This article explains where your Perk Card works and why a purchase might be approved at one merchant but not another.

Your Perk Card is a prepaid Visa, so it's technically accepted anywhere Visa is accepted — but every purchase is checked in real time against the rewards funding your card. For a purchase to go through, the merchant's category has to match a category that one of your funded rewards approves, or you need a funded reward that's open to all merchants. If neither is true, the purchase is declined even though your card has a balance.

Reward categories include Amazon, Cell Phone, Child Care, Education, Fitness, Food, Home Office, Internet, Lifestyle, Mindfulness, News, and Swag — or a reward can be open to all merchants. Check which categories your specific rewards approve in your PerkUp account, since your available categories depend on the rewards your organization has funded for you.

Yes. Your Perk Card has a $1,000/month spending limit, separate from your reward balance. A purchase can be declined for exceeding this limit even if you have enough funded balance to cover it.

Yes. Some merchants are banned platform-wide and will always decline, regardless of which rewards you have funded or their categories.

A balance alone doesn't guarantee approval. The most common reason for a decline with money available is a category mismatch — the merchant you're spending at doesn't match any category your funded rewards approve. For the full list of decline reasons and what each one means, see "Why was my transaction declined?"

Check the rewards funding your Perk Card in your PerkUp account and note their approved categories before you shop. If you believe a purchase should have been approved based on your rewards, contact support through the messenger on this help center or in the app.