American Express (Amex) gift cards can be purchased in-person at the following drug stores and supermarkets (grocery stores).
Drug Stores
Eckerd’s
Duane Reade
Longs Drugs
Rite Aid
Walgreens
CVS
Grocery Stores/Supermarkets Read the rest of this entry »
One of the most asked gift card questions, particularly on Yahoo Answers is whether you can use a Visa or any other bank issued gift card (American Express, Discover, or MasterCard) to shop online. The answer is yes.
However, there are additional steps you have to take to prevent your card from being rejected by the merchant. The problem with using Visa (or any other bank issued) gift card online is that there is no verifiable name and address associated with the card. When buying things online, most merchants want your name and billing address to match the name and address you have on file with your card (credit, debit, or bank gift card) issuer.
Therefore, before you use your Visa or other bank issued gift card, call the merchant/financial institution that issued the card or go to their website and add your name and address to the card. This will ensure that when you use the card online, the name and address you provide to the merchant for billing will match the name and address on file for the card. Once you have registered your card, you can use it online just like you would use a regular credit card.
If your information (name and address) has changed since you registered your Visa gift card, call the card issuer or go online and update your information before you use the card online.
Curiosity got the best of me today so I decided to find out what the 10 most popular gift cards are. I figured the best way to do this was to see which gift cards feature the most on searches. Since I am biased towards Google and Yahoo, i decided to use a keyword research tool to find out which gift cards are popular on these two sites. It turns out the most popular gift card according to Google and Yahoo Search results is the Visa gift card. The top 10 is made up of the following:
- Visa
- Walmart
- Target
- Home Depot
- American Express
- Lowe’s
- iTunes
- Best Buy
- MasterCard
- Simon Gift Card (Visa)
The result was surprising to me. I was expecting to see more department store and clothing store gift cards. I am not sure why i had that thought. It is interesting that the bank issued gift cards (Visa, American Express, and MasterCard) feature prominently in searches because these cards are laden with fees and have expiration dates. Does this mean people want the convenience of being able to use these cards everywhere and don’t care about the fees or expiration? Let me know what you think. Post your comment below.

Lexus is offering a free $100 American Express Encompass gift card when you test drive any 2008 Lexus. You must complete a registration online and provide dealer and VIP codes. Offer available while supplies last. Click here
Check out the Free Gift Cards page for the current list of free gift card deals.