This is just a warning if you have a American Express eGift card, have purchased one as a gift, or you are planning on purchasing one as a gift. You will have to call the number provided on the eGift card to update your information with your name and address so that you will actually be able to use it online.

I learned this the hard way! I received one as a nice gift. I was able to use at some merchants online but others it would say that my address didn’t match the number. When I checked out the website where I could see my transactions, I was unable to update any of my information or see any kind of information on what I should do to update this information as I would love to be able to use it anywhere!

Nowhere on the documentation that came with the card does it say you have to call to update this information. I did call eventually because I was getting frustrated. It took several steps to finally get a customer service rep, who then said she would have to send me to someone else in the eGift Card department after she mentioned the name of the person who purchased it for me. This was also confusing because it clearly showed on the American eGift Card that the card was purchased by her for me.

I had called the number listed on the papers of the eGift Card, which seemed strange. Instead of being transferred, I was transferred back to main menu of the phone system. Either she didn’t transfer me properly or didn’t want to deal with my issue.

The next person I talked to was able to help me very quickly and I was finally able to use my eGift with places that require address verification.

Part of the issue with this eGift card was I felt a little uncomfortable taking a piece of paper to the store and having them type in the numbers. I felt this would be confusing to my cashiers. So I decided to use it only for online purchases. About 50% of the places I tried to use it, did not allow me to use as it didn’t match my address on file.

Now that it is fixed, I thought I would share in case you had the issue too. I was nice about it to the customer service reps but they need to get a system in place where you can add this information as you are activating your American Express eGift Card like other companies do with their eGift cards. This would simplify the process for everyone. At the very least, make it very clear that you have to call the customer service phone number to make these updates!

If you have small balances left on prepaid Visa, MasterCard, or American Express cards that you don’t want to forget to use, I often will buy a Amazon gift card with that amount. You can purchase Amazon gift cards in any denomination, they never expire, and there is ALWAYS something for me to order on Amazon!