TCN Pub & Bar gift cards are merchant category restricted gift cards produced by The Card Network (TCN).
Summary
You can:
- Use TCN Pub & Bar gift cards at almost any drinking or eating place excluding fast food
- Convert your physical gift card into a digital gift card that can be added to your mobile wallet
You cannot:
- Use TCN Pub & Bar gift cards at fast food restaurants
Supported merchant categories
TCN Pub & Bar gift cards are not just restricted to specific businesses; you can spend them at any eating or drinking place that uses one of the following merchant category codes (MCCs):
- 5812: Eating Places, Restaurants
- 5813: Bars, Cocktail Lounges, Discotheques, Nightclubs, and Taverns: Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
- 7997: Clubs: Country Clubs, Membership (Athletic, Recreation, Sports), Private Golf Courses
Unofficially, the TCN Pub & Bar gift card has been found to also support:
- 5921: Package Stores, Beer, Wine, and Liquor
- 7941: Athletic Fields, Commercial Sports, Professional Sports Clubs, Sports Promoters
Whilst it appears to still work at some bottle shops (e.g. BWS, Dan Murphy’s), the TCN Pub & Bar gift card has not worked at Liquorland since April 2025.
The MCC ‘5814: Fast Food Restaurants’ is not supported by the TCN Pub & Bar gift card which can make it a bit challenging to spend as that code can include businesses that you wouldn’t typically call fast food (e.g. cafes).
You can check the Merchant Database for a list of businesses that have been known to accept TCN Pub & Bar gift cards in Australia.
How to use TCN Pub & Bar gift cards
You can use a physical TCN Pub & Bar gift card simply by swiping it at a payment terminal, selecting Savings and then entering your card’s four digit PIN. You don’t have to ask the restaurant or drinking place if they accept your gift card because it should just work.
However, some payment readers (e.g. Square) won’t accept physical TCN Pub & Bar cards because they don’t have a chip. That’s why you should convert your physical card into a digital one via the Choice.Gift website (if it won’t convert, register your card and try again).
Digital TCN Pub & Bar gift cards are more convenient as you can track your balance in the TCN app, add your cards to a mobile wallet (e.g. Apple Pay, Google Pay) and reveal the card number, expiry and CVV for online purchases.
To use a digital TCN Pub & Bar gift card for an in-person transaction, you can simply add it to your mobile wallet and then tap your phone to pay like you would with any other credit or debit card.
If you don’t have enough money left on the gift card to cover your purchase, you’ll have to ask if you can pay $X.XX on one card and the remainder on another. A lot of restaurants and drinking places will be happy to oblige but some may not allow it.
You can also use the digital TCN Pub & Bar card online by either entering the card number, expiry and CVV in the credit/debit card field or by paying with Apple Pay or Google Pay if they’re supported. However, split card payments are rarely possible for online purchases.
Promotions
TCN Pub & Bar gift cards are regularly included in offers. Approximately every month or two there are 20x points or 10% off promotions on TCN Pub & Bar gift cards at places like Coles and Woolworths.
If you’re looking for a gift card to spend at any restaurant, it’s also worth keeping an eye out for promotions on the TCN Restaurant card as well as the competing Restaurant Choice and Cafe Choice gift cards as they’re even more versatile.
