Gift cards are great, especially when you get them for free. But sometimes, you just need cold, hard cash to pay the rent, send a friend some money, or catch up on some bills. The good news is that there are several options for converting Visa gift cards to cash. In this article, I’ll show you how to get the most bang for your gift card buck. Ready? Let’s get started!
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10 Ways to Convert Visa Gift Cards to Cash
Below, I’ve listed ten ways you can exchange Visa gift cards for cash or save money on every day purchases using gift cards. Before we get to the list, it’s important to note that converting your Visa gift card to cash will often result in some loss of face value. If you’re willing to sacrifice a few dollars, that Visa gift card could become cash in your pocket.
1. Sell Your Gift Card on Facebook Marketplace
One of the easiest ways to get cash for your Visa gift card is to sell it on Facebook Marketplace. One of the key advantages is that you won’t pay a fee. Your biggest hurdle will be convincing potential buyers that your Visa gift card is legit.
Potential buyers won’t know you, so it’s important to market your cards properly. Take pictures and screenshot web pages from the Visa website displaying the card balance. Also, protect yourself as a seller by looking over the profile and the ratings of potential buyers.
There are scams that exists where a potential buyer will ask you to get on a three-way call to verify the balance on the card. While this sounds legit, what often happens is that the potential buyer writes down the card number as you share it with the customer service rep and then uses the balance on the card from there, without ever paying you for it. Look out for these scams.
Your best bet is to check the balance online and then share the screenshot with any potential buyers as mentioned above. Be sure to block out any information that might make it easy for the card information to be stolen from you.
2. Convert Your Gift Card to PayPal Or Venmo Cash
Another option is to convert your Visa gift card to Paypal or Venmo cash. To use this method, you’ll need to have two PayPal (or Venmo) accounts in your name. If you don’t have a second PayPal account or Venmo account, go ahead and open one using a separate email account.
From there, add your Visa gift card information as a payment method on your first PayPal or Venmo account. Then you’ll send (as a friend) yourself the amount of money on your gift card to your second account, using the gift card as the payment method.
You may incur charges from PayPal on one end or the other, so you’ll want to deduct that amount (they show you the fee beforehand) from the gift card balance so you don’t end up in the red.
Typically, the fee for PayPal is 2.9% plus $0.30. So, if I had a $75 gift card the fee would be roughly $2.48. For that reason, I’d send myself $72.52 cents in order to cover the fee.
After the money is sent to your second account, transfer it from your second account to the bank account that’s linked to the second account. You can expect to wait 1-3 days for the funds to hit your bank account.
You can choose an instant transfer with both sites. However, there will be an additional fee to get the cash to your bank account faster.
3. Buy a Money Order with Your Visa Gift Card
Buying a money order is probably the most cost-effective way to convert a Visa gift card to cash.
To get a money order with your Visa gift card, you simply go to a place where they sell money orders, buy one and pay for it with your gift card.
There are a few places that sell money orders:
- Banks and credit unions
- Money transfer stores such as Western Union
- Walmart
- Other retailers such as grocery stores
You’ll have to check with stores near you to find out whether or not they sell money orders. For example, almost all Walmart locations sell money orders.
After you get your money order you can bring it to your bank or credit union and deposit it just as you would deposit a regular check. It’s important to remember that there are fees for purchasing money orders. The fee will vary based on where you purchase your money order from.
Walmart’s website indicates a maximum fee of $1 for money orders, making it one of the most cost-effective ways to purchase one. A money order is viewed similarly to a check at many financial institutions. That’s why it’s so easy to purchase a money order using a Visa gift card.
It’s important to purchase your money order from a reputable retailer. The brand of money order may influence whether your bank accepts it and the length of hold they place on the funds.
4. Sell Your Visa Gift Card to an Exchange Kiosk
Consider selling your gift card to an exchange kiosk. Gift card exchange kiosks are located in malls around the world. Simply do an internet search for a “gift card exchange kiosk near me” to find one close to you.
Not all gift card exchange kiosks will accept Visa gift cards. In addition, many have minimum dollar amounts for the gift cards and charge fees for the exchange into cash. Because of this, you’ll want to read the fine print on the website belonging to the company that owns the kiosk before you make the trip to where the kiosk is located.
5. Sell Your Visa Gift Card to a Loved One
You could sell your Visa gift card to a loved one. I’ve done this before and it can work really well. The key is to make it an attractive deal for both you and for the buyer.
