Everyone likes to find ways to save money, especially at their favorite restaurants or when they go shopping at their favorite stores. There are many money saving deals online, but some of them may not be legitimate, and you could lose any money you spend on them. One of the many websites which promises to save people money when they go to their favorite restaurants or stores is CardCash. We have created a Cardcash review and have done some research into the company. In this Cardcash review, we will find if it is legitimate, and whether it is indeed a good way to save some of your cash.
What is CardCash and How Does It Work?
CardCash is a website that sells, buys or exchanges gift cards for major retailers and restaurant chains found across the country. Along with discounts on meals from major restaurants, shoppers can find discounts from retailers selling:
- Shoes
- Gas
- Hotel Reservations
- Movie Tickets
- Clothing
While some of the discounts are small, sometimes as low as 0.3%, some businesses offer 35% or more on gift card purchases. This is a different process to simply having a cash-back credit card, as it involves the sale, purchase and exchange of physical gift cards.
Along with selling gift cards, CardCash also buys or exchanges unused cards from various card issuers. So, if you have a gift card in a wallet or drawer that you’ve forgotten about and you no longer want it, you can sell or exchange it with the company. The site offers as much 92% of the value on unused gift cards. They can be sold for money or sellers can opt to exchange them for other gift cards.
CardCash Selling Review
To sell gifts cards, sellers can log onto the site, go to the sellers’ area and state which cards they have for sale. They will then be offered a price for their cards, which they can decline or accept. If the offer is accepted, the seller inputs the card information for verification and, after it has been verified, they will credit your account with payment or send the gift cards they bought in exchange. The selling process is available online or cards can be sold via mail as well. The overall selling experience is fairly simple and easy to do, and is a great way to earn some quick cash, or to exchange for gift cards to places that you would prefer.
Pricing
When you go onto Cardcash’s website, you can search gift cards for retailers and restaurants by either browsing their offerings, inputting the name of a company into the search box or by searching the categories. An image of a gift card will appear when searching for companies with whom you do business. The information displayed beneath the image provides the discount amount.
If you want to purchase the card, click on the image to see the face value of the gift card and its discounted price. For example, if you find a gift card for your favorite restaurant offering a 20% discount and the face value of the card is $25, then your price for the card is $20.
Unused gift cards sent in from sellers are also sold on the site at a discount. Many of the cards will have uneven balances on them because a seller may have used a portion of the original value. The company doesn't control the amounts on the card, but you can see the value on the statement credit before you make the purchase, so you know what to expect. CardCash supports the majority of card issuers for payment.
Card Cash Order Status Review
When you buy a card, you can either order a physical copy of it, which can take up to seven days to arrive by mail or opt for a printable eCard, also known as e-gift cards. You will receive an eCard within 24 hours in your email inbox. The site gives several options for paying for gift cards. They can be purchased with a credit card, through a Paypal account, or you can buy them with Bitcoin. Once you’ve purchase the gift card, you can then spend those ultimate rewards and credit on the car whenever and however you like.
Selling gift cards is an ultimate reward and is a great way to earn a bit of extra money, and if you have a savings account, selling gift cards can be a great way to allow your savings to add up. A savings account is always a good idea for saving money, and CardCash has the tools available to make that little bit of extra cash that you’re looking for. Simply sell some unused gift cards and transfer the balance from your sales as a direct deposit to your checking account, and from there to your savings account if you wish to save the money.
Both the buying and selling processes of CardCash are seen as easy transactions. The only time you will come across a transaction fee is if you choose to pay via PayPal. However, this is only a small transaction fee and is something that is applicable to all PayPal purchases, regardless of the website you’re purchasing or selling on. There are no fees for transferring funds to a checking or savings accounts, and there are no fees for using a checking or savings account to pay for your gift cards.
How long does CardCash take?
It is stated within the terms of the Card Cash website that physical cards usually ship within 24 – 48 hours of being placed and may take up to 7 days to arrive. This seems like a fairly quick turnaround and so is a positive aspect of using Card Cash to buy unused gift cards. This is applicable to all payment processes including credit card purchases, PayPal purchases and Bitcoin purchases. All of these payment methods have the same quick turnaround.
Public Perception
To find out what customers think of their products or services, companies may take surveys and encourage their customers to post reviews or testimonials on their websites. Reviews can help others decide on whether to buy a product or do business with certain companies.
Well Rated Service
In general, the public perception regarding CardCash is favorable among those who have bought gift cards from the site. They enjoyed the savings offered by the cards, and most people received what they were promised. If there were issues, most reviewers stated the customer service department quickly resolved them.
Other reviewers liked the fact they could sell or trade their unused gift cards and that the payment process was quick for them. If you sell an unused gift card, you can either choose to be paid using a Paypal account or they will send you a check. It takes about six days to receive money via Paypal or 13 days to receive a check in the mail.
Card cash exchange reviews are also positive, stating that the process of exchanging gift cards is fairly simple and is a fair procedure.
How to Avoid Problems
Most of the negative reviews were regarding not having any balance or having a zero balance on the gift cards they received. Most of the people who complained of zero balances stated they called customer service and the customer service representatives quickly resolved the problem for them. The other problem was because customers had tried to use their cards outside of the 45-day guaranteed window.
