Cards
Virtual cards are temporary cards that are linked to some type of funding source such as a bank account, debit card or credit line. Virtual cards are helpful because they allow you to create more cards that you can use for your billing profiles, which will help you secure multiples of the same items.
Virtual cards don’t come without their own flaws. Not all virtual cards will work on every site. Additionally, most virtual cards covered in this guide will lock to one merchant after use and won’t be able to be used at another store afterwards. Be sure to read through the guide to see which cards would be best for different sites you plan to run for.
The most commonly used card providers are Privacy, Capital One Eno, Slash and American Express Business. However, there are other virtual cards out there, as well as Revolut and Stripe Issuing. Business cards also offer another method of obtaining multiple cards, although these generally won't be virtual cards, but rather hard cards.
Selecting a Card Source
When selecting a card source to use, you will want to take a few things into consideration, such as:
Funding Source
Merchant Locks
Supported Websites
Number of Available Cards
Billing Profile Restrictions
Registered Business Required
Click through a tab below to see a brief overview for each of these points for the above items.
Funding Source - Requires a Capital One credit card that is eligible for Eno. Bank accounts and debit cards are not eligible.
Merchant Locks - Locks to the store it was created on. Cannot be used at different stores other than the one it was created for.
Supported Websites - Depends on BIN (first four digits of cards). Mastercards do not work on some sites such as Footsites, Yeezy Supply, Supreme. Visa cards work for most stores.
Number of Available Cards - Generate 20 cards per day. Generate up to 1200 cards in total.
Registered Business Required - No. If you have a business, you can use a Capital One Business Card for Eno as well.
Billing profile restrictions -
Name - Can be set to anything you want.
Address - Line 1 and 2 of address can be anything as long as within same zip code if required to match.
Zip Code - Most stores do not require zip code to match. However, Supreme requires real zip code.
Funding Source - Bank account or debit card only. Cannot use a credit card.
Merchant Locks - Locks to store it was first used on. Cannot be used at a different store afterwards.
Supported Websites - Supreme, Nike, Shopify, Adidas, Footsites, Playstation Direct, TicketMaster, Hibbett, Finishline/JDsports, Walmart, Yeezysupply, Target
Number of Available Cards - Varies on your plan. Can be 12, 36 or 60 cards per month depending on which plan you use.
Registered Business Required - No. You only need a registered business for the Teams and Issuing API plans.
Billing Profile Restrictions - Name, address and zip code can be set to anything you want.
Funding Source - Requires an American Express Business credit card. Included as part of your business account.
Merchant Locks - Does not merchant lock. Can be reused at different stores.
Supported Websites -
Number of Available Cards - Allows up to 99 employee cards.
Registered Business Required - No, can apply as a sole proprietor. Registered businesses can be used.
Billing Profile Restrictions -
Name: Can be set to anything you want.
Address: Line 1 and 2 of address can be anything as long as within same zip code if required to match.
Zip Code: Most stores do not require zip code to match. However, Supreme requires real zip code. Using outside of zip has higher chances of triggering 3DS for websites that use it.
Funding Source - Requires an American Express Business credit card.
Merchant Locks - Does not merchant lock. Can be reused at different stores.
Supported Websites -
Number of Available Cards - Allows as many cards as you want.
Registered Business Required - No, can apply as a sole proprietor. Registered businesses can be used.
Billing Profile Restrictions -
Name: Can be set to anything you want.
Address: Line 1 and 2 of address can be anything as long as within same zip code if required to match.
Zip Code: Most stores do not require zip code to match. However, Supreme requires real zip code. Using outside of zip has higher chances of triggering 3DS for websites that use it.
Funding Source - Bank account, Zelle, Wire transfer and Cash app
Merchant Locks - By default not merchant locked, user is able to merchant lock if desired
Supported Websites - Supreme, Nike, Shopify, Adidas, Footsites, Playstation Direct, TicketMaster, Hibbett, Finishline/JDsports, Walmart, Yeezysupply, Target
Number of Available Cards - Varies on plan. Free trial is 5, users can pay up to 500 cards
Registered Business Required - If user decided to opt for the most expensive plan.
Billing Profile Restrictions - Name, address and zip code can be set to anything you want.
