If you have a Walmart gift card lying around the house, or maybe you are feeling environmentally conscious, you might be wondering whether or not Walmart gift cards are reloadable.
Since you can relead prepaid Walmart MoneyCards and Via/MasterCard debit cards, it surely is the same for Walmart gift cards, right? Here is what I found!
Are Walmart Gift Cards Reloadable?
Unfortunately, Walmart gift cards are not reloadable. The only instance in which funds can be reloaded onto a Walmart gift card is if a return is being processed. This means customers have to buy a new Walmart gift card every time when the balance has run out.
To learn more about Walmart gift cards not being reloadable, read on!
Why Are Walmart Gift Cards Not Reloadable?
Many stores, businesses, and large retail chains offer gift cards that are reloadable and can have money regularly loaded onto them at any time.
Meijer gift cards, usable in stores of the American Supermarket chain Meijer, are reloadable, for example, and you can put money into them to increase your existing gift card balance.
Walmart gift cards in the past used to be reloadable; however, due to growing concerns over scammers using gift cards for the purpose of fraudulent activity, Walmart put a stop to Walmart gift cards being reloadable.
How Is A Walmart MoneyCard Card Different From A Walmart Gift Card?
One of the main differences between a gift card and a prepaid debit card (such as the Walmart MoneyCard) is that a gift card is a stored-value card (SVC).
As a result, the monetary value of the Walmart Gift Card is stored on the gift card itself.
In comparison, prepaid debit cards are not stored on the card but instead in an external account managed by a financial institution such as a bank.
This means you can put money on Walmart prepaid debit cards regularly or whenever you want to.
What Is The Difference Between A Walmart eGift Card And A Walmart Gift Card?
Walmart eGift cards and Walmart gift cards are similar in that they can both be used for online and in-store Walmart purchases.
However, the clue for the difference between them comes with the ‘e’ part, e standing for ‘electronic.’
All this simply means is that instead of sending a plastic card like with the Walmart gift card, the sender of the e-Gift card electronically sends the e-Gift card to a specified email address.
Walmart e-Gift cards can be used in Walmart stores by the recipient of the e-Gift card by printing out the eGift card email or by showing the email to a cashier on a mobile device.
Like plastic Walmart Gift Cards, Walmart e-Gift Cards are not reloadable.
To learn more, also see our posts on whether or not you can buy a Visa gift card with a Walmart gift card, where Walmart gift cards can be used, and what time Walmart processes MoneyCard deposits.
Conclusion
Walmart gift cards are an excellent, thoughtful present for a friend or family member.
However, be sure to carefully select the fee you want to add to the gift card, as this may well be the first and last time you are able to add money to the gift card.
The exception, of course, is with refunds, where the value of the returned item (s) purchased with a Walmart gift card is then added back onto the gift card used for the purchase.
Although Walmart gift cards are not reloadable in the same way prepaid debit cards are, they can still potentially be a great gift for someone!