Gift Cards at Food Lion: The Complete List of Brands, Fees & Where to Buy (2026)

You are standing in a Food Lion aisle or clicking around the app, and you want to know one thing: can I buy a gift card here, and what am I actually allowed to buy? We get it. The short answer is yes, and there are two very different racks of options to sort through. Here is the practical rundown so you know what to expect before you head to the register.

Gift Card Brands You Can Find at Food Lion

Food Lion sells two categories of gift cards: its own branded cards and third-party cards from other brands. The third-party cards are sold in stores only, typically on racks near the front end or by customer service.

Based on a store-verified snapshot from April 2024 that covered locations in Delaware, Kentucky, and North Carolina, here is the roughly 47-brand list organized by category:

Dining and Restaurants

• Applebee's
• Chili's
• Cold Stone Creamery
• Cracker Barrel
• Domino's
• IHOP
• Olive Garden
• Panda Express
• Panera Bread
• Red Robin
• Ruby Tuesday
• Sonic
• Starbucks
• Wendy's

Retail, Apparel, and Home

• Amazon
• American Eagle
• Banana Republic
• Barnes & Noble
• Bass Pro Shops
• Belk
• Gap
• The Home Depot
• JCPenney
• L.L.Bean
• Lowe's
• Michaels
• Nike
• Old Navy
• Target
• T.J. Maxx
• Ulta Beauty

Entertainment, Gaming, and Digital

• AMC Theatres
• Regal Theatres
• Roblox
• Spotify (see our guide to checking your Spotify gift card balance)
• Steam
• Xbox
• eBay
• Apple
• DoorDash
• Uber
• GameStop

Prepaid and Open-Loop Cards

• American Express
• Mastercard
• Visa
• Happy Cards (multi-merchant)

One important caveat: this list is not an official Food Lion inventory document. It is a recent store-checked snapshot, and rack selection varies by location and stock. Older compilations from 2021 through 2023 listed well over 100 brands, so treat the 2024 list as the reliable recent baseline rather than a guarantee. If you need a specific brand, call your local store before making the trip.

A few names people often expect but which were notably absent in those 2024 store checks: Academy Sports + Outdoors, Athleta, Chick-fil-A, Costco, CVS, Etsy, Hobby Lobby, Kroger, lululemon, QVC, Ticketmaster, Walgreens, Walmart, and Wawa. Fanatics is a bit of an odd case. It showed up in some promotional materials later, so availability may be temporary or promotional rather than a standing rack item.

Denominations, Fees, and Purchase Limits

Food Lion's own gift cards are typically sold in selectable amounts between $5 and $500, with custom amounts often supported online. Other reports and resellers have cited ranges like $5 to $500, $10 to $250, or fixed increments like $25, $50, and $100. The official CashStar terms are clear on one point: apart from expedited shipping fees for physical cards, no fees of any kind are imposed on purchasers or recipients. No activation fees, no dormancy fees, and the cards never expire.

For third-party cards, denominations vary by brand. You will commonly see fixed amounts like $25, $50, or $100, and sometimes variable ranges up to $500. The exact options are printed on the packaging or the rack. Food Lion does not add its own fee to standard closed-loop brand cards, but open-loop prepaid cards such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express carry issuer activation fees typically around $4 to $6, sometimes up to about $7. Prepaid cards may also impose inactivity fees after 12 months of non-use, so check the fine print on the card itself.

On limits, online purchases are capped at $10,000 per individual in a single calendar day according to the official terms. In-store daily purchase limits are set by each location, with reports of $500 to $2,000 per day being common. Payment rules also vary by store. Cash and debit are accepted at all locations for gift cards, but many stores do not accept credit cards or personal checks for gift-card purchases. That is a local policy, so it is worth asking before you get to the register with a cart full of cards.

In-Store vs. Online Availability

Food Lion's own gift cards are the flexible option. You can buy them in every Food Lion store, or online through the official CashStar-powered portal at foodlion.cashstar.com, which offers both eGift cards and physical cards with free standard shipping. Businesses and nonprofits can order through foodlion-biz.cashstar.com. There is also phone ordering and reload support through the Food Lion Gift Card Team at 1-800-811-1748, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern.

Third-party cards are a different story. As far as we can tell, Food Lion does not operate its own online third-party gift-card marketplace, unlike some big-box and grocery chains. Those cards are an in-store purchase only. Third-party cards are activated at checkout, so keep your receipt. If you have a balance or activation problem with a third-party card, contact the number printed on the card. Food Lion cannot troubleshoot another issuer's card. For Food Lion's own cards, you can check your balance through the CashStar recipient portal or by phone.

One more note on returns: gift cards are explicitly non-returnable and non-cancellable once received. That is the standard exclusion from normal merchandise returns, so double-check the brand and denomination before you buy. If you are shopping for a food lover and want something more personal than a card, our guide to the best baking gifts or our smooth coffee gifts under $50 might pair nicely with a grocery card.

How the MVP Program Treats Gift Cards

Food Lion's free loyalty program is called MVP. It gives you member pricing, digital coupons, personalized offers, and Shop & Earn Monthly Rewards that you activate in the app or on foodlion.com. Members report saving around $20 a month on average, and rewards apply on a subsequent trip. You can also donate rewards to Food Lion Feeds.

Here is the catch for gift card shoppers: gift card purchases do not earn MVP Rewards and do not count toward Shop & Earn. Gift cards are explicitly excluded from both earning and redemption. Using a Food Lion gift card as payment also does not generate MVP rewards. Other common exclusions include tobacco, alcohol, prescriptions, stamps, money orders, and lottery. So if you were hoping to stack rewards on a gift card purchase, that will not work here.

Food Lion does run periodic holiday and seasonal promotions, such as buying $50 to $100 in select gift cards and getting $5 to $25 off groceries. Those are worth watching in the weekly ad. If you are putting together a gift bag around a grocery card, our roundup of white elephant and gift exchange ideas under $30 can help fill out the rest.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I buy a Food Lion gift card online?

Yes. Food Lion's own gift cards are available through the official CashStar portal at foodlion.cashstar.com, which sells both eGift cards and physical cards with free standard shipping. Businesses and nonprofits can use the separate business ordering portal. Third-party brand cards, by contrast, are sold in stores only.

Are there fees on Food Lion gift cards?

Per the official CashStar terms, no fees of any kind are imposed on purchasers or recipients, with the sole exception of expedited shipping fees for physical cards. There are no activation fees and no dormancy or inactivity fees on Food Lion's own cards. Open-loop cards like Visa and Mastercard do carry issuer activation fees, usually around $4 to $6.

Can I use my Food Lion gift card to buy other gift cards?

No. Food Lion gift cards cannot be used to purchase other gift cards, lottery tickets, money orders, money transfers, or certain other excluded items. They also cannot be redeemed for cash except as required by law.

Do gift cards earn MVP rewards at Food Lion?

No. Gift card purchases are excluded from earning MVP Rewards and from counting toward Shop & Earn. Using a Food Lion gift card as payment also does not generate MVP rewards. The same exclusion applies to tobacco, alcohol, prescriptions, stamps, money orders, and lottery.

What should I do if a third-party gift card I bought at Food Lion does not work?

Contact the brand's customer service number printed on the card. Food Lion cannot troubleshoot other issuers' cards. Keep your receipt, since third-party cards are activated at checkout and proof of purchase is your best protection if something goes wrong.