By Check Morris | Time To Read: 10 min
Introduction:
Buying a Steam Card online is not complicated in itself, but there are a few tricks you should know if you want to pay less and receive your code quickly.
Often the offer seems attractive, but when it comes time to pay the bill, you realize that the cost is different. How can you be sure to get a good deal?
In this article, I’ll explain what a Steam Card is, where to buy one, how to find the best deal, how to get a valid promo code, and all the seller-by-seller tips to lower the price of the Steam Card!
Click here for all Steam Card offers |
1 . What is a Steam Card?
A Steam Card is a prepaid card that adds money to your Steam Wallet, allowing you to buy PC games more quickly without using a bank card or bank account.
It has the advantage of allowing you to regulate your spending on video games (or your children’s), so that you don’t go over budget during Steam sales, for example.
Steam Cards can also be the best gift for gamers when you don’t know which game to give or when you don’t have time to go shopping.
Steam Gift Cards come in the following two forms:
- In-store: You can find it in plastic format with a digital code on the back of the card, often referred to as a Steam Gift Card or Steam Wallet Card.
- Online: Digital Steam Gift Card codes directly from the back of the cards, known as a Steam Gift Card Digital or Steam e-Gift Card.
2 . Can I Buy a Steam TL Gift or ARS Steam Gift Card?
You should buy a Steam Card for your region or currency.
However, there is nothing to stop you from buying a Steam Gift Card TL (for Turkey) or a Steam ARS Card (for Argentina). Just be aware that Steam will convert the gift card amount into your currency at the current rate, which may or may not be better.
3 . Where to Buy Steam Gift Cards? Are There Any Steam Cards Near Me?
You can find in some authorized shops only:
- USA: You can find Steam Cards from Walmart, Best Buy, GameStop and Walgreens.
- UK: You will find Steam Gift Cards at Tesco, ASDA and Argos.
- Please see this page to find “steam cards near me” for other countries.
The price equals the card’s value, and you can only buy in your currency.
- On Steam: But as in the official shops, the price of the Steam Card is equal to its value, so you won’t make any savings, and you will only have access to the currency of your Steam Account.
- Online shops: It can be exciting to buy a Steam Card online in online stores because they regularly have promotions between 5% to 20% cheaper! This is due to lower taxation in some countries, which allows retailers to offer more attractive prices on Steam Gift Cards, or sometimes they lower prices to gain exposure.
4 . Plastic Steam Card or Digital Gift Card, Which is Better?
These days, it’s best to limit your carbon footprint and energy costs, which makes the Digital Steam Gift Card the best option by far.
After all, what do you do with the plastic card once you’ve used it? Do you keep it to prop up a piece of furniture? No, you throw it away.
The digital version of the Steam Wallet Card will save you from having to take a vehicle to the shop. Another advantage is that online shops are always open, unlike supermarkets, and you can see immediately if the product is in stock.
5 . How do I Find the Best Steam Card Online Shop?
Find out how to get the lowest Steam card price in our test of the best sellers. |
By default, the comparator displays the prices of sellers in ascending order.
It is, therefore, necessary to compare the offers by activating the payment fees to find the best one.
Indeed, online shops always display their prices before tax because these taxes differ depending on the buyer’s country. They may also offer paid insurance (buyer protection often called “Shield”), which at the time of payment can cause unpleasant surprises.
Here we estimate the actual cost of your purchase by calculating the fees charged by the seller (often a percentage + a fixed sum) and the existence of hidden costs (shield, service, buyer protection, etc.).
So always check before making your purchase, and if you are going to pay more than the value of the gift card, it is not worth it.
Display the Real Cost:
- Choose the amount of the steam card you wish to purchase in “Editions.”
- Next to it, click on the wheel to display the payment fees of each seller.
- Then in “Fees,” choose to pay with either PayPal or Credit Card.
- Compare prices to determine the best offer.
Buy the Steam Card:
- Copy the Steam Card promo code if there is one.
- Click on the price to be redirected to the online shop.
- Follow the seller’s instructions, and remember to use the discount coupon when paying (there’s more info below in the vendor-by-vendor test).
6 . How do I Get a Steam Card Promo Code?
Many sites on the internet specialize in finding promo codes, discount coupons and other free vouchers. But most of the time, they are spam sites, and the codes they offer are no longer valid.
You will often have to give your email address or create an account to get your promo code, which means you will receive many unwanted ads and spam.
Here we work with trusted sellers, and they are the ones who directly send us their promo codes and state the expiry period in which we need to use the codes.
