US Bank Visa Gift Card
Stuff in our points and travel hobby comes in waves. It has for me recently, at least. Fresh off of resolving a Serve Visa Prepaid card issue, I was faced with a US Bank Visa gift card problem. During this experience, I noticed the process for resolving issues has changed. And now that I’ve come full circle with it, I may consider the tool and process an improvement. Here’s how I recently replaced a US Bank Visa gift card.
Great, Another One
Many of you have history with buying US Bank Visa gift cards, probably at the Kroger family of grocery stores. I’ve done so for years and have, inevitably, run into a fraudulent card every so often. This most recent case happened about two weeks ago. After inspecting the packaging and the backs of the cards (all 2030 expirations), I bought a few at Kroger. I returned home to set PIN’s and confirm balances. All went fine, but one.
The Conversation
After I entered the information for my final card, I was automatically connected to a rep instead of continuing in the automated system. This usually isn’t a good sign. I provided the rep with the card info, and he confirmed the $500 balance. He then placed me on hold and returned a couple minutes later. Without any context, he advised the card needed to be replaced. I’m unsure if the card was fraudulent or there was a physical/technical issue with the card. Regardless, I wasn’t looking to have an extended discussion. My tacit wish was granted next.
Instead of asking for all of my personal information in order to mail me a new card, he directed me to the bottom of the US Bank gift card homepage to replace the card. He said I’d receive a new card in “2-3 days” after submitting the form and documents. Seeing the new (to me) link at the bottom of the page, I thanked him and hung up.
The Online Tool
I’ll start with the bad news first. I needed to submit a lot more stuff via the online tool compared to the phone call replacement method. Historically, the phone call just required a few bits of info from the card and my mailing address. This online tool required the following:
- Card Number
- Card Barcode
- CVV
- Name, Address, Phone
- Photos/Documents to Upload:
- Front of Card
- Back of Card
- Receipt
- Driver’s License
The good news is the process is fairly straightforward. Yes, it required uploading the above, but that was fairly simple. I preferred entering and confirming my personal info visually on the site rather than the phone process.
After uploading my final document, I received a “submission complete” pop-up. This ending was quite abrupt – I would’ve preferred a clearer confirmation than the one I received.
Conclusion
In the end, I had no reason to be concerned. I submitted the form on a Thursday, and I received my replacement card via UPS on the following Tuesday. The online tool method takes a bit longer than the phone call but is remarkably easier. I find the phone calls a bit tedious and prefer the clarity of the online tool.
It remains to be seen if this online card replacement tool is the permanent solution. I noticed the online tool’s site address ends in “kroger-gift-card-misprint” – perhaps this is only in response to a specific batch of cards. Regardless, I hope US Bank finalizes an online option for replacing bad cards. Have you bought a bad US Bank Visa gift card recently? How did you resolve it?
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Thank you for detailing your experience.
This is now 2023, and in my experience the tool on prepaidbalance’s website isn’t an improvement due to the website itself not working at times in spite of using different browsers, IP addresses, etc. So the report a card lost or stolen like may direct you to the customer service line who tell people different information. They may not even suggest you upload your identification when there is clearly something wrong with the card.
They will/may then begin to block the card and your phone number. They/will also allow you to put the card into the automated system but if that card is flagged they will hang up on you. They also will reverse charges on cards that are registered.
Most of these cards may be untampered with. There is no way to know which ones aren’t though. And the customer service exasperates any issue that could possibly be solved with verification of some sort. But they may not offer it depending on who calls.