Vanilla gift cards are preloaded cards with a specific amount of money in them. The gift card is multifunctional in nature, as it can be used to make purchases of supported goods or even digital assets like Bitcoin. Vanilla, which is a multinational conglomerate, collaborates with international payment services like Mastercard and Visa to ensure that their gift cards can be used globally.
Vanilla gift cards can be used to make purchases in any store where Visa and Mastercard are accepted as a means of payment. So, a vanilla gift card is a valuable asset.
However, some users may encounter challenges when redeeming their Vanilla gift cards, which may lead to an error message. There are numerous reasons why an error message may pop up when redeeming your gift card, such as system error, invalid code, insufficient balance, etc. These issues can be fixed by taking the necessary measures, and that’s why this article is designed to put you through it.
Causes of Vanilla Gift Card Error Messages
As the saying goes, ’there is no smoke without fire.’ So, before your Vanilla Gift Card can show an error, there are some issues that cause it. Some of the reasons why your Vanilla gift card may show an error message are outlined below:
- System glitches
- Insufficient funds in your gift card
- Expired gift card
- Incorrect activation code
These are some of the major reasons why your Vanilla gift card may show an error message when you want to redeem it.
Common Error Messages Associated with Vanilla Gift Card
Having enumerated some of the major reasons why your Vanilla Gift Card may show an error message, let’s quickly look at the common error messages associated with the Vanilla Gift Card. They include:
1. Status on Hold
One of the error messages that is common with Vanilla Gift Card is the ‘’status on hold’’ error. Your gift card shows this error if it’s active status has been cancelled or temporarily frozen due to some reasons, like if the gift card is reported by someone else to have been stolen.
When this happens, the best thing to do is to reach out to Vanilla customer support for guidance. Before contacting them, ensure that your gift card details are handy so that you can give the details to them when needed.
2. Invalid Card Error
Another common error that Vanilla Gift Card may show is an ‘’invalid card error’’. The gift shows this error message if it is stolen and the rightful owner reports it or if you bought the gift card from a suspicious platform.
Once your card shows this error message, it means that the gift cards cannot be used because the codes are invalid. What happens is that fraudsters may generate these fake codes and sell them to unsuspecting individuals as original Vanilla gift cards.
3. Zero Balance Error
Just as the name implies, a vanilla gift card may show a ‘’zero balance error’’ when you don’t have sufficient balance to make purchases with it. Let’s assume you made purchases that are worth $50 and you want to pay with a vanilla gift that has a balance of $40. It will show a zero balance error.
So, when this happens, you need to look for other alternative payment methods to add to your gift card balance to offset your bills.
4. System Error
System error is another common error message that a Vanilla gift card shows often. You may see this error message when you want to check your Vanilla gift card balance or you want to use it for a transaction. This is caused when the vanilla server malfunctions due to a cookie error. You may also see this system error if your gift card has not been properly activated.
5. Incorrect PIN Error
If you enter the wrong PIN when you want to redeem your Vanilla gift card or if you bought a fake gift card, you are going to see an incorrect PIN error. Hence, if you see this error message, take your time and input your PIN correctly to ensure that you didn’t enter the wrong PIN. However, if you enter the correct PIN and you’re still getting this error message, then it means that your gift card may be fake.
6. Gift Card Damaged
Sometimes, you may also see a ‘gift card damaged’’ error message when redeeming your Vanilla gift card. Once you see this error, just know that there are technical issues that are not yet fixed. The implication is that your card’s balance won’t be subtracted when you receive this error message, hence you won’t be able to redeem it.
Whenever you see this error message, do not hesitate to contact Vanilla customer care for guidance and possible assistance.
7. Unable to Query or Check Balance
Another common error message that your Vanilla gift card may display is the ‘unable to query or check balance’ error. You are going to see this error message if your gift card is not activated correctly or if you input the wrong code.
However, if this error persists over a period of time, kindly return the gift card to the vendor/store where you bought it for it to be properly activated.
Solutions to Vanilla Gift Card Error Messages
If your Vanilla gift card shows an error message when redeeming it, you can try any of these troubleshooting measures to resolve it.
1. Contact Vanilla Gift Card Customer Care
One of the easiest ways to resolve the Vanilla gift card error message is by contacting their customer care unit. So, if you’re having any technical issues using your gift card, you can contact their customer care unit for assistance. Once you reach out to them, they will help you fix such issues, especially if the error message pops up green.
You can contact Vanilla gift card support via these numbers 1-833-322-6760, 1-844-433-7898.
2. Check your Gift Card Transaction History and Balance
You can also fix the error messages that your gift card shows by checking your gift card balance to ensure that you have sufficient balance before using it to make purchases. Once you check your Vanilla gift card’s transaction history and balance before redeeming it, you will be able to know the exact balance that you want to redeem to avoid seeing a zero balance error message.
3. Activate your Gift Card Properly
Another easy way to fix a gift card error message is to ensure that your gift card is property activated. Hence, if you see an unable to query or check balance error message when redeeming your gift card, the first thing is to check if your card is activated correctly.
It is also important to note that if your gift card is wrongly activated, it won’t work. Hence, it is best to contact Vanilla Gift Card customer care for assistance.
4. Check Server Status and Browser Cookies
The issue of the Vanilla gift card error message can also be fixed by checking browser cookies and server status. So, if you see a system error message, the best thing to do is to check the status of your server to confirm whether it is active or down.
Alternatively, you can also clear your browser’s history and cookies, or, better yet, you can use another browser entirely. Additionally, you should disable all the ad blockers on your browser.
5. Check your Gift Card Expiration Date
The final troubleshooting measure on our list that you can use to fix the issue of error messages from Vanilla gift cards is checking your gift card expiration date. So, if you see an invalid error message when redeeming your gift card, the first step is to check its expiration date to ensure that it has not expired. Because if it expires, you won’t be able to redeem it again.
Vanilla Gift Card System Error When Checking Balance
Your Vanilla gift card may show a system error when checking the balance due to a malfunctioning server or a cookie error. When this error message pops up, the first step to take is to check your server’s status to know if it is down or active.
However, if your server is active, then clear your browser’s history or use a different browser entirely. Also, you should disable all the ad blockers in the browser you are using. Once you do that, try checking your Vanilla gift card balance again.
