ByThe Gift That Doesn’t Keep on Giving—How To Get a Gift Card Refund
Gift cards can be a fantastic token of appreciation for birthdays and holiday celebrations. When you’re short on gift ideas and want to give the receiver multiple options to choose from, gift cards are the ideal pick.
As the receiver, you won’t always make the right choice with your gift card purchases. The option to return funds to the gift card would make things easier, but it’s not something you can do with every kind of card. In such situations, you should resort to DoNotPay to get your money back.
What Is the Usual Gift Card Refund Policy?
Generally speaking, gift cards are considered non-refundable. When you purchase a card, you use it once and stick to what you bought. In practice, buyers are given a lot more leeway and they can refund most products under the right circumstances.
Gift card return policies vary from retailer to retailer. Amazon and Shopify let you refund the full amount once you’ve returned the products that you’ve purchased. You have to go through the regular channel for returning products, and the gift cards are treated as another form of payment.
Others, such as Walmart and Gamestop, use third-party gift card issuers, making it difficult to ask for a direct refund. In these cases, the company policy will usually state that gift cards are non-refundable.
Some businesses will refund the purchase and give you store credit. If seeking a full refund, this option is not a viable solution and you’ll have to contact the card issuer.
Once you get a gift card refund, the funds will be issued to the original payment method. This means that the money will end up in the original purchaser’s account. Consult them when you decide to ask for a gift card refund.
Getting Gift Card Refunds on Your Own
To get a complete gift card refund, you have to go through at least two steps:
- Returning the purchased product
- Requesting that the funds on the card are returned to the original form of payment
Most businesses have generous return policies for both steps, but using gift cards can complicate things.
You must have receipts for both transactions to be able to get a refund for the product and gift card involved.
How To Return Products and Get Refunds on Gift Card Balances
If you used a gift card to purchase a product, you will have to rely on the refund policy of the business you purchased from. If they allow refunds for items bought with a gift card, you only have to go through the standard process of requesting a refund. Regular issues with refunds still apply. , even if they grant you a refund to your gift card.
Here are the steps you should take to get a refund from most businesses:
- Contact the retailer or log onto your account on their website
- Go through the automatic refund options or call/email/text the customer support team
- Verify whether or not they allow returns to gift card balances and then request a refund
How To Transfer Credit From Your Gift Card to the Original Form of Payment
The card’s issuing party will usually have an outlined policy for gift card returns. It varies between card issuers, but nullifying the card is an option most of the time.
Small-scale retailers that issue gift cards through third parties won’t be able to refund the money on your card. Instead, they will direct you toward the original issuer. These businesses often have numbers printed on the back of the cards they produce. To request your refund, you must:
- Dial the number on the card
- Ask to speak to a representative
- Request a refund for the gift card
Going through these steps won’t always result in a complete refund. Many card issuers have a policy to only return a fixed percentage of the card’s worth. The value tends to be 90% or less of the gift card’s full value.
Here are some ways to request your refund from a gift card issuers:
|
Can You Request a Refund Via |
Yes / No |
|
DoNotPay | Yes |
|
No | |
|
Website | No |
| Phone |
Yes |
|
Letter | No |
| In-Person |
No |
Use DoNotPay To Get a Quick Refund From Any Company
Getting a refund for gift cards is no simple task. You have to get lucky with both the retailer’s and the card issuer’s return policy. You also have to go through the process of returning a product, which can be a challenge with some retailers.
DoNotPay can help you avoid the hassle and get your money back fast. To start using the app’s features, open DoNotPay in your . To get a refund, you have to:
- Sign in to the app
- Navigate to the Chargeback Quickly option and press Get Protected
- Answer the chatbot’s questions regarding the gift card purchase and the issuer involved
- Add your digital signature and submit
DoNotPay faxes your request to your bank quickly and includes Visa and Mastercard codes that will be relevant to your case. To collect further evidence and bolster your claim, DoNotPay can contact the merchant on your behalf.
Can I Check the Status of My Gift Card Refund?
It depends on the retailer involved.
Amazon allows you to track the status of every kind of refund on their website. You can use the Your Orders tab to keep an eye on your refund and see how it’s progressing. Retailers like Nike use a similar system.
Other retailers don’t have tracking systems for any form of payment, meaning you’ll have to contact them to check if and when you’ll have your funds returned.
When Can I Expect a Gift Card Refund?
The process will vary drastically from one retailer to another. Returning bought products can take some time, but refunding the amount on the gift card could take even longer. Ask the retailer and the card issuer for the estimated time to get a rough idea of how long you’ll have to wait.
To shorten the wait, you can use DoNotPays Chargeback Quickly option. It doesn’t take longer than a few minutes to submit your request and you will get your money back.
A Few Other Things DoNotPay Can Help You With
Our app has more than a few tricks up its sleeve. We can help you with a variety of tasks and challenges that would normally take a lot of time.
If you’re considering suing someone for harassment, DoNotPay will show you how. Need to dispute a parking ticket or stop a stalker? We’ve got your back. Our app can even help you manage your bills. Whenever you’re in doubt, DoNotPay will provide you with resources and knowledge that can help streamline any issue.
Open the app in your . Take a look at this list of tasks you can simplify with DoNotPay:
- Dealing with issues with credit cards
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- Getting refunds from any company
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