AmEx Gift Card Works as Default Credit Card!

[rocketcat]

Can these prepaid cards have a value less than $25? I don't think I've seen any that go less than that, but maybe I'm not looking in the right place.

I too don't want BN to have my credit card number, I rather just use gift cards.

[cheriberi]

I bought my AmEx gift card at the grocery store. $25 was the cheapest they had. I have it as the default credit card for myself, my daughter, and my dad. It's good till December 2014, so I don't have to worry about it until then. At that time, if there's still a balance on it (AmEx will give me a new card and put the balance on that one).

So far, working like a charm!

Cheryl

[Desert_Brat]

My Walmart money card is the same way, after the initial purchase and $25 I can keep as much or as little on it that I desire.

You can also set a password to purchase option on the nook. That way you can keep track of expenditures and what is being purchased as well.

[TogetherForGood]

I agree with what you've said.

Surely there must be a way to share a household account with multiple people and designate each person's purchases to come from a particular financial source affiliated with the common account.

EX-

User #1 is the head of household and has a credit card attached to the account, from which they may draw their purchases. There should also be the option of having it draw from a gift card instead, but keeping the credit card info there as the basis for the account.

User #2-the limit-

Each of these people should have the option of being given permission to use the credit card on file (in case the second head of household has a NOOK). There shoudl also be an option of designating an owner-specific gift card for each person's specific purchases. (User \2 should only be able to deplet his/her gift card, not affecting the amount left on other users' gift cards.)

It seems easy enough to me for this to be orchestrated. I mean, it only took me moments to conceive the idea...

Angie

www.boundtogetherforgood.blogspot.com

[Doug_Pardee Distinguished Bibliophile]

B&N accounts aren't designed to be shared with different people. They're designed to allow one person to coordinate his/her reading on NOOK, NOOKcolor, iPhone, NOOK for PC, iPad, etc.

Many people do share B&N accounts, but it's not a technique that I recommend. See the "sharing" link in my signature.

[CoolFever]

Not possible.... i got a little suggestion for you. you can always put a password on your childs nook device...so whenever your child will try to purchase something using his nook it will ask him to enter a password before completing the transaction... if you are using nook wifi or 3g wifi you can go to settings, then tap device and there is an option there enable password for purchase or something like that..

[MarieH]

---

CoolFever wrote:

Not possible.... i got a little suggestion for you. you can always put a password on your childs nook device...so whenever your child will try to purchase something using his nook it will ask him to enter a password before completing the transaction... if you are using nook wifi or 3g wifi you can go to settings, then tap device and there is an option there enable password for purchase or something like that..

---

I absolutely agree!  I do too with our Wii.  Everything that concerns purchasing, a password should be attached. So children would think wisely about their purchases.  They would have to come to you first to unlock before they can actually proceed.  As you may screen their purchases as well.

I don't agree with accounts sharing.  This gives them access to your books as well and other not age-appropriate books for kids.  Remember by tapping on checking new item on your library, this allows all purchases be downloaded on a Nook, whether whose book it belongs to.

Just create individual accounts, attach a password when purchasing, use an AMEX giftcard as a creditcard on file, and load with BN gift cards as primary financial source.  Brilliant ideas, guys!  I'll do this with my son, who's asking for a NOOK.

[Nightscorina]

Thank you so much for checking this out .

[digitalgirlBK]

Both Nook Simple Touch and NookColor allow you to password protect the book purchase process. Parents can go to the settings menu and set up a password that only they will have access to. The child will have to come to them to enter the password in order to purchase any content. If you as a parent keep the password information secret, you will be able to control what your kid downloads. This is also a good idea for anyone who is concerned about someone downloading content without their consent, such as if your Nook is stolen, for example. Up to three B&N gift cards can be added to your account at a time, but a CC must also be there. Debit cards with a CC logo can be used, and I know people who have created a special bank account for kids Nooks with purposely limited funds. A CC gift card will not work.

I'm a digital lead in a B&N store, and I hear this question a lot. Password protection works well for most people--just don't forget the password! This isn't necessarily a parenting issue. I had a customer who found after her grandkids came for a visit that they had downloaded 7 books on her Nook without her knowledge. Password protection was clearly the way to go in her case, and I helped her set it up. If you can't figure out how to do it, your local B&N store will be happy to help.

