S AN EGIFT CARD!!!

If I could leave a negative or a minus 5 review I would.. On July 19th I purchased a Vanilla Gift card because of the Nationwide outage.. Right away I noticed that funds were not available.. I could not reach anyone from customer service on the 19th because of the outage. So on July 20th I called Vanilla customer service line to report the issue and rectify the matter.. I gave them the information that was asked for and was told 3 to 5 business days 30 days max.. Which who would entrust their money with someone and then have to wait 30 days to utilize it? Well as of today it has been 37 days.

This is the worst experience ever. I got a birthday gift card in July for my bday and when I was going to use it stated an error. I created a claim with them, sent everything they asked for in regards to get this solved and a month later they are still asking me for the same info I had sent and it STILL HASN'T BEEN RESOLVED. In all honesty is ridiculous to be asking for so much even though I provided it already and is still not solved. Never again buying Visa cards. Is so sad they do this when one was just trying to enjoy their bday present.

If I could give this card a 0 I would. Please do yourself a favor and DO NOT PURCHASE THESE CARDS. I was scammed of $175. Purchased the card at Food Lion for my daughter's bday and two days later when my daughter tried to use it it kept declining. We went to see the balance history and noticed that there was an unauthorized charge for $175. Reported it to Vanilla gift and they denied it with no proof to back their claim. Terrible service. You won't be able to speak to the dispute department, only via email which will take you nowhere. Will never buy gift cards again. I prefer to give cash. Wish I saw these review before buying.

Hi I Purchased A Prepaid Vanilla Gift Card, on August 1, 2024. I always purchased they cards I happened to go online to check my balance. I couldn't check ✅ my balance. I went to use the card. They locked it. I contacted the the CUSTOMER SERVICE. Most of them can't speak English properly, I had to call numerous of times. I finally understood someone. I had to email my card, my license & address. I was advised it would take 3 to 5 business days. It's been 28 days. I was advised it was processing. Then I was told to resend all my information. I email & called for my update. Nothing But lies, I really believe it a inside job. Someone in the company stealing customers information. Don't buy Vanilla gift card. You better.

Do NOT buy a gift card from Vanilla Gift. My card was not properly activated and I have waiting longer than the 30 days as requested initially. When I called I was told that I have to wait another 30 days from the date they received the documents that was sent to them approx 2 weeks prior. When I asked to get clarification on why from Bradford, he kept repeating his script. I expressed to him that this is not okay and he should inform his staff to be more specific on the required turnaround time. Save yourself the hassle and do not buy from them.

The Visa Vanilla gift card advertises that you may use your Card/Virtual Account to obtain goods or services wherever Visa or Mastercard is honored. It is not true. I could not use my gift card at Walmart or on Amazon. After talking with customer service, I was told that in order to use the gift card at Walmart if the balance is over the gift card balance, I have to use my own debit card or money to pay the over balance amount BEFORE the gift card can be used. Generally, you use a gift card first and pay the balance with your own cash. I have yet to try it again to see if it works in that order. I did try to purchase on Amazon, but my order was declined. The customer service rep told me that many online retailers will not accept it. My response was, "So, I may or may not be able to use this card?" Total waste of time to buy one of these as a gift for someone unless you want to deliver them a headache to deal with it.

This card is not usable except if you call and ask them if you can use your card to spend your money, and then they will tell you when you can use it, where you are allowed to use it, and on what you are allowed to use it. Then after putting a hold on the card, because you tried to use your own money for what YOU wanted, they tell you they will send you a new card. Their customer support can only read the 3 answers to the script they have in front of them, if your question is not one of the 3 scripted answers, they always answer response for question 1. This is an India scam card. DO NOT BUY this card, you are just giving Vanilla your money, and good luck being able to use the card. Would give it a negative star, but they won't let me.

After running into numerous issues with using the prepaid card for online purposes, I can see why these cards were fully stocked at the shopping center! You are not able to use these online especially for Paypal nor Target.com. This is basically an expensive Amazon card which seems to be the only one who will accept them. Customer service offered to replace the card and mail a new one to me but what's the point of getting a new card number? Same problem. Plus why would I trust them any further? I have one thing to say to the greedy scammers behind this operation - you cannot see the consumer's face, therefore, you never know who you crossed and what power and authority they hold and what swift changes they can bring about such as karmic justice!

This is the worst gift card ever. I bought a $200.00 gift card and the money was stolen from it within days. I contacted the customer support, and after waiting for 5 months and never contacting me, I called them and was notified that the case was closed and the money could not be returned. I think this is an inside job, and someone in the company who has access to the card is stealing the money. Don't ever purchase these cards, or your money will be gone. The people in customer service are clueless and don't bother to listen to you. The whole thing is a scam to steal your money.

Worst experience ever. I got a card as a gift for my son's birthday. After a week when I wanted to use, I noticed it was compromised and somebody used it. Contacted them and they opened a file. After 3 months or even more, I received an email that they cannot approve the dispute. Oh my God. This is the best you can do after 3 months investigation!!! And how somebody can have the card number and use it???? It's all fraud to me. Please don't buy from them.

