Which is why you pay the balance over $7.43 first and then run the card as the last transaction.
Dammit people, this is my day off, stop making me think about this stuff!
The retailers are the one’s that want to lock you into having to buy in their store. They need to take these small amount cards as it’s part of the deal, with locking somebody into spending it only in their store.
I would complain to the mall or whichever store did this. I’ve gotten lots of local mall gift cards over the years and have never had a merchant deny me a transaction if the total was more than what was left on the card, and neither have I had a merchant keep a balance left.
Obviously, you’re going to end up with odd amounts left on them, and there’s no way they can expect you to find a new purchase for that exact amount.
As long as you already know the balance on each card (so that I don’t have to call and get it) I would be so glad that you were spending money in my store that I would swipe as many cards as you’d like.
Can you tell that sales have been slow lately and we’re getting yelled at about it?
Walgreens cashier here. You can come in and swipe as many cards, of whatever type, on our machine until your purchase is finally paid for.
And yes, I’ve had customers stand there and work their way through a smallish stack of various plastic, including their Link card, debit card, credit card, and an assortment of gift cards, until the register finally gives me a “Please wait…” and prints out the receipt. What you have in your hand doesn’t impact on me unless you can’t figure out how to use the machine; I just stand there and smile while you swipe.
And if you encounter the odd clueless Walgreens cashier (probly a Newbie) who says you can’t do that, insist on speaking to a manager, 'cause you can.
This is, of course, assuming that there’s something at Walgreens that you want to buy. 
But we sell computer accessories and Flash cards and stuff now, it’s not all adult diapers and Preparation H. And also small electronics stuff like digital cameras, and you can use up the remainder of all your gift cards and then pay the rest with actual money.
Also, you can buy other gift cards with them at Walgreens, like Borders and stuff, or even one single Visa gift card (but then you’d kinda be back where you started from, wouldn’t you ). We only accept cash or plastic for gift card purchases anyhow (no checks), so swipe away.
If you dont mind covering the fees I would happily run the stack through my system and cut you a check for the rest.
Well, I saw this Bert Reynolds movie once. He sharpened the edges & when he was done what he did looked Really painful…
If it were me: Borders here I come! Buy a few books, that should take care of the balance.
Some companies give their rebates as Visa cards that cannot be used for partial payment, i.e. cannot be used where the transaction balance due is greater than the value of the card. This is presumably yet another way to make it hard for consumers to get full value from a rebate.
One way around this is to use the card to buy a gift card from a store that allows gift cards to be used for partial payments - which is most stores.