6 replies to this topic

[Ayrmoon]

HI,

I was hoping to use a Visa Gift Card to purchase MC. I know a regular credit card will work. I know a pre-paid credit card will work. But will a gift card work?

Please no guessing responses ;-) If you have used a gift card and know that it works or you are an administrator for the website and know that it will work (or will not work), then please do answer tis thread.

Thank you for your time and help

Edited by Ayrmoon, 29 June 2014 - 05:09 PM.

[Barkem Squirrel]

I have used a visa gift card for the Clan package and to by MC. Also an american express gift card for MC. Remember in December there may be another MC sale like the last two years.

There was the PGI post on the UGC's being retired soon. Read this thread to see how some people are purchasing the MC online. Some times at a discount.
http://mwomercs.com/...ugc-retirement/



I hope this helps

[Bad Haircut]

If there are issues with the gift card, you can deposit the money into a PayPal account and pay that way.

[Ayrmoon]

Barkem Squirrel - Thank you. I know about the thread of which you lead me to. If you look at it, you will see I have the same question there ;-) But thank you very much for confirming that a gift card can be used.

Morden Kerensky - Thanks for the suggestion. But really, I'm just trying to do the gift card thing if I can.

Thanks again to you both and Happy Hunting

[TheCaptainJZ]

A visa gift card works just like any other visa card, just with a set balance.

[JeepStuff]

TheCaptainJZ, on 29 June 2014 - 11:26 PM, said:

A visa gift card works just like any other visa card, just with a set balance.

This is a very stale thread, but I want to add my experience in case it helps someone in the future.

In the US, a visa gift card does not work just like any other visa card, because a visa gift card can't make international purchases. So I had trouble using a gift card to buy MC since I live in the US and PGI is in Canada (ie: an international purchase). Also, you can't transfer the money to a Paypal account or anything like that, because a gift card can't do cash advances. So I thought there was no workaround -- no way to use a gift card to pay PGI.

I was wrong. I found something that worked. I completed the transaction through Paypal, but as a Guest, NOT with my usual paypal account. Since Paypal is a US company, it didn't count as an international purchase, and it went through.

Here's the idea:

(1) Go to the gift card's website and register it. I think the only point of doing this is to associate a street address with the card, so when the online vendor does an address verification (like confirming the zip code matches, for example), the address doesn't come back blank.

(2) Go to the MWO website and select the purchase you want to make. For payment options, choose Paypal (even if you don't have a paypal account)

(3) When the Paypal form pops up, choose "Continue as a Guest". Even if you have a paypal account, don't sign in to it if you want to use your gift card. Proceed as a guest.

(4) Enter all your information into the paypal form (name, address, phone number, email address). This info is not used to establish a new paypal account or anything -- it's just part of the temporary transaction. For the email address, I used a different email address than the one associated with my normal paypal account because I didn't want any possibility of my normal paypal account being charged -- I wanted to guarantee that the gift card was used, not my paypal account. But maybe this was unnecessary.

(5) Finally, the Paypal form will ask you for the credit card number. This is where you enter the gift card info. Since Paypal is a US company, the charge doesn't count as an international charge, and the gift card works.


That procedure worked for me. I hope it helps someone else.

[Ayrmoon]

EJT - Thank you for your input. The VISA gift card use to work as a direct payment option. But when PGI broke with IPG, that option went away. (The break-up may not have had anything to do with it. But it happened around this same time.)

I'm going to have to try your solution above. If it works, thank you ;-)

Again, thank you and Happy Hunting,
Ayrmoon