Visa Gift Card

Pellegcm

My wedding is just under two months away, and I've been giving a great deal of thought to the gifts I want to give to my bridesmaids. In addition to some smaller personal items, would you side eye a Visa gift card? My girls are all over the country, and I don't know what specific restaurant they would like a gift card to (or some place similar), so I thought a $50 prepaid card would be good so they could use it wherever they wanted. 

Yay? Nay? Another suggestion?

PhoneCardLady

If your daughters are in your bridal party or doing the part of readers, and you are giving gifts to all of YOUR party, then I would not side eye it.

misshart00

PhoneCardLady said:

If your daughters are in your bridal party or doing the part of readers, and you are giving gifts to all of YOUR party, then I would not side eye it.

Huh? What do her daughters have to do with anything (if OP even has daughters)?

Pellegcm

misshart00 said:

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If your daughters are in your bridal party or doing the part of readers, and you are giving gifts to all of YOUR party, then I would not side eye it.

Huh? What do her daughters have to do with anything (if OP even has daughters)?

Correct, I do not have any daughters, so I'm confused as to where that came from.... if it's from me saying "my girls are all over the country," I was referring to my bridesmaids.  

artbyallie

I would actually probably do cash if that was the case, because those prepaid cards can sometimes be a pain to spend all of. I've gotten ones before where I couldn't charge the full amount on one swipe.

Pellegcm

artbyallie said:

I would actually probably do cash if that was the case, because those prepaid cards can sometimes be a pain to spend all of. I've gotten ones before where I couldn't charge the full amount on one swipe.

I've seen/had that problem, too - but is cash weird? I've never heard of people slipping cash into a card for a BM gift....

huskypuppy14

Pellegcm said:

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artbyallie said:

I would actually probably do cash if that was the case, because those prepaid cards can sometimes be a pain to spend all of. I've gotten ones before where I couldn't charge the full amount on one swipe.

I've seen/had that problem, too - but is cash weird? I've never heard of people slipping cash into a card for a BM gift....

I think cash is weird. A gift card is fine though. I've never had problems with Amex/Visa gift cards, what is the issue?

lyndausvi

I love the Visa card idea.  I was an OOT BM once and she gave me one as a gift.  It was much appreciated. 

climbingsingle

I think a gift card is a perfectly great idea. I certainly would like it. I do think giving cash is odd though. But I've received Visa gift cards before and I've never had a problem.

jacques27

huskypuppy14 said:

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Pellegcm said:

artbyallie said:

I would actually probably do cash if that was the case, because those prepaid cards can sometimes be a pain to spend all of. I've gotten ones before where I couldn't charge the full amount on one swipe.

I've seen/had that problem, too - but is cash weird? I've never heard of people slipping cash into a card for a BM gift....

I think cash is weird. A gift card is fine though. I've never had problems with Amex/Visa gift cards, what is the issue?

I'm not sure if this is the issue they are describing, but I've had friends who ended up needing to return something they bought with a Visa gift card and it ended up taking close to two weeks to get the credit since the card isn't really tied to anything that personally identifies them.  You also need to know the exact balance on the card if you're making a purchase on the card that is more than the balance because it can cause issues if they try to charge more than the balance.  I don't think the potential issues outweigh the benefits though.

On the other hand, I'm also not opposed to cash.  Is it a little weird?  Sure.  But if someone handed me a card with cash and said "I really wanted to get you a certificate to a restaurant, but since you're in XX state, I didn't know where would be a good place so that's why there's cash - please have a nice dinner out on me" I would be totally understanding and head over heels because I am sick of getting cheesy looking charm bracelets, rhinestoned "bridesmaid" tank tops, and flimsy robes that barely cover my hoo-ha.

misshart00

jacques27 said:

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huskypuppy14 said:

Pellegcm said:

artbyallie said:

I would actually probably do cash if that was the case, because those prepaid cards can sometimes be a pain to spend all of. I've gotten ones before where I couldn't charge the full amount on one swipe.

I've seen/had that problem, too - but is cash weird? I've never heard of people slipping cash into a card for a BM gift....

I think cash is weird. A gift card is fine though. I've never had problems with Amex/Visa gift cards, what is the issue?


I'm not sure if this is the issue they are describing, but I've had friends who ended up needing to return something they bought with a Visa gift card and it ended up taking close to two weeks to get the credit since the card isn't really tied to anything that personally identifies them.  You also need to know the exact balance on the card if you're making a purchase on the card that is more than the balance because it can cause issues if they try to charge more than the balance.  I don't think the potential issues outweigh the benefits though.

