how do i purchase a visa gift card; and do i have to pay to activate it; and how do i pay to activate it?

Why would I be offended? Why so many semicolons?

My local grocery store sells Visa Gift Cards. They are for the dollar amount you choose (say $200) plus an activation fee. I don't know what the current activation fee is, but it's usually around $5. The card can then be used anywhere that accepts Visa debit cards, for brick and mortar stores.

I am not sure that they can be used at Internet sites.

http://usa.visa.com/personal/personal-cards/gift-c...

So yes, you could walk into a store that sells Visa Gift Cards, pick one out for $200, give the cashier $200 plus the activation fee, and the card should be activated right then. You would then treat it like cash.

You can then go to Subway, Target, or Starbucks and use it to pay for your purchase. Once you've used up the $200, you throw it away; it cannot be reloaded.

Just bought some today

Walked into my local CVS (they have a big variaty of cards), paid for the face value plus an activation fee, can now be used for purchases

You walk into a store that sells them, hand them cash and you get a gift card for that value, less the fee.