Canonical URL: https://giftcard.news/research-trends/virtual-incentives-examines-where-prepaid-reward-funds-are-spent-4940c753b498/

---
description: The February 2024 provider analysis covers US prepaid reward purchases of $100 or less across dining, shopping, groceries, travel and entertainment.
title: Virtual Incentives analyzes $15 million in Visa and Mastercard reward spending
image: https://giftcard.news/images/social/v1/virtual-incentives-analyzes-15-million-visa-mastercard-reward-spending-9495aef39895999067a726b937603fe7.jpg
---

1. [Home](https://giftcard.news/)
2. [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/)
3. Virtual Incentives analyzes $15 million in Visa and Mastercard reward spending

[Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) News 

# Virtual Incentives analyzes $15 million in Visa and Mastercard reward spending

The February 2024 provider analysis covers US prepaid reward purchases of $100 or less across dining, shopping, groceries, travel and entertainment.

By [Emma Carter](https://giftcard.news/author/emma-carter/) Published: February 22, 2024 at 08:26 PM 1 min read 

Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fvirtual-incentives-examines-where-prepaid-reward-funds-are-spent-4940c753b498%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=Virtual%20Incentives%20analyzes%20%2415%20million%20in%20Visa%20and%20Mastercard%20reward%20spending "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fvirtual-incentives-examines-where-prepaid-reward-funds-are-spent-4940c753b498%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=Virtual%20Incentives%20analyzes%20%2415%20million%20in%20Visa%20and%20Mastercard%20reward%20spending%20https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fvirtual-incentives-examines-where-prepaid-reward-funds-are-spent-4940c753b498%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "WhatsApp") 

![Virtual Incentives article image for Virtual Incentives examines where prepaid reward funds are spent](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/virtual-incentives-analyzes-15-million-visa-mastercard-reward-spending-article-image-examines-w1280.webp) 

 Photo: Source: virtualincentives.com 

[Virtual Incentives](https://giftcard.news/company/virtual-incentives/) published an analysis of more than $15 million in prepaid card reward spending in February 2024\. The company examined US purchases made with [Visa](https://giftcard.news/company/visa/) and [Mastercard](https://giftcard.news/company/mastercard/) reward cards.

In the reported breakdown, dining accounted for 25% of spending, followed by in-store shopping at 18% and groceries at 17%. Online shopping represented 15%, travel 14% and entertainment 11%.

The article focused on rewards worth $100 or less and considered how recipients used flexible prepaid value. The figures show spending on both routine needs and discretionary activities.

Virtual Incentives interpreted the results as support for offering rewards that allow people to choose experiences as well as products. It also compared prepaid cards with transfers into general spending accounts, arguing that a separately held reward may feel more distinctive.

That interpretation comes from the reward provider. The spending percentages describe its analysed transactions, rather than the entire US gift card or prepaid market. The article did not give a precise observation window, so the findings should be understood in the context of its February 2024 publication.

## Sources and documents

ExpandCollapse 
* [Virtual Incentives examines where prepaid reward funds are spent](https://www.virtualincentives.com/new-research-shows-prepaid-card-rewards-unlock-amazing-experiences/?utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news) — virtualincentives.com

## In this article

### Companies

* [Mastercard](https://giftcard.news/company/mastercard/)
* [Virtual Incentives](https://giftcard.news/company/virtual-incentives/)
* [Visa](https://giftcard.news/company/visa/)

Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fvirtual-incentives-examines-where-prepaid-reward-funds-are-spent-4940c753b498%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=Virtual%20Incentives%20analyzes%20%2415%20million%20in%20Visa%20and%20Mastercard%20reward%20spending "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fvirtual-incentives-examines-where-prepaid-reward-funds-are-spent-4940c753b498%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=Virtual%20Incentives%20analyzes%20%2415%20million%20in%20Visa%20and%20Mastercard%20reward%20spending%20https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fvirtual-incentives-examines-where-prepaid-reward-funds-are-spent-4940c753b498%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "WhatsApp") 

![Portrait of Emma Carter](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/emma-carter-editorial-portrait-w320.webp) 

About the author

## [Emma Carter](https://giftcard.news/author/emma-carter/)

Journalist — Retail & E-commerce

Emma Carter covers retail, e-commerce and the gift card shopping experience for Gift Card News.

From reading to building

## Your next move in gift cards.

Tell us what you’re building. We’ll help you explore suitable providers.