The expiry dates are visible to the left of the price and the discount they provide.
7 . How to Buy a Steam Card For Less: The Test
For this test, I bought a Steam Card for 20 Euros in several online shops and paid with PayPal when possible (faster but not necessarily the cheapest).
The prices shown in the test have since changed. But I’ll explain how to buy a Steam Card cheaper from each seller so you understand the little tricks and spot the possible traps to find a good deal.
ENEBA:
Price Displayed on the Website: €19.79
Payment Fee: €1.64
Actual Cost: €21.43
Promo Code: -8
Price Reduced: €19.79
Paid: €19.85
Receipt Time: Instant
Delivery: Scanned key
Available Languages: FR/EN/DE/NL/SP/IT/PT
Positive points:
- Pretty fast
- The ENEBA promo code is valid 3 times per IP address
- No need to create an account, the email address is enough
Negative points:
- Beware of the Marketplace: The price shown is not necessarily the best on the site
- Payment fees
How it Works:
Click on the “Buy Now” of the best Steam Card offer > Get discount code to enter the Eneba discount code > Proceed to checkout > Choose your payment method > Click on the payment button.
You will receive a confirmation email to retrieve your scanned Steam Card code from the Eneba website.
My Opinion:
A reliable site that’s easy to use with a limited number of steps. There are two slight drawbacks, the fact that it is a marketplace (remember to check if the offer at the top right corresponds to the cheapest Steam Gift Card) and the fact that you receive a scanned code, which is less convenient to copy/paste on your Steam wallet.
Read more about ENEBA
INSTANT GAMING:
Price Displayed on the Website: €19.49
Promo Code: NA
Payment Fee: €0.41
Buyer Protection: €0.00
Actual Cost: €19.90
Receipt Time: Instant
Delivery: Scanned key
Available Languages: FR/EN/DE/NL/SP/IT/PT
Positive Points:
- Easy
- Fast
Negative Points:
- No Instant Gaming promo code
- Payment fee, albeit low payment fee
- Steam code scanned (less convenient than a digital code)
How it Works:
BUY NOW/GO TO PAYMENT > Choose your payment method > PAY > Once the payment is done you receive an email, click on VIEW MY ORDER/REVEAL MY CODE to see your scanned Steam card code.
My Opinion:
Fast, easy to use, payment fee not too high, price cheaper than the value of the gift card and instant receipt of the Steam Wallet code, which makes the experience enjoyable. A very good shop to buy a Steam Card online.
Read more about INSTANT GAMING
GAMINGDRAGONS:
Price Displayed on the Website: €18.95
Promo Code: NA
Payment Fee: €1.00€ (£1.00)
Buyer Protection: €2.00
Actual Cost: €19.95
Delivery Time: 1h 30m
Delivery: Digital key
Available languages : FR/EN/DE/NL/SP/IT/PT
Positive Points:
- Quick and easy (less than 10 steps)
- No need to have an account with them, email address is enough
- Steam digital gift card code
Negative Points:
- No Gaming Dragons promo code
- Buyer Protection is active by default (uncheck to save €4)
- No online support, too bad for urgent questions
- Payment fees
How it Works:
BUY NOW/GO TO PAYMENT > Remove the “BUYER PROTECTION” to save €2 > Click again on REMOVE > Choose your payment method.
You will then receive an email, click VIEW KEY > Check the Captcha > VIEW KEY to see the digital steam gift card code.
My Opinion:
The experience is satisfactory, relatively fast, and above all, a price lower than the card’s value. The time it takes to receive your digital code likely depends on the number of visitors and the time of the order.
Read more about GAMING DRAGONS HERE
eTail.Market:
Price Displayed on the Website: €19.98 (for the first time)
Promo Code: NA (sometimes a code between 5% and 10%)
Payment Fee: No
Buyer Protection: €0.00
Actual Cost: €19.98
Delivery Time: 18m
Delivery: Digital key
Available Languages: EN/CN/TR/MENA
Positives:
- Cheaper than the value of the Steam prepaid card
- No payment fees
- Digital Steam Card code
Negative Points:
- No Paypal payment
- Coupon does not work on gift cards
How it Works:
ADD TO CART > Go to your CART > USE COUPON CODE > CHECKOUT > Choose your payment method and validate.
