Walmart gift cards are a popular present as they’re easy to use on a wide variety of products. They also never expire and do not have any maintenance fees, so they’re great as a quick present for anyone as there’s no restrictions to them and they can be used at any Walmart store.
If you’ve received a Walmart gift card yourself, you may want to check the balance before heading off to a store.
Checking Your Walmart Gift Card Balance
There are three main ways to check your Walmart gift card balance:
- Online. Visit the Walmart website’s dedicated gift card page. All you’ll need to do is enter the gift card number and PIN (both of which on the back) and click “Check Balance”.
- By phone. You can call the Walmart gift card customer service line on 1-888-537-5503, follow all the prompts and provide all the details as requested. You’ll then be told the Walmart gift card balance.
- In a Walmart store. The simplest way is to walk to a Walmart store and ask the attendant to check your gift card balance. They’ll simply take a look, enter the details and tell you your Walmart gift card balance.
If your Walmart gift card balance is $250 or above, you’ll need to activate before you can use it. All three ways apply to Walmart gift card activation as well. If your card needs activation, the attendant at the store will perform it for you.
For phone activation, you will need to call a different number (1-800-411-7942 or any other customer service line) and talk to an agent.
Finally, for online activations you’ll have an email sent to you with instructions. Follow the URL provided and input all the information to activate your Walmart gift card.
Remember to always report any lost or stolen gift card to Walmart customer service either through a phone call or in-store. If you have the original purchase receipt or other proof of purchase, the company will restore your gift card to the last remaining balance.
It is best to report them as soon as possible as if someone uses at least some of the balance in your gift card, Walmart won’t cover the difference. You’ll only receive the current balance in the lost gift card.
What Are the Different Types of Walmart Gift Cards?
While there are many different types, designs, and specialties for Walmart gift cards, functionally there are three distinct ones—regular, eGift, and Visa.
Regular gift cards are exactly what you’d expect—they’re plastic cards that have a preset balance that can be spent at any Walmart store. These cards cannot be reloaded, though, so once they’re spent, they become useless.
eGift Walmart gift cards function identically to regular ones, except that they’re provided in a digital format instead of being plastic.
Visa Walmart gift cards are similar to the plastic ones, however, they have more strict usage conditions, but also provide more flexibility. They can be reloaded as you see fit (either online or in a Walmart store) and used anywhere where Visa cards are accepted in the US, not just Walmart stores.
Finally, while not strictly a gift card, Walmart also offers their MoneyCard. It functions similarly to a debit account, but also provides cashback rewards for shopping at Walmart stores.
How to Get Free Walmart Gift Cards
Birthdays and holidays aren’t the only way to get free Walmart gift cards. One of the most popular ways to get them is by filling out surveys.
Companies that need information on products, servers, or for research purposes will ask dedicated businesses to run surveys on their platforms. Users on those platforms fill out the surveys and get points in return.
They can then redeem these points for a wide variety of benefits, some of which are usually gift cards of various types. Since Walmart is an incredibly popular store in the US, almost all survey providers will have these gift cards as part of their reward system.
There are other ways to get various gift cards as well such as cashback systems or product testing services. While completely legitimate, these usually involve some form of investment or take up a significant amount of time to get the free gift card.