[Find a provider ](https://giftcard.news/find-a-provider/) 

## Related articles

[Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) Analysis 

### [AI Can Shop for You. Can It Spend Your Gift Cards?](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/ai-can-shop-for-you-can-it-spend-your-gift-cards/)

[Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) September 17, 2026 17 min 

[Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) Analysis 

### [Gift Card Fraud in the United States](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/gift-card-fraud-in-the-united-states/)

[Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) September 17, 2026 66 min 

[Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) Analysis 

### [Can You Cash Out Your Gift Card? A State-by-State Guide](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/can-you-cash-out-your-gift-card-state-by-state-guide/)

[Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) September 17, 2026 79 min

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://giftcard.news/#publisher","name":"Gift Card News","url":"https://giftcard.news/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/brand/giftcard-news-logo.svg"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://giftcard.news/author/emma-carter/#person","name":"Emma Carter","url":"https://giftcard.news/author/emma-carter/","description":"Emma Carter covers retail, e-commerce and the gift card shopping experience for Gift Card News.","jobTitle":"Journalist — Retail & E-commerce","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/images/emma-carter-editorial-portrait.webp","contentUrl":"https://giftcard.news/images/emma-carter-editorial-portrait.webp","width":256,"height":256,"caption":"Illustrated portrait representing the Emma Carter editorial profile."}},{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/images/virtual-incentives-analyzes-15-million-visa-mastercard-reward-spending-article-image-examines.webp","contentUrl":"https://giftcard.news/images/virtual-incentives-analyzes-15-million-visa-mastercard-reward-spending-article-image-examines.webp","width":1280,"height":720,"@id":"https://giftcard.news/images/virtual-incentives-analyzes-15-million-visa-mastercard-reward-spending-article-image-examines.webp#image"},{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/virtual-incentives-examines-where-prepaid-reward-funds-are-spent-4940c753b498/#article","url":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/virtual-incentives-examines-where-prepaid-reward-funds-are-spent-4940c753b498/","headline":"Virtual Incentives analyzes $15 million in Visa and Mastercard reward spending","description":"The February 2024 provider analysis covers US prepaid reward purchases of $100 or less across dining, shopping, groceries, travel and entertainment.","datePublished":"2024-02-22T20:26:46.000Z","dateModified":"2024-02-22T20:26:46.000Z","inLanguage":"en","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/virtual-incentives-examines-where-prepaid-reward-funds-are-spent-4940c753b498/#webpage"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/#website"},"isAccessibleForFree":false,"hasPart":{"@type":"WebPageElement","isAccessibleForFree":false,"cssSelector":".reader-restricted"},"image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/images/virtual-incentives-analyzes-15-million-visa-mastercard-reward-spending-article-image-examines.webp","contentUrl":"https://giftcard.news/images/virtual-incentives-analyzes-15-million-visa-mastercard-reward-spending-article-image-examines.webp","width":1280,"height":720,"@id":"https://giftcard.news/images/virtual-incentives-analyzes-15-million-visa-mastercard-reward-spending-article-image-examines.webp#image"}],"articleSection":"Research & Trends","keywords":["Mastercard","Virtual Incentives","Visa"],"mentions":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://giftcard.news/company/mastercard/#entity","name":"Mastercard","url":"https://giftcard.news/company/mastercard/"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://giftcard.news/company/virtual-incentives/#entity","name":"Virtual Incentives","url":"https://giftcard.news/company/virtual-incentives/"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://giftcard.news/company/visa/#entity","name":"Visa","url":"https://giftcard.news/company/visa/"}],"wordCount":175,"citation":["https://www.virtualincentives.com/new-research-shows-prepaid-card-rewards-unlock-amazing-experiences/"],"author":[{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/author/emma-carter/#person"}],"publisher":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/#publisher"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/virtual-incentives-examines-where-prepaid-reward-funds-are-spent-4940c753b498/#webpage","url":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/virtual-incentives-examines-where-prepaid-reward-funds-are-spent-4940c753b498/","name":"Virtual Incentives analyzes $15 million in Visa and Mastercard reward spending","description":"The February 2024 provider analysis covers US prepaid reward purchases of $100 or less across dining, shopping, groceries, travel and entertainment.","inLanguage":"en","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/#website"},"mainEntity":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/virtual-incentives-examines-where-prepaid-reward-funds-are-spent-4940c753b498/#article"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/virtual-incentives-examines-where-prepaid-reward-funds-are-spent-4940c753b498/#breadcrumbs"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/images/virtual-incentives-analyzes-15-million-visa-mastercard-reward-spending-article-image-examines.webp#image"}},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/virtual-incentives-examines-where-prepaid-reward-funds-are-spent-4940c753b498/#breadcrumbs","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://giftcard.news/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Research & Trends","item":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Virtual Incentives analyzes $15 million in Visa and Mastercard reward spending","item":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/virtual-incentives-examines-where-prepaid-reward-funds-are-spent-4940c753b498/"}]}]}
```
