The American Express gift card is an open loop prepaid card that acts like a debit or credit card. It is one of the most popular open loop gift cards and comes in a variety of different denominations. The American Express gift card can be used anywhere that AMEX is accepted in the United States, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands.

You can buy American Express gift cards in almost any convenience, grocery, or drugstore. The gift cards are active once they are purchased at the cash register. Each card comes with a $3.95 to $6.95 activation fee.

Starting September 30, 2009 all American Express Gift Cards are no longer subject to monthly service or inactivity fees. This is a major benefit because a lot of open loop gift cards like the Vanilla Visa are subject to these fees.

An interesting note is that American Express gift cards come with an expiration date, but the funds actually never expire. If you fail to use the full balance before the date the gift card expires you can call customer service at 1-877-297-4438 and have a new card re-issued to you.

The American Express gift card is one of the only gift cards on the market which post purchase service fees have been completely eliminated.

Checking the American Express Gift Card Balance

You can visit the American Express website to check your balance and monitor your gift card’s history.  – https://www.americanexpress.com/gift/giftcardslanding.shtml

Using the American Express Gift Card to Shop Online

Call 1-877-297-4438 and provide them your name, address, and phone number to register your gift card. This way you can shop online and your transaction will not be declined.

The Vanilla Visa gift card is one of the most popular Visa gift cards on the market. They come in denominations of $25, $50, $100 and can be used anywhere that Visa Debit Cards are accepted in the United States.

You can buy Vanilla Visa gift cards in almost any convenience, grocery, or drugstore. Vanilla Visa gift cards are active once they are purchased at the cash register. Each card comes with a $4.95 to $6.95 activation fee.

The only downside to the Vanilla Visa gift card is the $2.50 maintenance fee that is charged after the 7^th month post activation. That means if you do not use the entire balance of the card within 7 months you will be charged $2.50 each month.

Checking the Vanilla Visa Gift Card Balance

Visit –  https://www.vanillavisa.com/home.html

Or you can call their customer service line at 1-800-571-1376 anytime 24-7. If you have additional questions regarding your Vanilla Visa gift card you can also speak to a customer service representative.

Using the Vanilla Visa Gift Card Online

You are unable to shop online with the Vanilla Visa Gift Card. This is because there is no registration option for the card.  If you are looking to shop online with a prepaid open loop gift card then I recommend you look into the American Express Gift Card.