For those in Perth always looking for a better, faster, cheaper way

Friday, January 8, 2016

Egiftcards - What are they and why use them?

So you may have heard of the term and wonder what they are and how they work? More importantly, why would someone want an egiftcard rather than a WISH gift card for example? I'll talk about Woolworths branded egiftcards because we buy these for our own use to save 5% which you can't do with Coles.

Egiftcards are giftcards that are emailed to you rather than sent via traditional post. When paying for your petrol or groceries etc, tell the shop assistant that you are paying via egift or egiftcard. They will then allow you to enter the 10 digit code and the 4 digit pin and the amount will be deducted from your invisible egiftcard.

Advantages 
  • When you buy them via RAC website or the Entertainment book, you get 5% off 
  • You receive them faster than you do if you were to order a traditional gift card
  • You don't need to worry about losing your egiftcard
  • You can go shopping without your wallet. Just remember or write down your 10 digit egift code and your 4 digit PIN. 
  • You can check your Woolworths WISH and Everyday egiftcard balance here (for egiftcards currently, add 628000555 in front of your 10 digit code if you are going to use this site).

Disadvantages
  • They are not really gift cards, because you are unlikely to give someone a sheet of paper and say "Happy Birthday". 
  • Like with traditional gift cards, you need to keep track of how much is on your egiftcard yourself. The remaining balance is not printed on the receipt for Woolworths/Caltex stores so you need to enter it in your phone or something
  • If you buy too many of these, you can lose track of how much you have on each gift card. It is good to keep track using your email, your phone or something. 
  • As with all gift cards, you are limited 
  • Sometimes mail services have problems opening up the pdf - "This file cannot be previewed because it has been corrupted" or "There was an error opening this document. The file is damaged and could not be repaired". If this happens, contact Woolworths here - giftcard@woolworths.com.au and they will fix the issue or send you a replacement.
Since this is relatively new technology, if a thief were to find in your wallet with a ten digit code and 4 digit pin, they might not know what to do with it. So now you know how these egiftcards work, pass this on to someone who doesn't.

1 comment:

  1. You can track eGift card balances and transaction details using the Woolworths money app. Enter the gift card number from the section of the PDF file that is emailed to you that says "online + balance enquiries" (starts with 628000555...) and the PIN to register each gift card. The gift card details can be deleted once you reach a zero balance.

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