My Opinion:
Rather satisfactory experience, easy to use site
Read more about eTail.Market HERE
KINGUIN:
Price Displayed on the Website: €20.39
Promo Code: Yes 12
Discounted Price: €17.94
Payment Fee: €1.65 (£1.65)
Service Charge: €1.44 (€1.44)
Actual Cost: €21.03
Delivery Time: 3m
Delivery: Digital key on the website
Available Languages: FR/EN/DE/SP/IT/PT/BR/PL/CZ/TL
Positive Points:
- The discount coupon is already activated on the site (only with our comparator)
- A button for express purchase with PayPal
- Digital Steam Wallet code
Negative Points:
- Be careful, it’s a Marketplace: make sure that it’s the best one that is put forward
- Without going through our comparator you will have a page of ads for other products
- The “service” fees cannot be deactivated
- Payment fee in addition to the service fee (in total about €3)
- More expensive than the price of the Steam card 20 EUR
How it Works:
If you use the BUY WITH PAYPAL button, you pay with PayPal at the next step.
If you take the other option, click on BUY > Choose your payment method/pay.
You will receive an email, go to the notification on the top right > Click on display the key > CLAIM, and that’s it.
My Opinion:
Very satisfying experience that’s easy and even faster when choosing to buy the Steam Card with PayPal, but the price is higher than the card’s value, mainly because of the payment and operating fees, which is still a shame.
The little plus is the digital Steam code is easier to copy to your Steam Account and arrives relatively quickly (about 3 minutes).
Read more about KINGUIN HERE
CDKEYS.COM:
Price Displayed on the Website: €20.79
Promo Code: NA (sometimes)
Payment Fee: €0.00
Buyer Protection: €0.00
Actual Cost: €20.79
Available Languages: FR/EN/DE/NL/SP/IT/PT
Positive Points:
- Easy and fast (less than 5 clicks)
- No payment fees
- No CDKEYS.COM coupon
Negative Points:
- No PayPal payment for Steam Gift Cards
- No discount code
How it Works:
Click on BUY NOW > VIEW CART > SECURE CHECKOUT > Fill in the billing information or login to your CDKEY.COM account > Choose your payment method and pay.
My Opinion:
Easy and reliable site with no payment fees or hidden charges, everything is included. Unfortunately on the day of the test their Steam prepaid card offer is more expensive than the Steam 20 Euros card. I was also a little disappointed that I could not pay by PayPal, which is possible for all other products on the site (except gift cards and subscription cards).
Read more about CDKEYS.COM HERE
G2A / G2A Plus:
Price Displayed on the Website: €20.80
Promo Code: No (sometimes but as cashback)
Payment Fee: €0.00
Buyer Protection: Off by default
Actual Cost: €20.80
Delivery Time: Instant
Delivery: Digital key on the site
Available Languages: FR/EN/DE/SP/IT/PT/PL
Positive Points:
- Easy
- Fast (less than 10 steps)
- Paid options disabled by default
- No payment fees
Negative Points:
- A bit more expensive than the Steam EU card value
- No G2A promo code this time
- G2A Plus charges a monthly subscription if you buy games several times a month from them.
- The Steam Card value is cheaper than its purchase price.
How it Works:
ADD TO BASKET > CONTINUE TO PAYMENT > Choose your payment method (If you choose PayPal – beware of 1 Click purchase) Your future payments will be made without going through your connection to PayPal (problematic if you are not the only one using your PC or Smartphone).
After the payment, you receive the Steam Card digital code straight from the G2A site, which makes it practical to copy it to your digital Steam Wallet.
My Opinion:
Fast and reliable, the paid subscription option to G2A Plus is disabled by default and there are no payment fees. It’s a pity that at the time there was no promo code to get a price reduction on the Steam Gift Card.
Read more about G2A HERE
GAMERS OUTLET:
Price Displayed on the Website: €19.95 (for the first time)
Promo Code: Yes 2% (given by support when asked nicely)
Discounted Price: €19.55
Payment Fee: €1.11 (for the first time)
Buyer Protection: €0.00
Actual Cost: €20.66
Delivery Time:: Instant
Delivery: Scanned key
Available Languages: EN/FR/SP/DE/IT/NE/HE
Positive Points:
- Fast
- Simple
- Instant delivery
Negative Points:
- Steam Gift Card code scanned
- Prepaid card price over £20
- Payment fees
How it Works:
BUY NOW > Sign in via your Google account, Facebook account or Gamers Outlet account > Choose your payment method > Check the terms and conditions box next to the CONTINUE button > Click to proceed to the next step.
My Opinion:
Fairly pleasant experience with no need to create an account on their site as you can log in via Google or FB. Your Wallet code arrives immediately, and by speaking to support, you can get a 2% promo code, but this may not be enough to get your purchase below £20.
