Woolworths gift card thread

[Happy Dude]

If you are concerned about that I recommend signing up for Revolut for its free single-use card numbers

Good to know. I hadn't had any specific concerns until that dude mentioned that he uses the cards to avoid having websites save his credit card info. He uploads them (where available) to Paypal.

 

[33kft]

I was told a while ago that it was "easier" to use the service desk register to purchase these sorts of cards but a few weeks ago for the Luxury promo, the guy there said just use the self service checkout.

My personal rule is self check out for fixed value cards, service desk for variable. This is based on the silly self check out flow for variable cards which require staff to come and assist twice, at 2 different times.

 

[Amanad78]

I bought 2 at self service which was ok but the staff member had to do multiple approvals, so it took a while.

Bought 2 the next day (different Woolworths), went through the checkout, much quicker.

I have questions about spending them though. I have rates over $500 and rego over $500, can't seem to figure out a way to make it work with split payments online, or even at the post office they rejected paying the bill with a gift card. I added one to Sniip but still can't seem to work it out, they did say some companies don't accept split payments.

Any tip or ideas?

 

[33kft]

even at the post office they rejected paying the bill with a gift card

Do you mean rejected as in the terminal rejected it, or staff did? If staff, don't tell them. I hold the card in my hand, they'll ask a question like "is it a debit or credit card?" and I'll say yes if it's a prepaid MC/Visa or "eftpos card" if it's a prepaid eftpos card, then swipe and do my thing.

That said, one time the post office staffer saw the card face after I swiped and chucked a tantrum, so I'll leave it up to your personal judgement on if it's the right thing to do or not - to my knowledge there is no specific rule against using gift cards at auspost, but staff seem to apply their own opinions. The txn had already gone through in my case so there was nothing she could do except rave at me that "gift cards are for buying... things" to which I told her I'd just bought some tax and thanks for the heads up.

I don't go to that P/O anymore. I have found a friendlier one that doesn't care what card I swipe, as long as I pay. Another potentially helpful detail is that my friendly PO is a newsagency franchisee and not an auspost run outlet, and I find that makes a significant difference in friendliness and resourcefulness.

 

[Amanad78]

Do you mean rejected as in the terminal rejected it, or staff did? If staff, don't tell them. I hold the card in my hand, they'll ask a question like "is it a debit or credit card?" and I'll say yes if it's a prepaid MC/Visa or "eftpos card" if it's a prepaid eftpos card, then swipe and do my thing.

That said, one time the post office staffer saw the card face after I swiped and chucked a tantrum, so I'll leave it up to your personal judgement on if it's the right thing to do or not - to my knowledge there is no specific rule against using gift cards at auspost, but staff seem to apply their own opinions. The txn had already gone through in my case so there was nothing she could do except rave at me that "gift cards are for buying... things" to which I told her I'd just bought some tax and thanks for the heads up.

I don't go to that P/O anymore. I have found a friendlier one that doesn't care what card I swipe, as long as I pay. Another potentially helpful detail is that my friendly PO is a newsagency franchisee and not an auspost run outlet, and I find that makes a significant difference in friendliness and resourcefulness.

The thing is though is that the value of the card is $500 but the bill I need to pay is more than that so can I just ask them to charge $500 to that card and then pay the extra with another card?

They also said credit card couldn't be used to pay the bill (this was rates), she showed me a list of payment options on the screen and credit card wasn't an option. The other bill is for rego and even Sniip said that can't be a split payment :-(

 

[andye]

AP won't accept credit for bills. Many have homemade signs saying no giftcards. Some but not all Eftpos cards work there if you are subtle. No problem splitting

 

[MooTime]

I use the prepaid master cards from Coles for my rates. Pay online, put put in what amount to pay (amount of prepaid card) and goes thru in couple days. Pay remainging odd balance with credit card. As I hate coughty amounts left on prepaid / gift cards etc.
Pre paid visa same deal.

 

[Brissy1]

Supermarket busy bodies. I don't understand their motivations. Is it just a power trip? I can't imagine the higher-ups give a hoot.

I purchased 2x $500 Vanilla MC the other day and the cashier recognised me as a repeat customer and didn't make any noise about it.

I keep reading here that supermarkets in the major cities often run out of these cards and that people hide them. I've never had this issue in Newcastle. I don't think that many people play the points game here. They do run out near the end of the promo, though

AFF Meetup:
Newcastle, Wednesday, Date tba by Woolies.

 

[Brissy1]

The thing is though is that the value of the card is $500 but the bill I need to pay is more than that so can I just ask them to charge $500 to that card and then pay the extra with another card?

They also said credit card couldn't be used to pay the bill (this was rates), she showed me a list of payment options on the screen and credit card wasn't an option. The other bill is for rego and even Sniip said that can't be a split payment :-(

Rates - I select "credit" so if your council doesn't accept cr cards (bizarre) then no go I suppose. However yesterday I paid rates over-the-counter (council office opposite Woolworths centre), ¼ly rates $770 used 2x$500 ($500+$270 was also an option) now in credit with council. Done same online in syd, no issues but got a ph call from council accounts querying why I was overpaying.

