TCN Good Food gift cards are merchant category restricted gift cards that can be used at restaurants and drinking places. The TCN Good Food gift card is not to be confused with the now discontinued Good Food gift card produced by TCN rival Blackhawk Network.
Summary
You can:
- Use TCN Good Food gift cards at almost any restaurant or eating place
- Often buy TCN Good Food gift cards during a promotion
- Convert physical TCN Good Food gift cards into digital gift cards
You cannot:
- Use TCN Good Food gift cards at fast food restaurants
Supported merchant categories
TCN Good Food gift cards can be used at any business classified under of the following merchant category codes:
- 5812: Eating Places, Restaurants
- 5813: Bars, Cocktail Lounges, Discotheques, Nightclubs, and Taverns: Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
Note that the merchant category code 5814: Fast Food Restaurants is not supported by the TCN Good Food gift card so you won’t be able to use it at places like McDonald’s.
Whilst the website for the TCN Good Food gift card suggests that it can only be used at specific restaurants that they have partnered with, the terms and conditions make it clear that it’s just a merchant category gift card:
This Card is a restricted access network gift card that can be used for electronic transactions, to purchase goods and services at selected merchants that have the designated merchant category code ‘Eating Places’ or ‘Drinking Places’. The card is not valid at will not work at venues outside of these merchant category codes. Specifically the card is not valid at venues that are designated by their merchant category code as Fast food or quick service restaurants.
Additionally, there is a tacit admission of this fact in the TCN Good Food gift card FAQ which states that “there may be some instances” where the gift card “works outside of the list shown on this website”.
In late 2024 it became possible to convert physical TCN Good Food gift cards into digital ones via the gift card’s website. This makes them more convenient to use and helps to avoid the restrictions that some payment terminals (e.g. Square) place on physical Eftpos gift cards.
Promotions
Promotions on TCN Good Food gift cards are quite common. You rarely have to wait more than a month or two for stores like Coles or Woolworths to run another 10% off or 20x rewards points offer. The best discount would be Coles’ 15% off promotion on various TCN gift cards that runs every November.
It’s worth mentioning that many offers on TCN Good Food gift cards include other restaurant-themed merchant category cards like the TCN Pub & Bar and TCN Restaurant. These other cards are usually preferred as they often support additional merchant categories.
