Originally Posted by
hurnik
You are correct, I only tried to load the balance, not use it as a regular card for purchases.
What's odd is that the card processor folks could see the charge trying to go through, they are the ones that denied it though, so it's "them" and not Amazon that's declining.
This is not limited to SYW VGCs, it is a limit I've encountered on SecureSpend VGC gift cards and Vanilla VGCs (4097 BINs). I think they somehow are able to identify cash equivalent transactions and deny them. For example, I attempted to fund a 529 via Gift of College and the transaction was declined. They also are blocked by PayPal.
I am convinced the gift card CSRs either lie or just say something to get you off the phone. It's important to remember you are just some random person calling about cash. They are almost always worried about some sort of fraud.