On the other hand, I'm also not opposed to cash.  Is it a little weird?  Sure.  But if someone handed me a card with cash and said "I really wanted to get you a certificate to a restaurant, but since you're in XX state, I didn't know where would be a good place so that's why there's cash - please have a nice dinner out on me" I would be totally understanding and head over heels because I am sick of getting cheesy looking charm bracelets, rhinestoned "bridesmaid" tank tops, and flimsy robes that barely cover my hoo-ha.




I agree with this. While you can't actually dictate what someone uses a gift on, I think it would be nice to say "have dinner on me" or something similar.

rcher912

I like both ideas, but I think the GC idea is a little less strange. You're totally good with a Visa GC!

Blue_Bird

I think it's a great idea if it's truly a gift card. Though grateful, when I've received "gift cards" that were actually credit cards I was put off by having to supply my social security number to use them.

EDITED: punctuation

OliveOilsMom

Is it possible to stalk your friends' facebook pages to see where they have tagged themselves for dinner?  Or maybe just ask them their preferences for restaurants in their area.

I don't think there is anything wrong with giving Visa gift cards though.

SP29

I've had problems with the Visa GCs. Some stores (even though the card says "accepted anywhere Visa is accepted") don't accept them. I'm not entirely sure if it's the store that doesn't accept, or if it's more the cashier who doesn't know how to input the card, but I've had it happen at a few different places- tried to swipe the Visa GC on the machine and it was rejected. 

I don't know if Visa vs. Mastercard vs. whatever else is better than another?

However, I'm not against a gift card. Although I give cash as a wedding or birthday gift, I agree it would be kind of odd to receive as a thank you gift. 

We gave a restaurant gift certificate as a thank you gift to someone in another province. I looked online for nice restaurants in their area, called up the restaurant and asked them to mail me a gift certificate, which I then send with a card. 

Jessie42613

I would love a Visa gift card.

And FYI - a lot of times the "issues" with those cards come from the credit card terminals where they're being swiped.  For example, I work for a small business.  We have an outside company who issues us our credit card machine and processes the sales.  If you have a $50 card and you buy a $57 item, no problem.  Even if you don't know your card balance, no problem.  But some of the older companies/terminals might have difficulty.

JellyBean52513

To echo PPs re: GC issues, I've had issues with them as well. At my job, our credit card terminal rejects or accepts these things at random--seriously, there is no rhyme or reason as to why it declines some GCs and why it accepts others. I've also been told at a restaurant "we don't accept those" which was super annoying because the GC was supposed to be for a "nice dinner" by the gift-giver.

However, I would find it less weird to receive one of these than to receive cash. Not that I ever have a problem with cash lol but within the context of gift-giving, a GC seems more appropriate than cash for a bridesmaid.

artbyallie

I wouldn't find getting cash in a card as a bridesmaid any weirder than cash in cards for other occasions (birthday, Christmas, whatever). I'd be too busy thinking, 'Sweet, money!' And of course I'm gracious with any gift but I just thought I'd point out that I have had trouble spending the Visa GCs before. The one that stands out (and yes, it was probably an issue with the cash register or the person operating it) was when I was told that type of card could'nt be run for the full value on it at one time, so they charged $40 and gave it back to me with $10 on it and I had to pay the rest of my bill with another form of payment.

mlg78

I'm going to be the lone person to say that I wouldn't like a generic Visa gift card. While I don't know that I would side eye it, I would think you didn't put much thought into it when I'm supposed to be one of your nearest and dearest friends in the world yet you couldn't think of anything to get me???  You don't know where I like to shop?  Do I go to the spa (spa finder gift card)?  Sorry to be the one going against the grain here...  Just my two cents.

LtPowers

You have to be careful with Visa gift cards; they start charging steep maintenance fees if they're dormant for 6 months (or a year, depending on the issuer).

I'm afraid I have concerns about this, too. Because weddings are a gift-giving occasion, gifts given back from the wedding couple to their attendants should be as personal as possible. Otherwise you could end up just exchanging $50 worth of checks or gift cards and that just seems weird.

Powers  &8^]

huskypuppy14

LtPowers said:

You have to be careful with Visa gift cards; they start charging steep maintenance fees if they're dormant for 6 months (or a year, depending on the issuer).

I'm afraid I have concerns about this, too. Because weddings are a gift-giving occasion, gifts given back from the wedding couple to their attendants should be as personal as possible. Otherwise you could end up just exchanging $50 worth of checks or gift cards and that just seems weird.

Powers  &8^]

Not positive, but I thought regulations changed to make that not allowed anymore. Or you have at least a year to use it (which seems fair, because if you haven't used it in a year, will you ever?)

lyndausvi

The only time I've ever had a problem is people kept giving us VISA gc when we lived in the islands.  Problem being is they only work on in the states.

