What does monthly maintenance fee actually mean?

I received a wal-mart Visa gift card from my sister and as I was reading the agreement I found the fees they charge for use of the card. I understood the others fees but I can鈥檛 quite understand what monthly maintenance fee means鈥?.are they going to charge me as I purchase items?鈥?and if I spend all the money on the card will they still charge me the maintenance fee? Some information : expires in 2009 and holds $50.





All answers will be appreciated. Thanks in advance=)|||If it's a gift card, no, they can't charge the monthly maintenance fee if you've used up the money on it. Usually for gift cards, the fee doesn't kick in til after 6 months or so, or a long period of inactivity. A lot of the time the fee schedule will explain why there'd be a fee. But most of the time it's usually so the bank or store can make money off of your gift if you don't use it within a specific time period.|||A maintenance fee is a way for the issuer to expire a card. For example, if you buy a card for $50 and don't do anything with it for a year, the merchant cannot recognize that money as income. So, what they do is charge a fee after a period of time so they can recognize the money as income.





The drawback is that you no longer have that money available for you. After the expiry date, they will deduct an amount each period until the card is empty of funds.





The moral, use the card quickly. Otherwise that gift card was to Wal-Mart and not to you.|||A monthly maintenance fee is designed for two purposes. As another contributor eluded to, companies cannot elect to report unused gift card funds as "income". So, they create a scheme to legally recognize income by charging a "fee". However, the other part of this (as argued by the retailers), is that the expense which is required in maintaining these records after the normal period required. Now, on these prepaid visa debit cards, a monthly maintenance fee is becoming a common occurrence. VISA prepaid debit cards are different because they have no certain life. Thus, they are very labor intensive as well.. Now, if the agreement states they will charge you no maintenance fee until 2009, do not worry. Otherwise, they will continue to charge monthly maintenance fees until the balance is depleted or until you spend to zero. Typically, you cannot overdraw a giftcard, but it has happened...|||Additional info:





In California, these maintenance fees and expiration dates are illegal. Gift cards under California law have no expiration date or fees. If you live and bought the card in CA, contact Jerry Brown's office (state Attorney General).