Gift Card Faqs
What is the approved method of obtaining and distributing a gift card?
I want to buy a gift card from Target or Wal-Mart, how can I do that?
Why is there a service charge for a Prepaid Visa Card?
How long will it take for Treasury Services to fill the gift card order?
When will my department account be charged for the gift cards?
What are the responsibilities of the custodian?
What information do I have to collect from the recipients?
Can Prepaid Visa gift cards be used outside the United States?
What is the maximum number of outstanding orders a custodian can have?
What is the approved method of obtaining and distributing a gift card?
Using university funds used to purchase gift cards must be requested on the gift card portal: https://giftcards.byu.edu. This is the only approved method of requesting and receiving gift cards. It is against University policy to use a Department Card or Purchasing Card to go to off-site locations like Rite-Aid, Walgreens, etc. to purchase gift cards. If you are asked to do this from a supervisor or work colleague, it is likely part of a gift card fraud scheme. See https://www.cessecurity.org/byugiftcard3things for more information regarding gift card scams.
Only full-time, 3/4 time, and part-time active employees are allowed to access the gift card portal (student employees can't access the site). Once submitted for approval, the gift card request goes to the Dean/Director for approval (if the request is NOT for research cash or gift cards for research participants) and then to the Controller for approval before it goes to Treasury Services for review and fulfillment. An email will be sent to the requestor/custodian with a notification that the gift cards or research cash is ready to be picked up at the department deposit window in D-155 of the ASB. At the time of pick up, a form will be provided to document the distribution of the cards or research cash. After the cards or cash have been distributed, send the completed distribution documentation form to giftcards@byu.edu. The completed form or the cards themselves (if they have not been distributed) should be returned within 30 days of picking up the cards. If you have questions, you may contact Tammy Miner at 422-2914 in D-155 ASB or Steve Morley at 422-7648 in A-153 ASB.
I want to use a P-Card to buy a gift card from Target or Wal-Mart, how can I do that?
You cannot. It is not practical for the University to keep an inventory of many different merchant gift cards. It is also against University policy to purchase gift cards from stores like these as all gift cards must be ordered through https://giftcards.byu.edu. To satisfy the campus need for gift cards, the University offers two types of cards (1) a Campus Gift Card that can be used anywhere on campus and, (2) a prepaid Visa gift card that can be used anywhere Visa is accepted domestically. We encourage you to support our campus operations, but if a campus gift card is not practical in your situation, we believe a Prepaid Visa gift card will be flexible enough to meet almost any gift card need. For more information about BYU's policy governing gift cards, cash equivalencies and the administration of these programs, click here.
Why is there a service charge for a Prepaid Visa Card?
The University is charged a fee for each prepaid Visa card. The current fee of $2.50 per card will be charged to campus units when a Prepaid Visa card is requested. This fee is not refundable if gift cards are returned to the vault. There is no service fee per card for the campus gift card.
How long will it take for Treasury Services to fill the gift card order?
If you need more than 30 Prepaid Visa gift cards, please allow at least one week for processing. We will make every effort to fill the orders as quickly as we can, but please allow two days for Treasury Services to prepare the gift card order.
When will my department account be charged for the gift cards?
Your account will be charged when the order is picked up from Treasury Services. Distribution documentation must still be turned in on or before the return date. Once the distribution documentation is turned in, all the appropriate documentation will be imaged.
What if I have cards left over that I didn’t distribute, can I return them to the Department Deposit window?
Yes, any campus gift card or prepaid Visa card that is not distributed needs to be returned to the Department Deposit window. In order for the gift card order to be closed, please return the documentation showing the distribution of the cards with required signatures and any unused cards returned to the vault.
What are the responsibilities of the custodian?
The gift card requestor is the custodian and the primary contact for the order and must consider it a part of their personal stewardship to safeguard the cards. Gift cards cannot be requested by someone who is also going to become a recipient of those same gift cards. Another full-time employee must make a separate gift card request on your behalf. The custodian is also responsible to send in the distribution documentation to Treasury Services in D-155 after the cards are distributed.
What information do I have to collect from the Gift Card recipients and turn in to Treasury Services?
- Any amounts given to BYU EMPLOYEES OR BYU STUDENTS, provide recipients’ nine-digit BYU identification number(s)
- Amounts of more than $200 to all U.S. Citizen recipients regardless of employment status, please attach a W-9
- Amounts greater than $15 given to Non U.S. Citizens, please attach a W-8BEN (For international BYU students or employees, include BYU ID)
Can Prepaid Visa gift cards be used outside the United States?
It depends. In limited cases yes, but only when making online or internet purchases from a foreign website with these gift cards. In all other cases no, they are not usable for in-person or in-store purchases attempted outside of the United States. This is because these Prepaid Visa gift cards only have mag stripes and are not usable at point of sale locations requiring EMV chip enabled cards. If you are considering whether to send Prepaid Visa gift cards to recipients overseas, Treasury recommends against doing so because of the myriad of problems the end user will probably encounter.
What is the maximum number of outstanding orders a custodian can have?
Treasury will allow for no more than four (4) outstanding orders across all request types from the same custodian at one time. This includes prepaid Visa gift cards, campus cards, and research cash requests. If a custodian has three outstanding orders, a notice will be sent reminding the custodian to turn in distribution documentation forms on older requests to close them out. If distribution documentation is not returned to Treasury within the time determined upon approval of a request, the custodian may be placed on the Compliance Report and assessed a $50.00 fine. Gift cards purchased with a university purchasing card is prohibited (unless granted an exception by Treasury for Amazon e-cards for research participants using giftcards.byu.edu) and the P-card holder will be placed on the Compliance Report and assessed a $50.00 fine.
I want to give Amazon e-cards to my research participants who are not affiliated with BYU. How do I do that and what are the limitations?
Amazon e-cards may only be used for research participants who are not affiliated with BYU or anonymous BYU and Non-BYU affiliated research participants. Amazon e-cards may be a good option to pay research participants who are not local to Provo or BYU Campus (not BYU affiliated) but are not ideal for research participants outside of the United States. To request Amazon e-cards, go to https:giftcards.byu.edu and select Amazon (these are only available for research participants). If your order is for hundreds of e-cards and totals more than $10,000, Treasury will still review and approve your order but you will be directed to contact Purchasing & Travel to create a Marketplace Purchase Order due to the dollar amounts exceeding department card or purchasing card limitations. You will be given additional instructions regarding who to contact for help completing these types of large dollar orders.