We just used them when we traveled around the states for gas, meals even to pay our hotel room (can't book with a gc, but you could pay with one).

kvruns

mlg78 said:

I'm going to be the lone person to say that I wouldn't like a generic Visa gift card. While I don't know that I would side eye it, I would think you didn't put much thought into it when I'm supposed to be one of your nearest and dearest friends in the world yet you couldn't think of anything to get me???  You don't know where I like to shop?  Do I go to the spa (spa finder gift card)?  Sorry to be the one going against the grain here...  Just my two cents.

I totally agree with you. I would definitely recommend doing some digging for things that would be near them or that you know they like vs just the visa card. I do think attaching a note that says something like I hope you use this for a night out or a fancy dinner or whatever is a good way to do it instead of just here's some $$

Case in point, for my brother's birthday I wanted to send something more than just the typical gift card like we normally do (usually a Visa/MC/AmEx thing) because I hate how generic it feels.  He lives in another state and we're not super close so I don't know what restaurants he goes to or what he really needs so I seriously went through like 3-6 months of his old fb posts and realized he liked some England soccer team and ordered him a shirt from there.  He loved it and it just took a little digging on his page to figure out interests that might translate to a nice gift.

STARMOON44

I wouldn't want a gift card. My closest friend should be able to come up with something I'd like!

Pellegcm

Sorry guys - I was stuffing invitations yesterday! To answer some questions:

As to the problem with the Visa cards: the main issues I've had and seen is that when you don't use the full amount and have weird balance left (like $1.42 for an ex). If you want to use that amount towards another purchase but it clearly won't cover the entire purchase, you have to know what the exact amount is to tell the cashier so they can input it, otherwise the card will be denied. THAT'S the kind of issue I'm talking about. 

As to it not being personal enough (@STARMOON44, @kvruns, @mlg78)  - my thought was to do this in addition to a personalized necklace. Not to wear for the wedding, but for fun. I would engrave it with something personal between me and each girl. I've got inside jokes with each of them or I know the fandom their a part of (cause lets face it we're just all big nerds). It's a necklace where they can either show the engraving or wear it the other way and it would just look like a nice necklace and they could keep the joke a secret to themselves. Plus a heartfelt card. 

Not all of my friends obsessively tag themselves at places on FB. I myself tend to stay away from doing that, so stalking their preferences isn't as easy as one might think.

And @scribe95 - thanks for saying that. I can understand how it can come across as incredibly impersonal, especially if nothing else was attached. Not trying to be a SS about this because I understand where people are coming from, but I wanted to make it clear it wouldn't be the ONLY thing they got. Plus... I like getting to decide where to spend money, so I thought my girls might, too. 

Knottie67053264

I love Amazon.com gift certificates-there is nothing you can't find on Amazon.

climbingsingle

Sometimes people are hard to shop for. All of my closest friends I've known for 20+ years. After years of being friends and giving gifts, sometimes you just run out of ideas.  I'd never be offended if one of my friends gave me a gift card. 

princessleia22

When in doubt, I tend to go with gift cards for restaurant chains.  Like if you do an Olive Garden gift card, it's good at Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, Yard House, Red Lobster, The Capital Grille, or any other Darden restaurant in the U.S.  Most people can find something they like in one of those restaurants and they are located all over the country. Or find out what their local movie theater chain is and get them gift card for there.

But, I wouldn't be offended by a Visa gift card either. Cash is a bit weird, but if it came with a note saying it's for them to go have a fun night out at a restaurant of their choice, instead of just random cash in an envelope, I wouldn't really side eye it. 

hyechica81

i got all my maids  alex and ani birthstone bangles, they all loved them and a few of them chose to wear them the day of the wedding.

Viczaesar

princessleia22 said:

When in doubt, I tend to go with gift cards for restaurant chains.  Like if you do an Olive Garden gift card, it's good at Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, Yard House, Red Lobster, The Capital Grille, or any other Darden restaurant in the U.S.  Most people can find something they like in one of those restaurants and they are located all over the country. Or find out what their local movie theater chain is and get them gift card for there.

But, I wouldn't be offended by a Visa gift card either. Cash is a bit weird, but if it came with a note saying it's for them to go have a fun night out at a restaurant of their choice, instead of just random cash in an envelope, I wouldn't really side eye it. 

There are no Darden restaurants within an hour of me; just make sure that you (general you) keep in mind where your friends are located. 

bananasplit472001

In my opinion a gift is a gift no matter what it is it is nice of you to give your bridal party something.  The same goes for them for wedding gifts.  We do not make rules for what is appropriate to give for wedding gifts and the same can be said for bridal party gifts.  Do whatever makes you comfortable.