For instance, one time I received a gift card for $25 to a store I would never shop at. The store isn’t my style, but my mom shops there frequently.
So, I offered to sell her my $25 gift card for $20. She loved the savings; I loved getting cash for my gift card. The great thing about selling Visa gift cards to loved ones is that you can use a Visa gift card pretty much anywhere.
That really broadens your buyer pool. You could go to just about any friend or family member and offer them a discount of 5% or 10%, or ask them to make you an offer for buying the card from you. They get a discount and you get cash. It’s a win-win for everybody.
6. Offer the Visa Gift Card for Sale at Work
Another option for converting a gift card to cash is to offer it to your co-workers. This method can be especially successful if you work for a larger company.
Most companies have some type of bulletin board in the lunch area, or you could send out a group email to your office or your team. Most people love getting a deal, making it easy to sell your Visa gift card to a coworker.
Alternatives to Converting Visa Gift Card into Cash
The following options may not get you physical cash in hand, but they can still help you save money with your Visa gift cards.
7. Regift Your Visa Gift Card
Have you considered regifting your Visa gift card? For instance, let’s say your dad’s birthday is coming up soon. Instead of spending actual cash on his gift, you can give him your Visa gift card, thereby increasing (by not spending) the cash you have in hand.
The great thing about regifting your Visa gift card is that it can be used to purchase just about anything. The recipient of the gift card will have plenty of purchase options at their fingertips, all the while decreasing the amount of cash you have to spend on their gift.
8. Use Your Visa Gift Card to Pay Bills
You could use your Visa gift card to pay bills. Many utility companies will allow you to pay your bill with a Visa gift card, processing it much like a credit card payment. You save money by reducing the amount of cash coming out of your checking account to pay bills.
Use the money you save to invest, for a vacation, or for another financial goal. Check with the utility companies you have services through to find out if they’ll take your Visa number as payment for the bill you owe.
9. Purchase Necessity Items With Your Visa Gift Card
Another way to get money from your Visa gift card is to use it to purchase necessities you’d normally have to pay cash for – groceries, gas, medicines, personal items, and more. By using your Visa gift card to purchase them you can reduce the cash you pay out of pocket.
For instance, if you spend $1,000 on groceries each month, and you have a $200 Visa gift card to help pay for groceries, your grocery bill now becomes $800 and you’ve got $200 extra in your pocket.
The same concept works for gas for your vehicle or any other necessities you need to purchase.
As long as you’re not buying items you wouldn’t normally buy, you’re coming out ahead if you pay for necessities using your Visa gift card.
10. Practice Retail Arbitrage
Retail arbitrage involves buying items at super low prices and reselling them for a profit. If you have a knack for getting a great deal on things that are easy to resell, you could use your Visa gift card to buy items at low clearance prices and then resell them for cash.
For instance, you could buy clearance items at Walmart and resell them on eBay or Facebook Marketplace.
There are 20+ apps you can download to help you sell your stuff online. List your clearance finds on multiple apps to maximize sales and collect a profit from your Visa gift card.
Hint: When reselling items you’ve bought online, be sure to charge your buyers for shipping so you don’t cut into your profit. Or, set your price to cover shipping costs and offer free shipping.
Visa Gift Card FAQs
You may find online articles recommending that you sell your Visa gift card on sites like Raise, CardCash, and Gift Card Granny. Our research found that these sites do not buy Visa gift cards from private parties.
You cannot use Visa gift cards to access cash from an ATM. For one thing, they don’t come with a PIN. However, Visa offers prepaid cards that can be used at an ATM, as long as you’ve set up a PIN.
No. Visa does not allow transfers directly to bank accounts.
Similarly, Visa gift cards are not programmed to be allowed to transfer balances to your debit card, and neither is your bank. You cannot transfer your Visa gift card balance to your debit card.
Unfortunately, you cannot go to the service desk at Walmart and exchange your Visa gift card for cash.
However, you may be able to, as mentioned above, use your gift card to purchase a money order at Walmart.
Final Thoughts
Visa gift cards are more flexible that most gift cards because you can use them anywhere Visa is accepted. But not everything can be paid for with a gift card. If you need cash for any purpose, try converting your Visa gift card using one of the methods listed above. And always remember to look out for scams when dealing with another party.
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