Skip to Content

Can You Buy Tobacco With a Walmart Gift Card?

This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Have you ever wondered what you could and couldn’t purchase with a Walmart Gift Card? There are certain products and services that cannot be bought using a Walmart Gift Card in the store. Understanding the terms and conditions of the company can help you avoid confusion at checkout.

Tobacco cannot be bought with a Walmart gift card due to restrictions in each state, store policies, and policies regarding lost or stolen cards. Consumers can also look at the back of the gift card to see if there are additional restrictions before purchasing or using it.

In the rest of this article, we will take an in-depth view of why tobacco cannot be purchased with a Walmart gift card, what additional restrictions there are, and the general concepts of how and where to use a Walmart gift card.

Hand giving out a Walmart color gift card to another person

Why Tobacco Cannot Be Purchased with a Walmart Gift Card

Some people might be surprised by the fact that Walmart Gift cards cannot be used to buy tobacco products, but there are a variety of reasons why this is the case. One of the biggest reasons is that gift cards are often used as gifts and can be personalized to meet certain people’s needs. This can also be helpful when trying to give gift cards to people who are trying to quit using tobacco products because it makes getting the product more difficult.

Another big reason why Walmart Gift cards do not typically allow people to buy tobacco products is potential state and store-specific policies. Some states might have more regulations around tobacco purchase and usage, so Walmart complies with the state regulations.

This means that while you will generally not be able to purchase tobacco with a Walmart gift card, you might be able to do so depending on where the Walmart you go to is. In fact, there are a few people who report that they have been able to buy tobacco at Walmart with a gift card.

Probably one of the biggest reasons why Walmart may not allow people to use gift cards to buy tobacco is because the card can be lost and misused. This can include people who are underage. If someone who has registered a gift card under their name and information loses their card, a person can use it to purchase monitored substances under false information.

Something important to understand is the fact that Walmart gift cards can naturally have restrictions on them. In some places, Walmart gift cards cannot be used to buy gas, firearms, alcohol, or lottery tickets. The restrictions on a Walmart gift card are stated on the card, so consumers are made aware of the limitations beforehand.

Related How To Store Tobacco Long Term | The Best Way.

What Can be Bought with a Walmart Gift Card?

According to Walmart’s gift card policy, you are able to purchase items at the store, on their website, and on the app unless the card states otherwise. It might also be possible to try and purchase tobacco using the Walmart gift card through a different store listed below if their policies are different.

You can purchase services from:

1. Sam’s Club

Sam’s Club is owned by Walmart; therefore, it will accept the company’s gift cards as a type of payment method. Although this works, you will have to pay a 10% fee for any purchase you make. They sell tobacco products, so this could be an option if someone wants to purchase tobacco products with a Walmart gift card that has no restrictions.

2. Select Gas Stations

You are able to use your Walmart gift card at Walmart and Sam’s Club gas stations. Gas stations are popular places to get tobacco products, so it is possible that the associated gas stations will take a Walmart gift card as a form of payment for tobacco.

Murphy gas stations are located near Walmart stores, and Walmart gift cards can be used at these gas stations. (Murphy Express stores are also included in these).

3. Walmart Marketplace and Neighborhood Markets

You are able to use your gift card balance at any of the Walmart sub-stores to purchase groceries, prescriptions, and more. These are unlikely to allow tobacco purchases with a Walmart gift card for the same reasons as a normal Walmart. These locations are simply smaller and placed in more rural areas to help people reach resources that would be hard for them to receive otherwise.

4. Vudu

Vudu allows Walmart gift cards to be used to make video and subscription payments on Vudu’s website or on the app.

Purchase Restrictions

Even though Walmart gift cards are able to be used at these locations, no items purchased on gift cards can be returned or exchanged. You are also unable to use the original gift card to purchase other gift cards online or in-store.

Types of Walmart Gift Cards

Walmart Specialty Gift Cards

This type of gift card is issued with the collaboration of third-party retailers. Examples of these include Apple, some restaurants, and other big-name brands. These cards are only to be used for the products provided by the business listed on the front. This means that people cannot expect to use their Walmart Specialty gift card for Apple to buy tobacco products.

Walmart Plus Gift Cards

These cards can only be purchased to purchase a Walmart Plus membership with its associated benefits.

Walmart Visa Gift Cards

Visa gift cards are not considered to be the same as regular gift cards. They can be used anywhere that Visa cards are accepted. Places outside of Walmart accept these types of gift cards as a form of payment. There are few purchase restrictions on these cards because they are associated with Visa primarily and not Walmart. These cards can be used to buy items such as tobacco, alcohol, and firearms.

Female Worker in a Store With Cigarette Packs Behind

Walmart Gift Card Policy

Some people might wonder if it is possible to exchange the gift card for the cash equivalent so they can buy tobacco. The answer is no. A person cannot exchange a Walmart gift card for cash.

Even if someone purchases something else with the gift card and then returns that item, the associate would refund it onto the same gift card or another gift card instead of cash. This method is not recommended for trying to overcome gift card restrictions.

Overall, Walmart gift cards are great, but you can’t buy everything at a Walmart store with them.

I hope this article has been informative.

Thanks for reading!

For more, check out How Long Do Cigarettes Stay Fresh? (And How To Store Them).