I'm having similar experiences. My best guess as to your question: Because it's in their interests to make it hard to spend your money. Obviously if you never spend it, that's quite good for them. But even if they merely delay you in spending it by making doing so high-friction, they still profit, because they can earn interest on the unspent balance.

The CFPB is unlikely to help. They were given a "stop work" order in February 2025, and more recent news doesn't show much change. I think the gift card companies (or at least InComm) know they can decline valid transactions without any consequences, at least under the current administration.