Disclosure: We received items at no cost for reviewing purposes, all opinions are my own.
Have you heard of the 3V Visa??
This was actually new to me, so in case it’s new to you, here’s how it works-
3V Visa Prepaid Voucher is the more secure, prepaid way to pay online and it’s safer than using a credit or debit card. You can use your 3V Visa number anywhere online, by mail order or over the telephone; just about anywhere Visa is accepted. It works just like a regular Visa card but you don’t have to worry about your 3V Visa number being compromised, or your identity stolen. Anyone can use 3V Visa Prepaid Vouchers. All you need is an email address and to be at least 16 years old. You don’t need a bank account or bank references. There are no application forms, credit checks or interest charges. It’s the smart simple way to shop online.
Why this is great
* This is great for students who may not have a credit card just yet but still want to shop online ( No need to beg mom and dad for theirs! lol) no worries over interest fees or overspending.
* Great for gifts. I am always at a loss when it comes to my 18 year old nephew, his style is always changing and this weekend he just told me that the $50 GC to West 49 was hard to use because he was out of the skater thing these days. The 3V Visa can be used anywhere Visa is accepted, so this would have been a better option.
* Bad credit, bankruptcy issues? yeah it happens. 3V still lets you shop online
* You don’t have to worry about your credit card numbers being stolen or sites not being secure.
*3V Visa gives you more options than paypal when choosing where to spend it.
Why this isn’t so great
* Fees. If you buy this yourself you lose out some money because there is a fee to get the party started.
* Most sites will not let you use more than one credit card number for a purchase. I even called some customer services to see if there is a way around this and there isn’t. So you will need to come very close to the total amount of the value to get your money’s worth out of it. You cannot go over and pay the difference on your own card and if you go under you are left with a small balance that is hard to use up. You can transfer the balance to a new 3V voucher, but again, there is a fee for that.
* You will want to purchase a 3V Voucher with a healthy dollar amount, especially if you are giving it as a gift. Most websites charge shipping (some more outrageous than others) so if you have a $20 voucher like I had, almost half is eaten up by shipping fees.
I really liked that the 3V Visa number and the CW2 code/expiry date are kept separate. The 3V Visa numbers are kept on the 3V website and the rest is sent to your email address so it’s very secure. You can always ask for the information to be resent to your email address if you need to. It’s very safe and easy to use.
Where oh where to spend the dough?? lol I’m not used to shopping up a storm online and have only done it a few times. It was hard for me to see all that money being taken away in shipping! Most sites offer free shipping over a certain amount, but I didn’t have a high enough value for that. In the end I found some good deals on cute underthings from La Senza. I had tried Old Navy but ran into a snag – it seemed that the Old Navy website didn’t recognize that there was enough funds on the voucher, which is ashame because they had some great Canada Day savings on the day I ordered.
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