What Gift Cards Does CardCoins Accept?

The most common question we receive is: which gift cards does CardCoins accept? When you walk up to a gift card rack there are dozens of options, so it’s no surprise that you might be confused!

The short answer is, CardCoins accepts open loop non-reloadable gift cards. But if you’d like to learn more about what that means, let’s take a look at the different types of gift cards on the rack today.

There are two primary types of gift cards: “closed loop” and “open loop.” Closed loop cards, also known as “single purpose” or “store cards,” can be redeemed only with specific merchants or groups of affiliated retailers. They bear the issuer’s branding and can be purchased directly or from participating retailers with shared distribution agreements.

“Open loop” cards are general-purpose prepaid cards that are “network branded,” meaning they carry their “card organization’s” logo such as Visa, Mastercard, or American Express, and they can be used anywhere such cards are accepted. They are issued, distributed, and marketed by a variety of companies and financial institutions. Some open loop cards have “reloadable” variants. These are not gift cards and their retail packaging will not include the word “gift”. Reloadable cards usually have onerous registration requirements or transaction fees which make them difficult, but not impossible, to use with CardCoins.

When in doubt, just look for the Visa, Mastercard or American Express logo and the magic word, ‘GIFT’. The cards can be purchased with cash and in some cases debit or credit cards from over 60,000 locations across the United States. Make sure to save your receipt! :)