My recent adventures in buying Plat (aka read the fine print)
So, I had these gift cards to use. Both were pre-paid AmEx cards. One was $50 and one was $75.
Initially, I figured I had 2 options:
Combine them to do a 2k plat package via website for either PL or SL, or
Combine them in some fashion and do $50 PL / $50 SL.
The time came when R.I.V.E.T. was first introduced. I knew there was no way I was going to get it @500 Plat. So when the DotD for it @250 Plat was announced, I figured this would be my only chance to get it.
I decided $50/$50 would be the way for me to go. I was pretty much out of PL Plat, so it would have to wait. Winter Festival was still a ways away and there was nothing else I *really* needed Plat for in PL. I was ready to go ahead and use the $75 gift card for a $50 Plat package...
So I decided to try to add the GC to my PayPal account. Ugh! Of course, it needs a name and billing address which I know isn't part of the Gift Card. So I call the number on the back, yada-yada-yada, my name/address is associated with the card. I had the rep do the same with the other card. Fast-Forward to PayPal and it seems to take my card as an additional credit card.
Fast-forward, my attempt to get the $50 Plat package didn't work AND a $1 "test" charge is shown on the GC! AHHHHHH!
I ended up trying PayPal twice, with one time having the GC tied to my account, and the other without logging in. End result: $2 of "test charges"! AHHHHHH!
So I look around the PayPal Help area and find a little bullet point:
-You can’t link a gift card, prepaid card, or one-time-use card to your PayPal account.
Thanks!
Ok, time to try Amazon.
This time, I look for the help pages first and it definitely looks better. The only downer that I notice is:
-Pre-paid gift cards can't be combined with credit cards on a single order.
Ok, so I'm going to have to figure out a different way if I'm going to "combine" any leftover funds between the two cards to do two separate Plat Packages or one big one.
Fast-forward, and my Amazon attempt works!!!
I quickly buy the R.I.V.E.T., test it out to see if it works and do a Party Emote (ugh, my comm still sounds like he got kicked in the woo-hoo!)
Party's over and I have to figure out how long before the $2 test charges go away. I call AmEx and they say it can take 8 days. Ugh!
Fast-forward to today. $2 test fees are returned and I now have a clean $50 GC and a $75 GC with $25.01 left on it (LOL).
I figured I could go to the corner Walgreens and get a $25 Amazon card, a $50 Amazon card, and another item and pay for it with my 2 GCs and some cash (I really wanted to use that "extra" $0.01 on the $75 GC). Let's pretend that all went smoothly, because after the cashier called over the manager and about 10 minutes of delay, it really did go smoothly.
Cutting to the chase, when I went to go for the 2K Plat package for PL, I noticed that I didn't get an option to use the Amazon GC funds for the purchase. AHHHHHH!
I later discover that Amazon GC funds can basically only be used on Amazon and its "affiliates". AHHHHHH!
Ultimately, I did end up getting a 2K Plat package for PL using "regular" methods.
Moral of the story:
-If you have one of those Pre-Paid CC-type Gift Cards, you can use them via Amazon easily as long as it has enough funds for the Plat package you want.
-If you have one of these GCs and want to "upgrade" it so you can get a bigger Plat package, you can use it to buy a pre-paid GC with the full-value of the Plat package you plan to get. Do keep in mind that these pre-paid cards often come with a $4-5 surcharge at the cash register.
Things to watch out for:
-Read the info on the GC if you're buying it at a store. Some of them will say something to the effect of funds not being available for 24 hours after purchase. That could be a deal-breaker if you're going for a Deal Of The Day!
-If you like the fact that those GreenDot cards at the store have no surcharge (after the $5 credit you get that is nice and big on the display), do notice that those aren't the actual cards. They end up mailing it to you later. Ugh!
