GiftCardMall.com is a website and service provided by Blackhawk Network, the largest provider of third party gift cards in the US and Canada.
At GiftCardMall.com, you can purchase gift cards that may be used at over 140 different places, including clothing and accessory stores, restaurants, and service providers, amongst others. They claim that anyone can find the perfect gift in 5 minutes.
Gift cards purchased at the Gift Card Mall can be searched either by the specific retailer or by category, and can be used either online or at locations. In addition, they offer e gift cards and GiftCardMall.com Choice Cards as well.
Gift Cards and E Gift Cards
When choosing a gift card from the Gift Card Mall, you can pick the retailer, the specific dollar amount, and a personal message that will be sent along to your recipient. Some cards may even be customized with a personal image for a $1.00 charge.
But Gift Card Mall offers electronic gift cards as well, which can be emailed to the recipient with instructions for downloading and printing the gift cards. An e greeting card of your choice will be delivered along with the card.
If you create an account with GiftCardMall.com, then you will be notified both when your payment has been confirmed, and when your e gift card has been viewed by the recipient.
GiftCardMall.com also offers the Choice Card, which allows the recipient to choose their own gift card from all 140 brands carried on the site. Recipients can even request a gift card in excess of the price already paid, and cover the difference with their own credit card.
What Else to Know
Gift cards take 5 to 8 days to be shipped, unless extradited shipping is chosen. After you receive your gift card in the mail, you must go online and activate it before it can be used.
Gift Card Mall is also partnered with major grocery store chains like Jewel Osco and Safeway, so that you can find gift cards quickly and easily in your own neighborhood. Gift cards purchased at the store will be activated at time of purchase; no need to go online.
If a gift card purchased at GiftCardMall.com is lost or stolen after it has been delivered, there is nothing Gift Card Mall can do to help – gift cards are essentially the same as cash, and cannot be replaced.
But if a gift card is not delivered, or if there is another problem with your card, you must call Gift Card Mall Customer Care at (877) 426-2551.
So basically I had to eat the loss of $19.99 because UPS had too many packages on 12/31/2012 and not enough drivers and giftcardmall.com would not issue a refund of the shipping charge.
For the second visa gift card order I received the visa gift card on time on 01/03/2013 as promised via UPS next day air mail before 10:30 AM, BUT the activation code that I received (on the same day, different envelope) was not for the correct visa gift card! They overnighted the wrong activation code, the code that was sent to me via UPS next day air mail was not for the card I ordered on giftcadmall.com. The activation code I received was for another gift card ordered through Staples.com b(staples.com is an affiliate/partner of giftcardmall.com). I didn't even order overnight service for Staples.com. I called customer service for giftcardmall.com and they said they would send a request to their "second level" to activate the card by the next day 5PM eastern standard time.
I am sharing my experience so that others may make a more informed decision when buying from giftcardmall.com.