Read more about GAMERS OUTLET HERE
MMOGA:
Price Displayed on the Website: €21.19
Promo Code: No
Payment Fee: €0.00 (for all orders)
Buyer Protection: €0.00
Actual Cost: €21.19
Delivery Time: Instant
Delivery: Scanned code sent by email
Positive Points:
- No payment fees
- Faster when paying with PayPal
Negative Points:
- More expensive than the prepaid €20 card
How it Works:
BUY NOW > CHECKOUT > LOGIN (on your MMOGA account or via a social network account > Choose your payment method > CONTINUE to complete your payment
or
CHECKOUT WITH PAYPAL > Connect to Paypal > Complete the purchase.
My Opinion:
Simple, fast, and efficient. The only negative points would be the high price and the scanned code, which is not always very visible (like all scanned codes) and much less practical than the digital version, which is easy to copy/paste.
Read more about MMOGA HERE
HRK GAMES:
Price Displayed on the Website: €20.75 (in the catalog €20.12)
Promo Code: Yes, 8% off
Discounted price: €19.09 (in catalog)
Payment Fee: €2.25 (in the catalog)
Buyer Protection: €0.00
Actual Cost: €21.34 (in catalog)
Delivery Time: 6m
Delivery: Scanned key
Available Languages: FR/EN/DE/NL/SP/IT/PL/HU/EE
Positive Points:
- Quite fast (less than 10 steps)
- 8% HRK discount code
- Default non-EU tax at 0.00€.
Negative Points:
- More expensive payment fees than other sellers
- No PayPal payment
- HRK GAMES promo code is only valid once per IP address
- Scanned Steam code
How it Works:
BUY NOW > VIEW BASKET AND CHECKOUT > Copy the steam promo code in the section “HAVE A PROMOTIONAL CODE” > CHECKOUT SECURELY > A pop up window will open to warn you that this is a product that can only be activated in the same currency (in this case EURO) > Click on I ACCEPT > choose your payment method and pay.
You receive an email with a link to retrieve your Steam Wallet code, and you have to confirm several times that you really want it. Once viewed it is considered used.
My Opinion:
Pretty good experience, but tarnished by several drawbacks.
The promo code only works once per IP address, there are high payment fees, the scanned code is less convenient than a digital Steam Gift Card code, there is no PayPal option, and it takes a long time to receive the key.
When I first received an email to get the code, it was not ready.
Read more about HRK GAMES HERE
ElectronicFirst:
Price Displayed on the Website: €21.99
Promo Code: NA
Payment Fee: €0.80.
Buyer Protection: 0.00
Actual Cost: €22.79
Available Languages:
Positive Points:
- Digital Steam Wallet code
Negative Points:
- €2.79 more than the Steam 20 EUR card
How it Works:
Buy Now > CHECKOUT NOW > Fill in your email address or register with google or Facebook, choose your payment method > validate your payment.
My Opinion:
A fairly easy to use site with low payment fees, but Steam Cards cost more than their value.
Read more about Electronic First HERE
VIDAPLAYER:
Price Displayed on the Website: €19.95
Promo Code: no
Payment Fee: €1.23 (service charge) and €2.45 with PayPal
Buyer Protection: €0.00
Actual Cost: €21.18
Delivery Time: Instant
Delivery: Email
Available Languages: EN/FR/DE/ES/IT/PT/NL/PL
Positive Points:
- Digital code received by email instantly
- They display their payment fees and commission in a very visible way.
- No credit card payment fees, only a “commission”
Negative Points:
- No notifications from my bank
- High payment fees with PayPal (10% extra)
- No promo code
How it Works:
Add to cart > Click on cart > Choose your payment method > Pay.
My Opinion:
Very easy to use, the information is displayed in a visible way, the only drawback remains the price which can be solved with a promo code.
Read more about VidaPlayer HERE
K4G:
Price Displayed on the Website: €19.99
Promo Code: -14
Discounted Price: €19.19
Payment Fee: €2.00 (can be deactivated)
Buyer Protection: €2.40 (can be deactivated)
Actual Cost: €24.64
Delivery Time: Between 5m and canceled
Available languages: FR/EN/DE/SP/IT/PT/PL/NL
Positive Points:
- Cheaper than the value of a Steam 20 EUR card
- 14% discount code
- K4G promo code is valid 10 times per IP address / account
Negative Points:
- High payment fees
- Buyer protection can be deactivated to save €2.40
- Too much security for a small purchase which also means waste of time
How it Works:
Click on the Regular Price offer > Buy Now > Go to Checkout > Deactivate the protection (KPP) by clicking on the green button next to the chosen quantity to save about 2€ > Choose your payment method > Copy the promo code K4G and validate > Order and Pay > You will be redirected to the payment platform you have chosen.
