Simon Gift Card Visa

Simon Gift Card Visa Options

The Simon Gift Card Visa is available for purchase at participating malls and also through the Simon website. Purchasers load a balance onto the card but cannot reload more funds onto the card. The cards are issued through three major U.S. banks. There are several designs of Simon Gift Cards featuring a Visa logo which reflect different Simon malls or programs.

Gifts

Gift cards purchased through Simon allow the gift-givers to load any amount from $20 to $500 onto a card and give it to the recipients to use as they please. The Simon card can be used at any establishment that accepts Visa debit cards. This allows recipients to pick and choose how they spend the money. Unlike gift cards for a specific store, the Simon card does not force purchasers to presume what the recipient will want to buy.

Corporate Gifts

Simon cards can be purchased in bulk for use as corporate gifts. Purchasers can pay extra to have the cards personalized. Potential uses for personalized corporate cards include:

• Employee incentives
• Marketing tools
• Budget tools

Employers sometimes choose prepaid cards in lieu of issuing credit cards to employees for various expenses including gas, office supplies, and other business necessities.

Budget Tool

Although a Simon gift card is not free, it can still serve as a budgeting tool for people who would like to keep track of their shopping. It can also give people the opportunity to carry a card when they may not otherwise have access to a credit card due to a bad credit history. Some banks and credit unions refuse both credit and debit cards to people with bad credit, so a prepaid Visa card may be a viable alternative. Since funds cannot be reloaded onto the card, a new card must be purchased when the funds are depleted.

Potential buyers should note that these cards feature expiration dates and cannot be used indefinitely. If a card expires with a balance still intact, the cardholder can have the balance transferred to a new card. A fee will be deducted from the balance.

Related Fees

It’s important to realize that there are fees associated with these cards. Fees for the standard Simon Gift Card include:

• Handling fee of $5.95 paid once when the card is purchased
• Monthly administrative fee of $2.50 deducted from the card balance monthly starting in the 13th month after the card was issued
• Replacement fee of $5 for stolen or lost cards
• Replacement fee of $15 for an expired card

It’s a good idea for cardholders to stay aware of their expiration date so the balance can be used up prior to the card expiring.

Gift Accounts

The Simon Gift Account is an alternative to physically purchasing a card. The purchaser is issued an account number that can be used to buy items over the phone or via the Internet, but cannot use the card to make purchases in stores. This is a great option to purchase for people who do the majority of their shopping using catalogs or online. The Gift Account program features a different schedule of fees than the Gift Card:

• Handling fee of $2, paid once when the account is purchased
• Conversion fee of $5.95 to switch the account to a Simon card

The replacement fees and monthly administrative fees are the same as for the Gift card. The gift account can be sent as a gift through e-mail, making this a less expensive and quicker alternative to a Simon Card.