Vanilla Visa gift cards are prepaid open loop gift cards produced by InComm Payments. These gift cards are not to be confused with Vanilla Mastercard gift cards.
Vanilla Visa gift cards with an expiry date of 2030 or later function slightly differently to those that expire in 2029 or earlier.
Summary
You can:
- Use Vanilla Visa gift cards almost anywhere Visa prepaid cards are accepted, in-store and online
You cannot:
- Add Vanilla Visa gift cards to your mobile wallet
- Immediately spend Vanilla Visa gift cards with a 2029 or earlier expiry date as they take 30 minutes to become usable
- Use a PIN with Vanilla Visa gift cards with a 2029 or earlier expiry date – just press OK and then sign if required
How to use Vanilla Visa gift cards
To use a Vanilla Visa gift card in-person, swipe the card at the payment terminal and select Credit. Vanilla Visa gift cards with a 2029 or earlier expiry date do not support PINs so if you’re prompted to enter one just press OK and then sign if required.
Vanilla Visa gift cards with a 2030 or later expiry date do support PINs. Whichever four digit number you enter the first time you’re prompted becomes that card’s PIN. Alternatively, you can set a PIN on the MyBalanceNow website.
For online purchases, you can enter your gift card’s number, expiry date and three digit CVV directly in the credit/debit card field. The name you enter is irrelevant so put down anything you want.
Another thing to keep in mind when paying online is that you are rarely able to split payments across multiple prepaid gift cards so you’ll need to ensure you have enough balance on your card to cover the entire purchase. For in-store purchases, most businesses will accomodate split payments.
Hacking and tampering
Just as with Vanilla Mastercard gift cards, there’s a risk with almost all prepaid open loop gift cards that they may be compromised through BIN attacks or physical card tampering. InComm Payments will replace Vanilla Visa gift cards that have had their balances stolen but it’s not generally regarded as a smooth process.
For that reason, we don’t recommend buying Vanilla Visa gift cards unless you plan to use them quickly. It’s also a good idea to check your gift cards at the time of purchase for signs of tampering (scratched off numbers, missing CVV etc) so you can immediately return them for a refund if there’s a problem.
Denominations and fees
Vanilla Visa gift cards have been observed in the following denominations:
- Vanilla Visa $25 ($3.95 fee)
- Vanilla Visa $50 ($4.95 fee)
- Vanilla Visa $50 ($5.95 fee)
- Vanilla Visa $100 ($5.95 fee)
- Vanilla Visa $250 ($7.50 fee)
- Vanilla Visa $400 ($9.95 fee)
- Vanilla Visa $25-500 ($7.95)
Interestingly, at Woolworths the $50 Vanilla Visa gift card has a $5.95 purchase fee whilst at other retailers the fee for the same card is $4.95.
Promotions
Both Coles and Woolworths used to run excellent promotions on Vanilla Visa gift cards but this came to an end in 2025. Most they run today are bonus points offers where the points earned don’t even offset the cost of the card purchase fee.
Important links
- Terms and conditions (for cards expiring in 2030 or later)
- Check balance (for cards expiring in 2030 or later)
- Check balance (for cards expiring in 2029 or earlier)