CardCash guarantees the balance that has been paid will be available on gift cards for 45-days. If you try to use it within that time and there is an issue, you can call them for help or a refund. However, some cards may no longer be valid after 45-days, so there will not be a balance available. Information about the 45-day guarantee is on their website, as well as in the information sent with the card, so you should read the fine print to avoid any problems.
For cardholders who are looking to sell, ensure that you enter your bank checking account or PayPal account details correctly so that the money you make from the sales of your gift cards can be transferred to you without any issues.
How to Get Verified on CardCash
During the account opening process, sometimes you will be required to go through an additional verification process before you are able to purchase any cards. This is a simple procedure and requires Card Cash to contact you via email or phone to verify your details. Once they receive your additional verification, they should not need it again unless your information changes. Any orders you have placed will not be processed until the verification is complete. Cardcash will contact you directly to get verified and they will go through the procedure with you either over the phone, or via email. Either way is a pretty straightforward procedure and just involves you verifying your identity as part of the account opening process.
How it Compares
There are several other websites and rewards programs which offer discounted gift cards or rewards cards for sale and which will buy unused ones for cash. CardCash has one of the quickest turnarounds for receiving your gifts cards or your money in comparison to similar websites who offer the same services.
CardCash offers higher rates for cardholders overall than the leading competitor which is a Cardpool kiosk. With this in mind, it is a much better idea to use Cardcash over a Cardpool kiosk, as you will get more cash for selling gift cards and you will get a higher value for your money when purchasing gift cards.
In comparison to other similar ways of earning and saving money, and similar rewards programs, CardCash comes in above the rest with better rates. When compared to similar rewards card schemes, or cash-back credit cards which offer cash-back rewards, Card Cash offers much better rates and can save you much more money above the rest. Many other services such as this, you may come across foreign transaction fees or other similar fees. However, CardCash does not have any fees as such including foreign transaction fees.
Wins for Reliability
Review sites which have compared CardCash with other similar services have found them to be more reliable when it comes to delivering on their promises. When gift cards or e-gift cards were ordered or sold, the site reviewers received the cards they bought quickly, and they could use them right away.
If they did come across problems, they were usually resolved by calling customer service. They were also paid quickly for the cards they sold, within six days or less, via Paypal.
As Fair as the Others
In comparison to other gift card sites, CardCash was judged as fair as the other sites regarding discounts and policies concerning buying and selling cards. The cards were sold for about the same amount as other sites offered and payments for the cards arrived promptly via Paypal. Their refund policies were similar to other sites as well.
Unlike many other rewards sites or sites which claim to save you money, CardCash has no annual fee. With no annual fee, you are able to use CardCash as much or as little as you’d like and whenever you want without having to worry about any external costs. Buying and selling on CardCash also has no effect on your credit score so there is nothing to worry about when purchasing or selling gift cards.
Although some other rewards schemes may seem more desirable than simply selling unused gift cards, CardCash is great as there are no extra fees to worry about. Schemes such as a cash rewards credit card may require a minimum spend, which isn’t the case with CardCash. CardCash allows you to direct deposit your earnings into your bank, so you can make money simply by selling your unused gift cards, which is great.
There is no credit limit on gift cards and users will see a variety of gift cards on the website with all different amounts on them. Sellers can sell as much as they like without worrying about any credit limits on amounts on the gift cards.
Better Customer Service Response
After contacting the customer service departments for other gift card sites and cash rewards credit card sites, we found that CardCash's customer service department can be reached by telephone. However, some of the other companies’ customer service departments could only be contacted via email.
They also provide answers regarding policies and they were able to resolve many issues right away. For instance, if there was a glitch that resulted in a zero balance on a card, they will search for and correct the problem so you can go shopping with the card you bought.
What We Think
After comparing CardCash with other online businesses selling gift cards, we found them to have the best gift card service.
Better Reliability
In comparison to other gift card websites, CardCash was more reliable because they quickly delivered on their promises. Any cards which were bought came quickly and had the balances available immediately. If they bought or traded for unused cards, they quickly paid for them through Paypal with the promised amount, minus a small Paypal fee, and all transactions have no effect on your credit score.
Their customer service was also able to quickly resolve most issues, although not all the resolutions were favorable to the customer. Their policies regarding card purchases are easy to find because they are clearly visible on the website. Customers should know what to expect by reading the website and the information they receive after purchasing gift cards.
Good Customer Service
When customers had problems with issues such as their statement credit appearing incorrectly, or their gifts cards not working correctly, they were able to contact someone in the customer service department to get help or answers to their issues. While the solution wasn't always in the reviewer's favor, most people reported that their issues were resolved in a timely manner. We found the customer service representatives to be helpful and polite in every situation.
Not Always Best Value
The discounts offered on gift cards are not always the best ones as there are sometimes deeper discounts on other websites. However, they don’t control the discount amounts because CardCash can only offer amounts allowed by the company whose gift cards they’re selling. However, their reliability, prompt delivery, and available services often make up for the difference in pay.
Coupons and Deals
In addition to the discounts CardCash offers on gift cards, you may be able to find coupons for additional savings on other websites. One such site, RetailMeNet.com, offers coupons for additional discounts on selected gift cards or they have sitewide discounts as well.
The site provides details on each offer when you click the drop-down box, and they give a coupon code to use on CardCash’s website for additional savings. You can check out their dedicated coupon page by clicking this link: https://www.retailmenot.com/view/cardcash.com.
Giving a gift card is a great way to thank someone for helping with a problem and saving money when you buy gift cards on CardCash is even better.
