Are gift cards ever considered cash advances?

[Anonymous]

---

@MattH wrote:

In the current economic climate, do be careful about buying gift cards to make sure the merchant is solvent and likely to remain so.  You don't want to be holding a gift card from the next Linens & Things or Circuit City (to name just a couple of high-profile retailers who have collapsed recently).

---

Good advice.  I don't know about linens & Things, but when Circuit City made the announcement they were liquidating, they did say that at that time they would continue to honor their gift cards.  

If you want to purchase a gift card for someone you can always get one with a strong bank that usually comes out to be a Visa card so the person can use it wherever they want.  

Only downside:  Unless you have a lot of money with the bank, there's usually a fee that can be anywhere from 3.5-4.95

[oracles]

I purchased gift cards for Christmas ( I hate to shop) and always was charged as a purchase. Never a cash advance.

Also, very good point on making sure you purchase a gift card from a company that is not going out of business.

Also know the terms of the gift card, because some stores will start to charge a fee monthly if the card is not used in a certain time period.

I had  B&N card and I did not use it until a year afterwards. I had less on the card than its orignal purcahsed amount because of the monthly fee of not using it in a particular time period.

Definitely have the person or you check the Terms and Conditions 

[Anonymous]

anybody ever have trouble activating a simons giftaccount online?