Funding Source - Requires an American Express Business credit card.
Merchant Locks - Does not merchant lock. Can be reused at different stores. Can create 3 types of cards: single use, multiple use, and subscription.
Supported Websites - Works on all sites that accept American Express cards.
Number of Available Cards - Allows you to create as many cards as you want, but avoid creating a large number at once.
Registered Business Required - Yes, you must apply through an Amex representative and have an American Express business credit card (can apply as sole proprietor)
Billing Profile Restrictions - Name, address and zip code can be set to anything you want.
Funding Source - Requires a Citi credit card that is eligible for virtual cards.
Merchant Locks - Locks to store it was first used on. Cannot be used at a different store afterwards.
Supported Websites - Works on all sites.
Number of Available Cards - Generate up to 100 cards. Use those cards in order to generate more.
Registered Business Required - No
Billing Profile Restrictions -
Name: Can be set to anything you want.
Address: Line 1 and 2 of address can be anything as long as within same zip code if required to match.
Zip Code: Most stores do not require zip code to match. However, Supreme requires real zip code.
Funding Source - Requires account balanced to be topped up through bank account or debit card.
Merchant Locks - Does not merchant lock. Can be reused at different stores.
Supported Websites - Works on every site
Number of Available Cards - No hard set limit in place for cards.
Registered Business Required - Yes, but can apply as sole proprietor.
Billing Profile Restrictions -
Name, address and zip code can be set to anything you want in dashboard for creating cards by creating a cardholder and setting billing address to shipping address.
Funding Source - Requires account balanced to be topped up through bank account or debit card.
Merchant Locks - Does not merchant lock. Can be reused at different stores.
Supported Websites - Works for most sites. May not work on Supreme.
Number of Available Cards -
1 physical card
5 virtual cards
1 disposable virtual cards at a time
Total of 7 cards
Registered Business Required - No
Billing Profile Restrictions -
Name: Can be set to anything you want.
Address: Line 1 and 2 of address can be anything as long as within same zip code if required to match.
Zip Code: Has to match what's registered to card.
Brief Comparison
Selecting the card to use will vary depending on your current situation and your own needs.
Privacy is generally the most accessible virtual card source available. However, the daily and monthly spend limits in place can often restrict you during a drop on total number of pairs you can hit. Additionally, the number of cards you can create each month can be quite limited depending on the plan you have, and merchant locking will require you to allocate a certain number of cards per site.
Capital One Eno is often considered to be the best virtual card source for non business users. Eno allows you to generate 20 cards a day with a total of 1200 cards, which is a large amount. However, Capital One tends to give very low credit compared to most banks. Mastercard Enos have been flagged on many stores and won't work as well compared to Visa Eno. Eno being Mastercard or Visa will depend on the parent card you have with Capital One. Eno still merchant locks, but does allow you to generate a lot of cards.
Citi is a bit restrictive in terms of the number of cards you can generate. The cards still merchant lock as well. Generating cards manually can also take a long time manually if you do not have access to a card generator that supports Citi. However, they do give a higher credit limit generally than a bank like Capital One would, which can be advantageous to you depending on your financial situation. Citi does tend to decline purchases far more frequently compared to other banks, and is often regarded as one of the worst options for VCC.
Revolut is not a strong card source for US users. Although the cards do not merchant lock, it is quite limited in terms of the number of cards you can generate. There is also a waiting list usually that you will have to wait through in order to enroll in using Revolut. If you are from a different region other than the US, then Revolut is a good option.
Stripe Issuing is a great source for virtual cards. However, you will need a registered business in order to use them. You also will need to manually top up your account with money as it will function as a debit card of sorts where you need funds in order to use them. Their cards do not merchant lock and you can set the billing address of the card to any address you want to, which is great for sites such as Supreme you cannot use mismatching billing info. Virtual cards cost just 10 cents each to generate, which is cheap to generate a lot of cards to use.
Amex Employee or any business cards are also great options. These cards will also require a registered business in order to use them. No merchant locks and behaving more like physical/hard cards instead of virtual cards is a plus. Although you are only given 99 employee cards, they do not merchant lock which will allow you to share across every site. You also get access to Extend for additional virtual cards if needed.
Refer to the dedicated guides for each card source for more information on them.
Last updated