Rego: in qld no, has to be full amount on one card, same rule online and over-the-counter.

 

[NoName]

Rego: in qld no, has to be full amount on one card, same rule online and over-the-counter.

I have managed to split payments over the counter at TMR previously. Used 4x $100 prepaid Mastercards with the balance on my CC from memory. It wasn’t exactly well received but was allowed all the same.

 

[snabbu]

There is no pattern. Depends on reps/staff.

Visit stores in lower socio economic areas for a greater chance of success.

This is also my experience along with regional areas in general. In SYD / MEL / BNE etc metro you need to be lucky as I was this week, for a change. Went to my local at 9am and the store manager just put out a box of them, including about 20 variable load. Grabbed a few and left. Came back Thursday morning about the same time and of course none of the variable load left. The same manager told me they all went by 10am Wednesday.

Whereas in regional towns I've travelled through over the years there are almost always plenty of cards for the taking no matter what day in the promo I've shown up.

 

[lovestotravel]

This is also my experience along with regional areas in general. In SYD / MEL / BNE etc metro you need to be lucky as I was this week, for a change. Went to my local at 9am and the store manager just put out a box of them, including about 20 variable load. Grabbed a few and left. Came back Thursday morning about the same time and of course none of the variable load left. The same manager told me they all went by 10am Wednesday.

Whereas in regional towns I've travelled through over the years there are almost always plenty of cards for the taking no matter what day in the promo I've shown up.

Agree, the issue is most stores put out about 20 variable load card each promo..

That only takes 2-3 people to use them all up

 

[Brissy1]

I have managed to split payments over the counter at TMR previously. Used 4x $100 prepaid Mastercards with the balance on my CC from memory. It wasn’t exactly well received but was allowed all the same.

Very interesting, I phoned tmr and was told can't. So actually tmr won't accept, not can't accept.

 

[VantageXL]

From Wed 16 Oct 2024:



Refer to the Ultimate Gift Cards website for a list of where each of these cards can be used. Highlights include Officeworks, JB Hi-Fi, The Good Guys, IKEA, Uber and more.

 

[VantageXL]

From Wed 23 Oct 2024:



See below for a list of where these gift cards can be used:

TCN Luxury Eftpos gift cards can be used basically anywhere physical Eftpos cards are accepted (not just "luxury" shops). They cannot be used online, over the phone or added to your mobile wallet.

TCN Baby gift cards can be used at Adairs Kids, Adore Beauty, ASOS, Baby Bunting, Bae The Label, Bonds, Cotton On Body, Cotton On Kids, Dymocks, H&M, Kidstuff, Peter Alexander, Ripe Maternity, The Trybe, Thread The Word, Toyworld.

TCN Him gift cards can be used at 99 Bikes, Academy Brand, Adidas, Aquila, ASOS, Barbeques Galore, BCF, Bonds, boohooMAN, Calibre, Calvin Klein, Champion, City Beach, Cotton On, Culture Kings, Decathlon, Dr. Martens, Drummond Golf, Dymocks, Edge Clothing, Factorie, Foot Locker, Ghanda, Glue Store, H&M, Hallensteins, Hype DC, Intersport, Jay Jays, JB Hi-Fi, JD Sports, Just Jeans, Kingpin, Kogan.com, Macpac, Neverland, Nike, Platypus, Rebel, Reebok, Scotch & Soda, Sony Playstation Store, Supercheap Auto, Surf Dive ‘n Ski, SurfStitch, The AFL Store, The Athlete’s Foot, The Good Guys, Timberland, Timezone, TK Maxx, Tommy Hilfiger, Uber, Uber Eats, Universal Store, Van Heusen, Weber, Xbox, Xbox Game Pass, Zone Bowling.

TCN Kids gift cards can be used at 99 Bikes, Adairs Kids, Adidas, AG LEGO Certified Stores, ASOS, Billabong, Bonds, Bounce, City Beach, Cotton On, Cotton On Kids, Culture Kings, Decjuba Kids, Dymocks, Foot Locker, Ghanda, H&M, Holey Moley, Hype DC, Intersport, JB Hi-Fi, JD Sports, Just Jeans, Kidstuff, Kingpin, Movie World, New Balance, Nike, NRLShop.com, Platypus, Puma, Quiksilver, Rebel, Reebok, Roblox, Sea World, Skechers, Smiggle, Sony Playstation Store, Strike, Surf Dive ‘n Ski, SurfStitch, The AFL Store, The Athlete’s Foot, The Oodie, The Trybe, Timezone, TK Maxx, Toyworld, Typo, Village Roadshow Theme Parks, Wet n Wild, Xbox, Xbox Game Pass, Zone Bowling.

