Vanilla/Coles Mastercard gift cards are prepaid open loop Mastercard gift cards produced by InComm Payments. This article covers both Vanilla Mastercards as well as the functionally identical Coles Mastercards.
Vanilla Mastercards are not to be confused with Vanilla Visas, whilst Coles Mastercards are not to be confused with the older Coles Gift Mastercards that were discontinued in 2022.
Summary
You can:
- Use Vanilla/Coles Mastercard gift cards almost anywhere prepaid Mastercards are accepted, in-store and online
- Spend Vanilla/Coles Mastercard gift cards immediately after purchasing them
- Set a PIN for your card by entering any four digit number when first prompted
You cannot:
- Add Vanilla/Coles Mastercard gift cards to your mobile wallet
How to use Vanilla Mastercard gift cards
To use a physical Vanilla Mastercard or Coles Mastercard in person, simply swipe it at the payment terminal and then select Credit if prompted. If asked to enter a PIN, whatever you input the first time becomes the card’s PIN for any subsequent transactions.
If you don’t enter a PIN and instead just press OK, some merchants (e.g. Woolworths) will accept the transaction with no further requirements. Other retailers (e.g. Coles) may require signature verification.
If you have one of the digital Coles Mastercards sold on GiftCards.com.au, you can use it by entering the card number, expiry and CVV when paying online or over the phone. There
Both physical and digital Vanilla/Coles Mastercards do not officially support mobile wallets, although we began receiving reports in October 2024 that they now appear to work with Google Pay. It’s remains unclear whether this change was intentional.
Hacking and tampering
Like almost all prepaid open loop gift cards, Vanilla/Coles Mastercard gift cards are susceptible to BIN attacks where hackers brute force card number, expiry and CVV combinations until they find ones that work.
For this reason, it’s generally a good idea to use these gift cards sooner rather than later. The longer you leave a Vanilla/Coles Mastercard sitting idle, the higher the chance that it might become compromised.
Additionally, there is also a risk when you purchase physical Vanilla/Coles Mastercards in-store that they might have been tampered with. This occurs when criminals steal gift cards from shops such as Coles or Woolworths, record all their details and then place them back on the shelf for unsuspecting customers to buy and activate.
If you bought a Vanilla/Coles Mastercard gift card only to find that some of its numbers have been scratched off and there is no CVV (security code) to be found, it’s likely that you have purchased a tampered gift card which you should return for a refund.
BIN attacks and tampering are unlikely to affect most people but to be safe we still recommend that you check your gift cards and use them as quickly as possible. Whilst InComm Payments (the gift card company) will replace gift cards that have had their balances stolen, it’s often a tedious process.
Checking the balance
You can check the balance of Vanilla Mastercard or Coles Mastercard gift cards on MyBalanceNow.com. If the website keeps giving you errors, try using accessing it on a different device or through a private browsing window.
Alternatively, you can call 07 5660 6022 and use the automated phone balance check system by entering your gift card details using your phone’s number pad.
Denominations and fees
Vanilla Mastercard and Coles Mastercard gift cards are available in the following denominations:
- Vanilla Mastercard $50 ($5.95 fee)
- Vanilla Mastercard $100 ($5.95 fee)
- Vanilla Mastercard $25-500 ($7.95 fee)
- Coles Mastercard $50 ($5 fee)
- Coles Mastercard $100 ($5 fee)
- Coles Mastercard $250 ($7 fee)
- Mastercard 3x $100 multipack ($8.95 fee)
