My recent adventures in buying Plat (aka read the fine print)

**drewcapu** · 10-29-2011, 02:43 AM

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!

**NECROREAPER** · 10-29-2011, 02:51 AM

Good info to know, Thanks for the heads up

Thats why I just use my CC!!!! Hahahahahaha

**TANKKAAR** · 10-29-2011, 02:59 AM

I just go to my local drug store and buy a visa vanilla bill pay card, activate it for use online with a simple call to the number on the back of the card, enter it as a payment option and then use that card directly in the Spacetime nexus. No Amazon or Paypal required

upside is funds are available immediately and never any surcharges

Downside is $4.95 activation fee

**Fyrce** · 10-29-2011, 02:41 PM

Man that sounds complicated.

Also note that some states have regulations protecting cards that are the equivalent of cash, such as gift cards. I'm not sure how legal surcharges on those things are. What's interesting is that stores will often tell you something but if you say that's against the law, such as expiration dates, they suddenly get with the program. Anyways, just a heads up on cash-equivalent cards and state laws.

Each state is different, of course.