If you choose the VIP offer, you will have to pay a monthly subscription of €1.99/month (+ payment fees) which will be profitable only if you buy more than 3 games per month in this online shop.
My Opinion:
The price before tax is attractive (best price), but if you add the actual fees, it costs €4.64 more than the card’s value. Hence the importance of using the filters on the comparator. Fortunately, you can use the discount code ten times.
Beware, though, the transaction can take a long time if you pay with a different account than your previous purchase (which happened to me). It took over 6 hours, and I needed to send several proofs of identity to their verification service to finalize my purchase.
You will receive the Steam Card code on your customer account and not in your mailbox.
Read more about K4G HERE
GAMIVO:
Price Displayed on the Website: €19.74
Promo Code: 8% off
Payment Fee: €18.16
Payment Fee: €1.54 (£1.54)
Buyer Protection: 1.97€ (£1.97)
Actual Cost: €20.44
Delivery Time: Between 5m and canceled
Available Languages: FR/EN/DE/SP/IT/PT/PL/KO
Positive Points:
- The Gamivo promo code is valid 3 times per IP address
Negative Points:
- Too many steps (more than 10) and therefore a lot of clicks and time wasted
- Insertion of purchase suggestion during the procedure (2 extra clicks)
- Payment fees
- Additional fees added by default (remember to uncheck them)
- Beware of the marketplace: make sure you choose the best offer on the page
- Beware of the SMART offer, it’s a ‘paid subscription’ (€0.99/month + payment fees around €2) which is only profitable if you buy more than 3 games per month)
- Time to receive the key
How it Works:
Choose Regular offer and click on “ADD TO CART > Copy the promo code in “DO YOU HAVE ANY DISCOUNT CODE” and “APPLY” > Deactivate the buyer protection (CPP) to save about 2 Euros, and validate a 2nd time by clicking on “THANKS I DON’T NEED ANY ADDITIONAL PROTECTION > GO TO CHECKOUT > Close the window suggesting additional products > Click a 2nd time on GO TO CHECKOUT > choose your payment method > Deactivate “SMART” by pressing the red button to save the price of the subscription + its payment fees > CONTINUE > Click on the “Buy” button.
My Opinion:
There are too many steps, and you have to be hyper-attentive to uncheck the hidden fees (PPC and SMART) enabled by default, making the experience unpleasant.
And if you pay with a different account from your previous purchase, it’s a big deal! It can take a phenomenal amount of time to send proof of identity and wait for validation by their services.
Example: “Send a photo of your ID (government-issued ID, driving license or passport), with a handwritten note “gamivo.com” on a piece of paper beside it. Please ensure that the photo is not retouched and that the following details are visible:
Your full name,
Your date of birth…
The date of issue and expiry of the document.
As a result I canceled the order by opening a dispute on PayPal because it was taking too long and going through support takes too long.
After the order was canceled, the refund was made the next day. On other sites the refund is made immediately.
Read more about GAMIVO HERE
8 . The Top 3 Steam Card Sellers
This top 3 is based on a personal assessment at a given moment. Prices vary several times a day and sellers can decide at any time to run a promotion or add a discount coupon, which would obviously influence the ranking.
1st: ENEBA : Best price-quality ratio!
2nd: INSTANT GAMING : Good price, great value
3rd: eTAIL.MARKET : Good price despite no coupon on test day
9 . Top 3 Fastest Steam Card Sellers
1st: ENEBA : Instant
2nd: INSTANT GAMING : Instant
3rd: CDKeys.com : Instant
10 . Tips on How to Pay Less for the Money you Put in your Steam Wallet.
You may have noticed that the value of a Steam Card, whether digital or physical, does not vary. You buy gift cards for 5 USD/GBP/EUR, 10 USD/GBP/EUR, 20 USD/GBP/EUR, or 50 USD/GBP/EUR.
However, the price does vary, but only on online stores. You can save up to 20%!
How to do it?
- Compare the payment fees (PayPal commission, bank fees), which differ between sellers.
- Deactivate buyer protection (Shield)
- Focus on $/£/€50 or $/£/€/100 cards (the savings are better and more visible)
- You can earn 10 EUR in gift cards from one of our partners by participating in our Reward Program. Afterward, you can head to their website to buy a cheaper Steam Card in the currency you want.
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