Worst gift ever!!!! My mom bought me 2 Visa cards of 200$ value each. One of them did not work and it was the gift for my childbirth! I contacted customer service many times and it was the worst experience ever!!!! Till now that card does not work and lost the 200$. Worst worst worstttt company… Shame on you for stealing our money.

I purchased two $500 VanillaGift VISA cards from Safeway, specifically to use online for some needed purchases. The back of the packaging said "can only be used in the U.S." but there was no warning about online use. When I tried to use them on PayPal and Amazon.com, the Sutton Bank (which issues these cards) wouldn't allow it despite both companies being in the U.S. I checked on the VanillaGift website, the cards have full balances. This is a scam! I've used a lot of the GC over the years and was always able to use them online. A VISA card should be compatible with online vendors that accept VISA! I've found I can use them locally at stores but the need was for certain online purchases and now I'm screwed. VanillaGift, Sutton Bank and Safeway are all to blame here (yes, I spoke to someone at Safeway who shrugged off my complaint, saying "you can use them at restaurants" as if that fixed the problem).

I saved up my gift cards to splurge on a luxury item. I went to the store and the card was declined. When I called the card they said try another establishment. After I was humiliated… I then went to a restaurant tried 3 different cards all declined. I will never buy this card for anyone!

Horrible cards and customer service. I would never use Visa ever in my life. Do yourself a favor and give cash to somebody. Visa is a joke and I would never deal with them in the future. Horrible company and service.

This company is a bunch of criminals and scammers. You purchase a gift card, you get out, you try to use it at a store or for any reason it doesn’t work or after you’ve used it for once and you still have a balance on there that you plan on using for something else then it doesn’t work and when you call them, they have to replace it. The other day I purchased one for $500 from CVS. It doesn’t work. They say they have to replace it within an hour Less than an hour. They send another one. You get it today. Guess what? You call, it doesn’t work. Now they have to replace it in that times. They’ll say they can’t replace it and won’t send you a new one and keep whatever money that you have on there so the company is a bunch of criminals and scams. Do not purchase their gift cards.

I Wish I could rate this company with a zero... Horrible customer service. I called within 5 min of placing an order and they couldn't update a simple address typo... Lost $$$. I will not ever use this company again!

This is the worst company ever. They should be locked in jail for fraud, robbery and wire fraud. They are preying on innocent people to get rich quick. It should be banned nationwide. These are truly bottom feeders, worst parasite.

I have tried to add a zip code to TWO different gift cards AND check the balance of them on the website for weeks now. Every single time I try to do either, it shows “an error has occurred”. Upon further research, it shows that this has actually been an ongoing issue for many months, if not longer. This will absolutely be my last purchase with Vanilla!

Vanilla gift card company is literally the worst gift card Visa I have ever bought in my life. Not only does it not work at 90% of the stores when you call customer service, they don't understand anything that you're saying. They tell you that it's you, not the card, even though when you use the card to decline you. If Vanilla really appreciates their customers they would reach out to me to resolve this situation. I recommend that you never ever buy Vanilla gift cards for family or friends. It is literally a headache.

This does not deserve a single star. I'm starting to think that Visa or whoever is over these gift cards are the ones scamming people. This is the SECOND and the LAST time I will EVER use them and I do plan to join the class action lawsuit. The bar code cut off from my 100.00 card. The card is "invalid". The last time 150.00 was somehow used on my card. They know this is happening yet they make it hell to get refunded. I bet they're the ones scamming us. People need their money.. So here I go again, about to chase 100.00 that was stolen before I even bought the card. Why ever are they still allowed to operate anywhere?

They never work anywhere. I set up the pin, I call customer service to verify a balance. I go to use it and DECLINED EVERY SINGLE TIME. They say you can use it on Amazon but I have yet to see that happen. I'm not dumb, I'm a very tech savvy guy. I have hundreds of dollars given to me from other people and THEY NEVER WORK. Just ridiculous. Don't ever buy or receive them. Just tell them to keep it and spend it on themself to save you from the headache.

I bought a Vanilla gift card and got scammed like the rest of you. The card declined a Amazon order and then all of a sudden the money was gone. Wait for my new card. I just so happened to google the card and there is a lawsuit against them. I am calling the lawyer and jumping on the lawsuit. I suggest someone you that haven't received your Money this is gonna get our money back eventually. Do your homework with this company, they are aware of the issue and refuse to fix it.

Worst thing you can is get a Vanilla Card, I bought one back in May and I asked for refund due a fraudulent transaction, they said they’d send another card within 45 days and still nothing to this day!!! There is no customer support and they have my $400 and are refusing to send the refund!!! WORST Customer Support Ever!!! Do NOT PURCHASE VANILLA GIFT CARD!!!!

The absolute worst gift card to give or buy for every reason already stated by other reviewers. People you love will hate you for giving them this card as a gift. Every merchant I use, rejects this garbage card. And I now have to get a replacement from VISA because in trying to use the damn card in several places, it was then put "on hold." You won't even get a confirmation email or any tracking info for the replacement card, so I have to cross my fingers that I actually get it and that it doesn't end up at some wrong address.

