DoorDash Gift Card Not Working? This is the actual reason

Gift cards, while some might find it limited, have some real advantages usually overlooked. They’re safer, could be used to make budgets, and most importantly gift someone— some good reasons to stick with them.

But what if you get a DoorDash gift card and it doesn’t work?

Before finding yourself here, we pretty much know you’ve made sure you didn’t put in the wrong PIN, have tried multiple times, and don’t have your card expired (which is actually not possible), so we go straight to the point.

Keep in mind these, nonetheless, are all important steps to make sure the issue isn’t coming from your end.

That said, let’s get started, starting from the common reasons this happens.

Reasons Your DoorDash Gift Card Is Not Working

1. You’re temporarily Restricted

Now, this is not 100% verified information but we’ve seen it happen locally, and can’t just ignore it.

Basically, the idea is the moment you’ve used gift cards on your account up to a preset limit and interval of time duration, you would no longer be able to use any gift cards for that time being.

From our experience, it’d take anywhere from an extra 7+ days before you could use any other gift cards.

This research or hypothesis was first brought up by a Redditor with the username u/zeruniverse and has been seen to be true over the past few years of gift card complaints.

His actual hypothesis:

And it all makes sense since sometimes gift cards are discounted at prices way below their worth in addition to other extra charges DoorDash may incur having third parties issue gift cards— this can all eat into the profits of the platform, a company we all know is very financially attentive.

Restricting gift cards by amount of usage could just be an easy way to make people stop using gift cards without actually telling them to.

Editors note: If you use a gift card issued by DoorDash themselves, you’re unlikely to face this issue.

If this is the problem you’re facing, stick around to the next section where we share steps to take if you find yourself in this situation.

2. The Card Isn’t Compatible

I know it’s quite tough to mistake discount codes for gift cards, but I know a couple of boomers who have actually done that.

For instance, here’s a Reddit post we found…

Quite common, especially when the perceived gift card is not a physical card but was sent via email.

So always double-check.

Now, even when you’re sure you have an actual gift card, double-check the notes on the card if there’s one. It’s possible there are some specific terms and conditions that should apply before the card can be redeemed.

Note that these will only be a problem when you didn’t buy the card yourself but have it sent as a gift by someone else.

3. Insufficient Balance

This is quite obvious and an easy fix.

You need to have enough balance to use a gift card to make a purchase.

Now, the problem comes when you were actually gifted the card and don’t even know its worth.

Regardless, a quick fix to this would be to always add gift cards to your account rather than filling them at the checkout.

You could also check your gift card balance to be in the know, a new feature introduced quite recently.

4. Problem with the gift card sponsor

Gift card scams are one of the most prevalent in the modern history of scams.

In the first nine months of 2021, over $148 million was reported stolen from consumers by FTC.

While there are a wide variety of approach to gift card scamming, one worth mentioning here are fake gift card vendors.

Basically, they come out as good sites, brandable, with good discounts, but end up selling fake gift cards.

Generally, with a fake gift card, you’re going to face the problem of your gift card not working.

Editors note: Advisably, only get gift cards from Amazon, Target, Best Buy, BJ’s Wholesale Club, and stores you trust. If you’re buying online, the same thing applies.

How to solve the problem of Doordash gift card not working

1. Use someone else’s account

This is the solution to the first and the most prevalent reason for a DoorDash gift card not working when it has enough funds, you have a good network, and no problems with the gift card itself.

Use someone else’s account.

It could be a friend, a neighbor (you’re only doing it once ;)), or a family member.

The idea is simple. Since you’re temporarily limited, someone close to you and not limited can easily use the card, make the order, and have it handed over to you when it arrives.

If they don’t have a DoorDash account, creating one isn’t difficult either.

Otherwise, you can also try waiting it out. 7 days max you should likely be able to use the card.

3. Make sure your card is compatible

We gave reasons (why your gift card is not working) above that need a good evaluation from you.

For simplicity, these are the reasons again:

1. The card isn’t compatible
2. Insufficient balance
3. Problem with the gift card sponsor

If your answer to all these reasons is not a solid “no,” you may need to do some evaluation.

Is the card actually a gift card? Are there any terms and conditions following the gift card? Did you get it from a random site? Did you try using it to check an order without knowing the actual value?

3. Troubleshoot

I know I said I wouldn’t talk about this as most people should have already done this, but let’s put a bit of emphasis here.

Here are our 5 steps to troubleshooting a gift card on DoorDash:

Step 1: Try using a desktop to see if it works. It could be a temporal problem on the mobile app.

Step 2: Refresh your app or browser page. Sometimes, all it takes is a quick refresh to clear out any errors.

Step 3: Try using a different payment method to see if the issue persists. If other payment methods are working, it’s likely a problem specifically related to gift cards. If not, it could be an account issue.

Step 4: Double-check the code. Make sure you’re typing it in exactly as shown. Pay close attention to similar-looking characters, such as the number ‘0’ and the letter ‘O’. Also, make sure there are no spaces before, within, or after the code.

Final Thoughts

Having a gift card not work is something no one wants to experience.