Originally Posted by nwflyboy

Next steps would be...

1. Start preparing yourself to face the fact that you may be out $500. If you really don't have the store receipt, you don't have much recourse.
2. Stay calm and give it a little time. You didn't indicate how long ago you bought the card. If it was just hours ago, the activation might still be working its way through the system. Try in a few hours.
3. You can TRY going back to the store and asking them for help, but without a receipt, I wouldn't expect much other than sympathy.
4. Learn the lesson for next time: this is not an activity for those who:
- are not well organized
- don't ALWAYS always follow up and manage details (like keeping receipts)
- can't afford to float, or perhaps eat, the cost of whatever they're playing with

There are risks with this activity, you have run into one. Me, I have a $500 gift card from January that a cashier nerfed. I did everything right, the cashier basically wiped the value of the card out because he didn't know what he was doing. He - and everyone else at the store - acknowledge that. I'm still fighting and waiting for a refund, which may or may not ever come. Part of the risks of this game.

Good luck.