Card doesn't work in most stores, I had a $25 card and can only use $20, the card automatically wiped off the remaining $5, and now I have a $50 one I received as a gift that's not going thru either, it's a scam.

Do not purchase Vanilla Gift Cards. Upon purchase the card is used. I purchased a card, added $100 and tried activate it and just like that my money was gone. Called the company and their customer service team sucks, their English is hard to understand. The worst experience ever.

Vanilla Gift Cards is a scam. They locked my card and promised to send me the info I needed to unlock it on two occasions and have yet to do so. Do not buy this card. They will steal your money. They cannot be trusted.

Feb my card was hacked. It was supposed to be settled in May. It's Aug and I'm still waiting for a check that I know is not coming. This is the 3rd time I've called and been told 8-14 days. Don't buy one!!!!

Epic!! I got a 50$ Vanilla gift card recently and it was good! I can sign up to free trials and not pay them cause I have like 15 cents in there (I spent it all) Lol I have like 15 transactions from like very website every: Nintendo, Walmart, Roblox, Best Buy, Target. You name it! I came onto here just to rate it a 4 stars cause it was good! Thanks for the amazing product Vanilla! *What's up with all the negative reviews*

Vanilla visa does steal your money. Don't go with Vanilla visa. Don't waste time with vanilla visa. Then they love to argue with you. They will give wrong date and say that you have to wait another 90 days.

One of the most unhelpful and useless companies I have dealt with. Their card works in very limited locations and their solve is “try it somewhere else“. Don’t waste your money buying their gift cards, give someone cash or a Venmo instead.

Do not buy these gift cards. I was scammed out of money because I bought one and someone stole the number and used it. I went through the process with Visa, and they denied my claim and I lost all my money. They were not helpful at all. Could not get anyone to answer my call. What a waste. Please do not use the cards at all.

Do not buy Vanilla gift card!!! When there’s a problem, Customer Service is absolutely no help. They will not help with a card that was never activated due to a problem with the card. Now I’m unable to get use the gift card that was purchased.

I received a faulty card so I called customer service to try and get it resolved. They took my information and told me it would be mailed out immediately. 3 weeks later I called because the card never came. They basically told me they cannot help me because they cannot track that the card had not arrived. Total scam.

Horrible experience. I never write reviews but felt this one was needed so people know to stay away from this company/card and consider giving cash before ever using them. They choose where you can spend your money. Figured it being a Visa you could use it anywhere. Well that's not the case ….STAY AWAY. You have been warned!

This "gift card" is the biggest scam that exists! I purchased a $100 Gift card from Vanilla at Walgreens so my daughter could use it at a theme park with her class. The card was denied, so my daughter went without food all day. When I called to explain that the card was denied, they said it was compromised, so it was "rejected for my protection." They sent me a replacement card, and it was rejected at the grocery store the very first use. I called to complain, and they told me the same thing that "it was rejected for my protection." They told me that they would send another card. I never received the new card, so I called again today, and they told me I would have to send my ID to prove my identification to them before they could send me a replacement card. Everyone I spoke with was from India, and I could barely understand them. Clearly a fraud business.

If there was a negative star rating, I would gladly give it. Horrible experience with the purchase of a Vanilla Visa Gift Card. Got it to make an online purchase, only to find out they dictate where and how you can make purchases online. Very difficult to speak to anyone to try and resolve any issues; tried their website which was even worse. Biggest headache trying to use the card. Tried finishing up the balance by getting gas at the gas station only for it not to work, so I threw it in the garbage can with the remaining balance on it, could not deal with the headache with Vanilla visa card anymore.

They sucks. I can't purchase anything online even though I have money on the gift card and for some reason it keeps on saying, "Decline". Do yourself a favor people. Don't waste your money on a worthless gift card like this.

The company fabricates an “activation issue” with the card for which you need proof of purchase to resolve. Most people are not going to be able to access the proof of purchase whether it be from the gift giver or company who purchased. So the issue will never be resolved, and whoever bought the card in the first place gave their cash away to some scam artist. Do not buy from this company. Give cash instead.

I bought a $200 Vanilla Visa gift card so I could buy concert tickets for me and a friend. I don’t have a credit card. They would not allow me to buy from any online website. They said there were restrictions with these cards. I kindly asked for a refund and they refused. Do not buy these. You can’t use them anywhere that I’ve tried.

These gift cards are misleading and should not be sold in stores. I purchased the Visa gift card from Vanilla Gift in order to make some online purchases. The card was loaded with $120. Every single online retailer denied the card. When I called vanilla customer service they said there was nothing they could do and I just needed to try another vendor. I asked for a refund and they said it was not refundable. I pushed harder with my case and they said it would take at least 3 weeks. If your cards do not work as they are intended then you shouldn’t be allowed to sell them. Vanilla Gift cards are basically a scam since no one seems to accept them.