TCN Shop gift cards can be used at Adairs, Adidas, Adore Beauty, ASOS, Barbeques Galore, BCF, Beginning Boutique, Bonds, boohoo, Bras N Things, Calvin Klein, Champion, City Beach, Collins Booksellers, Cotton On, Decjuba, Dotti, Dymocks, Foot Locker, Forever New, Ghanda, Ginger and Smart, Glassons, Glue Store, H&M, Hello Molly, House, Hype DC, Jacqui E, Jay Jays, JD Sports, Jeans West, Just Jeans, Kogan.com, Kookai, Macpac, MyHouse, Nike, Nine West, Oz Hair & Beauty, Perfect Stranger, Peter Alexander, Platypus, Portmans, Puma, Rebel, Reebok, Robins Kitchen, Sheike, Shein, Sheridan, Sheridan Outlet, Showpo., Smiggle, Sportsgirl, Stylerunner, Supre, Sussan, Suzanne Grae, That’s So Fetch, TK Maxx, Tommy Hilfiger, Typo, Uber, Uber Eats, Universal Store, Wheel & Barrow, White Fox Boutique, Wittner.

TCN Party gift cards can be used at 99 Bikes, AG LEGO Certified Stores, ASOS, BCF, Billabong, Bonds, Bounce, Champion, City Beach, Cotton On, Cotton On Body, Cotton On Kids, Culture Kings, Decathlon, Decjuba Kids, Dotti, Dymocks, Factorie, Foot Locker, Ghanda, Glue Store, H&M, Holey Moley, Hype DC, Jay Jays, JB Hi-Fi, JD Sports, Just Jeans, Kidstuff, Macpac, Movie World, Peter Alexander, Platypus, Puma, Quiksilver, Rebel, Reebok, Sea World, Shein, Skechers, Smiggle, Sportsgirl, Supre, Surf Dive ‘n Ski, The AFL Store, The Athlete’s Foot, The Oodie, Timezone, TK Maxx, Toyworld, Typo, Universal Store, Village Roadshow Theme Parks, Wet n Wild, Xbox, Zone Bowling.

TCN Good Food gift cards can be used at Eating Places and Restaurants (5812) and Drinking Places (5813). It cannot be used at fast food restaurants and it doesn’t support mobile wallets.

 

[ozflier]

From Wed 23 Oct 2024:

View attachment 412642

See below for a list of where these gift cards can be used:

Thank you for this information. I’m wondering when these cards are actually put on the shelf I would like to get them as possible as they seem to run out quickly for example, are they only put out from the morning of the 23rd or maybe from the day before?

 

[Dr Ralph]

Thank you for this information. I’m wondering when these cards are actually put on the shelf I would like to get them as possible as they seem to run out quickly for example, are they only put out from the morning of the 23rd or maybe from the day before?

The short answer is that it varies between stores.

 

[TripleB]

Realistically when the prepaid visa/mastercard/eftpos are on special to find the cards with the best promo you really need to be there before lunch on the Wednesday.

If you are there before lunch and you can't see what you are looking for have a hunt around and look behind the packets of mobile sims. In my experience at least 50% of the time there are cards there - just someone has got their daily limit and is trying to ensure there is stock for the following day.

The other tip is to look in stores where the average local resident isn't the average demographic of an ozbargain reader.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

From Wed 23 Oct 2024:

View attachment 412642

See below for a list of where these gift cards can be used:

Finally we’re back to a decent selection of cards and 10x QFF points to boot too! One thing I should note about the gift to dine cards is that while they can be used at restaurants from my experience they cannot be used as widely as Cafe Choice or Restaurant Choice cards which can even be used overseas.

It should also be noted that one should refer to the ultimate gift card website to confirm which retailers they can use these cards at because it will vary by card. For instance, a few weeks ago the Kids gift cards were on this promotion and I also was having my bike serviced at 99bikes. Lo and behold the kids gift card had 99bikes as a listed retailer so I bought 5 of them and paid nearly all of it one gift cards. One final point about gift cards is you’ll want to check with the retailer to see what their policies are on using multiple gift cards or split paying with gift card and the rest by card. For instance, I’ll buy the student gift card because I know that Grill’d is one of the places I can use it at and Grill’d allows me to split pay meaning I can spend the remainder of the balance (irrespective of how small it is) then the rest by card.

Thank you for this information. I’m wondering when these cards are actually put on the shelf I would like to get them as possible as they seem to run out quickly for example, are they only put out from the morning of the 23rd or maybe from the day before?

It depends on the gift card from my experience. Generally, the broader the appeal of the gift card for instance an eftpos card or one that can be used anywhere at a large category of wide appeal (e.g., Cafe Choice) tend to sell out quite rapidly. However, ones that are limited to a small set of retailers like an Ultimate Him tend to be on the shelves for some time. The other big unknown is how much stock of cards the store has. There have been some instances where they never had the cards to begin with and with Woolies removing rain cheques the only recourse would be trying a different store.

 

[VantageXL]

Tip: If you can't find any of the TCN Luxury Eftpos gift cards tomorrow, don't worry as next week (30 Oct) they'll be doing 10x points on regular TCN Eftpos gift cards. The latter is likely to be better stocked but of course this varies a lot depending on your location.