How does my AMEX Gift Card have a negative balance?

[ScottFern]

So we all got these AMEX gift cards at work that had 75 points or dollars on them and I ended up using it at two separate restaurants over the past week.

I called on Saturday to check the balance on the card and it turns out I went over the $75 by $2.68 and the recording said I needed to send a check in the mail to some PO Box in Missouri.

Why would they let a gift card go over the designated limit? I am not even sure how they would trace this back to me?

Not sure if AMEX would bitch to my employer who bought the gift cards?

 

[dabuddha]

Just man up and send the money in if you spent the money. You really want to start the new year off with some bad karma?

But agreed the charge should not have gone through if the balance wasn't there. But maybe it's different with restaurants with tips and all.

 

[Fritzo]

Their balance calculations are wonky. I sent a $450 payment to them last week, it shows $700 taken off my balance, and $200 of extra credit applied to the account. it seems to even out over the course of 2 weeks, but it's almost like they hit random numbers on their balances.

 

[purbeast0]

well most restaurants when they charge your card, they put a hold on the the actual bill not including the tip.

then after the few days it goes through, the tip is added to the charge and that is the full amount taken out.

so if it was like $70 for the bill, they put a hold on it for $70, the $75 on the card was sufficient enough, then if you tipped like $8 or whatever, when it went through it was over the $75.

that is the only case I could have seen this actually work. no clue why restaurants do stuff like this. sometimes they put holds for DOUBLE the price you are paying for the meal.

and why did you pay with a card you KNEW only had $75 on it and the total was over $75?

 

[ScottFern]

and why did you pay with a card you KNEW only had $75 on it and the total was over $75?

Because I didn't know exactly how much was on the card at the time I used it. I was in a loud restaurant and couldn't hear when I tried to check the balance inside. This wasn't some intentional plot to scam AMEX out of $2.68. lol

I tried to guess close what I thought was on there, but I went over a little.

 

[Narse]

Anytime you buy something on a card it places a hold on the card. If the merchant is slow sending in the receipt the hold will drop off and you could technically spend that money and then after the receipt is received from the merchant it will charge the card and bam you are negative.