Gift cards that work with GiftCardMall
Short answer: most of them. If it has a card number and a PIN, there's a good chance we can pull the balance. Here's the longer version.
Visa prepaid gift cards
These are the most common gift cards out there — the ones you grab off the rack at CVS, Walgreens, or the grocery store. They look like credit cards, work almost anywhere Visa is accepted, and always come with a balance printed on the packaging.
GiftCardMall reads balances from all major Visa prepaid issuers, including Vanilla Visa, MyVanilla, Green Dot, and MetaBank. If you've got a Visa gift card and want to know what's on it, this is the fastest way to find out.
Mastercard prepaid gift cards
Same deal as Visa. Mastercard prepaid cards are sold everywhere and accepted almost everywhere. The balance check process is identical — card number, expiry, PIN, done.
We've tested this with cards from a bunch of issuers, including NetSpend, Blackhawk Network, and InComm. If your Mastercard gift card has a scratch-off PIN on the back, you're good to go.
American Express gift cards
Amex gift cards are a little different from Visa and Mastercard. They tend to be sold directly through American Express or through specific retail partners. The card numbers are 15 digits instead of 16, and the PIN format can vary.
That said, GiftCardMall handles most Amex prepaid gift cards without any issues. Enter the 15-digit number, the expiry, and whatever PIN is on the back. If the card doesn't have a visible PIN, try 000.
Retail store gift cards
This is a big category. We're talking about cards from specific stores that can only be used at that store (or their website). Here are some of the popular ones people check on GiftCardMall:
- Walmart — Works for both physical and eGift cards. The PIN is on the back under the scratch-off area.
- Target — You'll need the access number and the PIN. Both are on the back of the card.
- Amazon — Amazon gift card balances can be tricky since they're usually tied to an account. We can check some, but you might need to log in to Amazon directly.
- Best Buy — Card number on front, PIN on the back near the barcode.
- Home Depot — Standard format. Number on the front, PIN on the back.
- Sephora — Works with both the physical card and the gift card number from an online purchase.
- Nike — Enter the card number and PIN from the back. Straightforward.
- Old Navy / Gap / Banana Republic — These all share the same gift card system. One card works at all three stores.
This isn't a complete list — we support hundreds of retailers. If you've got a card from a store not listed here, just try it. Worst case, the checker will tell you it's not supported.
Restaurant and food gift cards
Dining out on someone else's dime is great until you don't know how much is left on the card. These are the restaurant cards we see people check most often:
- Starbucks — Card number and PIN are on the back. You can also register it in the Starbucks app, but our checker works without that.
- Chipotle — Number and PIN on the back. Works with both physical and digital cards.
- Olive Garden / Red Lobster / LongHorn — These are all Darden restaurants, so the cards are interchangeable. Same check process.
- Panera Bread — Card number on front, PIN on back.
- Dunkin' — Works like Starbucks. Card number and PIN on the back of the card.
- Applebee's / IHOP — Same parent company, cards work at both. Number and PIN on back.
E-gift cards and digital gift cards
Got a gift card via email or text message instead of a physical card? No problem. The card number, expiry, and PIN should all be in the message you received. Copy them into the checker and it works exactly the same way.
One thing to watch out for: some digital cards have longer numbers or different PIN formats. If the check fails, double-check that you copied everything correctly — trailing spaces or extra characters can trip it up.
Cards we can't check
We want to be upfront about this. There are some cards that won't work:
- Cards that have been registered to an online account and locked to that account (some Amazon and Apple cards)
- Cards from very small or regional retailers that don't have an online balance lookup system
- Expired cards — if the card is past its expiry date, the issuer may have deactivated it entirely
- International gift cards from outside the United States
If your card doesn't work here, the best fallback is calling the number on the back. It's annoying, but it's guaranteed to work.
Want to try? Check your balance now.