[bklvr896]

---

digitalgirlBK wrote:

Both Nook Simple Touch and NookColor allow you to password protect the book purchase process. Parents can go to the settings menu and set up a password that only they will have access to. The child will have to come to them to enter the password in order to purchase any content. If you as a parent keep the password information secret, you will be able to control what your kid downloads. This is also a good idea for anyone who is concerned about someone downloading content without their consent, such as if your Nook is stolen, for example. Up to three B&N gift cards can be added to your account at a time, but a CC must also be there. Debit cards with a CC logo can be used, and I know people who have created a special bank account for kids Nooks with purposely limited funds. A CC gift card will not work.

I'm a digital lead in a B&N store, and I hear this question a lot. Password protection works well for most people--just don't forget the password! This isn't necessarily a parenting issue. I had a customer who found after her grandkids came for a visit that they had downloaded 7 books on her Nook without her knowledge. Password protection was clearly the way to go in her case, and I helped her set it up. If you can't figure out how to do it, your local B&N store will be happy to help.

---

It has been reported here by many that a Visa, Amex gift card that can be registered to an address will work as the default credit card.  I've not tried it, but I've read many posts from folks who said they were successful using this type of gift card.

I wouldn't recommend a debit card because if something happens it could deplete your checking account causing problems.  I would never use a debit card connected to my checking account for ordering anythint online.

[Tish99]

"You can use a gift card to purchase books, I do it all the time.  You simply have to have a credit card on file for the DRM. "

Is this the "official" response, because that's BS. I have had a separate account for my daughter for at least a year, and it's NEVER had an active credit card on it. All prior 10 book purchases have been with gift cards. I just now tried to buy a book with the existing gift card on her account, and NOW it demands a default credit card. So, this is a new change, and they want an active credit card "just because". Seems to me it benefits B&N more if there's an active card vs. gift cards....i.e. you (or the child) are more likely to make more purchases than necessary, as opposed to staying within your limit.

[bklvr896]

---

Tish99 wrote:

"You can use a gift card to purchase books, I do it all the time.  You simply have to have a credit card on file for the DRM. "

Is this the "official" response, because that's BS. I have had a separate account for my daughter for at least a year, and it's NEVER had an active credit card on it. All prior 10 book purchases have been with gift cards. I just now tried to buy a book with the existing gift card on her account, and NOW it demands a default credit card. So, this is a new change, and they want an active credit card "just because". Seems to me it benefits B&N more if there's an active card vs. gift cards....i.e. you (or the child) are more likely to make more purchases than necessary, as opposed to staying within your limit.

---

it's not a change, it's been this way since therelease of the Nook, you can searchand there are posts complaining about this for more than two years.  Why you would have been able to do this is a mystery but BN uses the cc to create the encryption key to unlock the DRM.  The publishers require DRM, there has to be a method used and BN chose to use a social DRM that uses a cc. 

[Tish99]

Well, that's weird, because we got the idea from a friend who found this out first, so we're not the only ones. That's also unfortunate, because it was a great way to keep limits on spending. B&N now says we can set up a limit "per order", but that just means our child could make several purchases, each of which could all be under the "spending limit". That doesn't help at all.

[kamas716]

---

Tish99 wrote:

Well, that's weird, because we got the idea from a friend who found this out first, so we're not the only ones. That's also unfortunate, because it was a great way to keep limits on spending. B&N now says we can set up a limit "per order", but that just means our child could make several purchases, each of which could all be under the "spending limit". That doesn't help at all.

---

I'm confused.  Each eBook purchased is a separate order, you can't bundle them together.

[Tish99]

My mistake. When my wife was talking to the representative, I thought she said a person could set a limit per order. Apparently, she was asking if that were possible, which it isn't.

[Allen_Smith]

Use testing credit card available for free on web. search on google.

[MacMcK1957]

---

Allen_Smith wrote:
Use testing credit card available for free on web. search on google.

---

No, having a valid number is insufficient.  B&N actually posts a test $1.00 charge against the card number, so the number used must be a currently active account.