Short Answer
You can buy gift cards with a credit card, but only at some stores and websites. Some of the retailers that allow gift card purchases with credit cards include Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart, and Amazon. For the list of places where you can use a credit card to buy a gift card (plus where you can’t), see below.
Table of Contents
Can You Buy Gift Cards With a Credit Card?
It is possible to buy gift cards with a credit card at many major retailers. However, some of these stores only allow you to use credit cards for gift cards online. We contacted corporate and store customer service representatives from retailers across the U.S. to verify where you can use credit cards to buy gift cards.
Places to Buy a Gift Card With a Credit Card in Person
Note: Be prepared to show ID when you use a credit card to purchase gift cards at any of the stores listed below.
ALDI
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; up to $6 purchase fee for Mastercard, Visa, or American Express[1]
- Online or in stores? In stores[2]
- Store cards or third-party? Both[1]
- Find a location
Barnes & Noble
- Fees: None[3]
- Online or in stores? Both[4]
- Store cards or third-party? Store[3]
- Find a location
Costco
- Fees: None[5]
- Online or in stores? Both[6]
- Store cards or third-party? Both[6]
- Find a location
CVS
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; about $6 purchase fee for American Express, Visa, or Mastercard[7]
- Online or in stores? Both[8]; our related research lists gift cards available at CVS.
- Store cards or third-party? Store cards online; both in stores[8]
- Find a location
Dollar General
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; about $6 purchase fee for Mastercard, Visa, or American Express[9]
- Online or in stores? In stores[10]
- Store cards or third-party? Both[10]
- Find a location
Game Stop
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; about $6 purchase fee for Visa and Mastercard, but they weren’t in stock at the locations we called[11]
- Online or in stores? Both[12]; our previous research features Game Stop’s list of gift cards.
- Store cards or third-party? Store cards online; both in stores[12]
- Find a location
H-E-B
- Fees: Mastercard and Visa gift cards have a purchase fee of up to $6, but are cash-only purchases[13]
- Online or in stores? In stores[13]
- Store cards or third-party? Both[13]; our related research lists the gift cards H-E-B sells.
- Find a location
The Home Depot
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; up to a $6 purchase fee for American Express, Mastercard, and Visa[14]
- Online or in stores? Both[14]
- Store cards or third-party? Store cards online; both in stores[15]. Our related research features the list of gift cards The Home Depot sells.
- Find a location
Kroger
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; about $4 purchase fee for Mastercard and Visa[16]
- Online or in stores? Both[16]
- Store cards or third-party? Both[17]; our previous research has the details on gift cards at Kroger.
- Find a location
Macy’s
- Fees: None;[18] Macy’s doesn’t sell third-party gift cards (as previously reported)
- Online or in stores? Both[19]
- Store cards or third-party? Store[19]
- Find a location
Menards
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; up to $6 purchase fee for Mastercard, Visa, and American Express[20]
- Online or in stores? Both[20]
- Store cards or third-party? Store cards online; both in stores[21]
- Find a location
Nordstrom
- Fees: None[22]
- Online or in stores? Both[22]
- Store cards or third-party? Store[23]
- Find a location
Office Depot
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; up to $6 purchase fee for American Express, Mastercard, and Visa[24]
- Online or in stores? Both[24]
- Store cards or third-party? Store cards online (there is a link for specialty cards, too, but the link takes you to giftcardmall.com); both in stores[25]
- Find a location
Publix
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; up to about $6 purchase fee for Visa and Mastercard[26]
- Online or in stores? Both[27]
- Store cards or third-party? Store cards online; both in stores[27]. Our related research lists the gift cards Publix sells.
- Find a location
Safeway
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; up to $6 purchase fee for Mastercard and Visa[28]
- Online or in stores? Both[28]
- Store cards or third-party? Store cards online; both in stores[29]. See our related research for the list of gift cards Safeway sells.
- Find a location
Sephora
- Fees: None[30]
- Online or in stores? Both[30]
- Store cards or third-party? Store[31]
- Find a location
Sheetz
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; up to $6 purchase fee for Mastercard and Visa(credit card purchase is not allowed on non-denominational Visa or Mastercard)[32]
- Online or in stores? Both[33]
- Store cards or third-party? Both[33]
- Find a location
Speedway
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; up to $6 purchase fee for Mastercard, Visa, or American Express[34]
- Online or in stores? In stores[34]
- Store cards or third-party? Both[34]
- Find a location
Staples
- Fees: About $2 for shipping; Visa and Mastercard gift cards also have up to $9 purchase fee, depending on gift card amount[35]
- Online or in stores? Both[36]
- Store cards or third-party? Both[36]
- Find a location
Stop & Shop
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; up to $6 purchase fee for Mastercard, American Express, and Visa[37]
- Online or in stores? Both[38]
- Store cards or third-party? Store cards online; both in stores[38]. Our previous research lists the gift cards Stop & Shop sells.
- Find a location
Target
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; up to about $6 purchase fee for American Express, Mastercard, and Visa[39]
- Online or in stores? Both[39]
- Store cards or third-party? Both[40]
- Find a location
Ulta
- Fees: None[41]
- Online or in stores? Both[42]
- Store cards or third-party? Store[41]
- Find a location
Vons
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; up to about $6 purchase fee for Mastercard and Visa[43]
- Online or in stores? Both[44]
- Store cards or third-party? Store cards online; both in stores[44]. Our related research features the list of gift cards that Vons sells.
- Find a location
Walgreens
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; about a $6 purchase fee for Mastercard and Visa[45]
- Online or in stores? In stores[46]
- Store cards or third-party? Both[46]
- Find a location
Walmart
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; up to $7 fee for Mastercard and Visa gift cards, depending on the gift card amount[47]
- Online or in stores? Both[48]
- Store cards or third-party? Both[48]
- Find a location
Wegmans
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; up to $6 purchase fee for American Express, Mastercard, and Visa[49]
- Online or in stores? Both[50]
- Store cards or third-party? Store cards online; both in stores[50]. Our related research lists the gift cards Wegmans sells.
- Find a location
Stores That Accept Credit Cards for Gift Cards Online
The following retailers only accept credit cards for online gift card purchases:
Amazon
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; about $6 purchase fee for American Express, Mastercard, and Visa[51]
- Store card or third-party? Both[52]
- Shop
Best Buy
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; about $6 purchase fee for Mastercard, American Express, and Visa[53]
- Store cards or third-party? Both[54]
- Shop
BJ’s Wholesale Club
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; up to $6 purchase fee for American Express, Mastercard, and Visa[55]
- Store cards or third-party? Store[56]
- Shop
Kohl’s
- Fees: None; Kohl’s does not sell Mastercard, Visa, or American Express gift cards[57]
- Store cards or third-party? Store cards[58]
- Shop
Lowe’s
- Fees: None[59]
- Store cards or third-party? Store cards only; Lowe’s sells both in stores, but only accepts credit cards for online gift card purchases.[59]
- Shop
Sam’s Club
- Fees: None for retail gift cards; up to about $12 purchase fee for American Express, Visa, and Mastercard, depending on the gift card amount and if it is a single card or multi-pack[60]
- Store cards or third-party? Both[61]
- Shop
Places That Don’t Accept Credit Cards for Gift Cards
In the course of our research, we found that the following places won’t let you buy a gift card with a credit card:
- 7-Eleven
- Albertsons
- BP
- Circle K
- ExxonMobil
- Giant
- Harris Teeter
- Meijer
- QuikTrip
- Rite Aid
- Save Mart
- Shell
- Sunoco
- Wawa