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Have you ever exchanged an American Express gift card for goods or services? Luke writes that he received one as a gift, but hasn’t been able to use the card to make any purchases. All he’s managed to do is prove the futility of giving people credit card-branded gift cards as presents. Cash, my friends. Think cash.<\/a><\/p>\n Luke writes:<\/p>\n A friend of mine gave me an American Express gift card awhile back. I So I waited a week for these holds to vanish, and then tried to use it I’m beginning to wonder if this card is, in fact, redeemable for All we can tell you, Luke, is for the love of God, don’t take it to any Best Buys in New York City.<\/a> <\/p>\n
\ndecided to use it. So I tried to use it to buy Microsoft Points
\nonline. It rejected the transaction because the card had no address
\nattached to it. So I called American Express’s hotline, got
\ntransferred to India, and had my address put on the card. And it still
\ndidn’t work. And every time I tried to use it, a $1 hold was put on
\nthe card to, as the CSR rep said, “Check the address on file.”<\/p>\n
\nat a gas station. It asked for my zip code (a lot of gas pumps do this
\nto prevent fraud, it seems) and when I put it in, the card was
\nrejected. So I took it to a restaurant. Again the card was rejected. I
\nfind out this is because the card has a $25 hold on it from the gas
\nstation, which seems really odd considering the card is only worth $25
\nand the transaction was rejected.<\/p>\n
\nproducts and services, or if my friend was ripped out of $25 (he has
\nsince shifted to sending checks for Christmas instead). Help?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n