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Safeway-United promo loophole

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Safeway-United promo loophole

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Old May 14, 2001 | 5:16 pm
  #1  
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Safeway-United promo loophole

When paying for your groceries with a debit card, you earn miles on your cash advance. So, you purchase 100.00 worth of groceries and add $50 for cash back, your receipt will indicate at the bottom "You have accumulated $150 toward your next United Mileage Plus award!"

BTW, I know some people will say that loopholes such as this should not be publicised but I disagree. Share the info with as many people as possible before the mistake/loophole/glitch/etc is discovered. The idea of having a "private" subscription list is nonsense since anybody can ask to receive a mailing; including those corporate lurkers among us.

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Old May 14, 2001 | 5:34 pm
  #2  
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Interesting idea, but I guess it would only pay to do this if you have a mileage earning debit card. Otherwise, you would be giving up 100 credit card miles to get 25 extra grocery miles.

I agree with you about the idea of a list. I might get on it to make sure I find out about everything, but it seems to me that if we take the list idea to it's ultimate conclusion, there would be little left to post on the public boards besides the official program rules. The most people benefit when we share as much as possible.
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Old May 14, 2001 | 6:33 pm
  #3  
 
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I strongly agree with your idea about the list. If there is a loophole which is valid, everyone should be able to read about it and potentially use it.

Regarding loopholes that are adverse to corporate policies, can't help it if they get removed within a short timeframe of it getting posted here.

We are trying to squeeze the max out of the programs by following the rules ( bending them on a rare occasion ) but not by breaking them.
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Old May 14, 2001 | 6:40 pm
  #4  
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I very much doubt whether United would care about this loophole as Safeway purchases the miles from them. Safeway is much less likely to lurk on these boards and they are the party effected by this loophole.
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Old May 14, 2001 | 6:55 pm
  #5  
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Originally posted by dhacker:
Interesting idea, but I guess it would only pay to do this if you have a mileage earning debit card. Otherwise, you would be giving up 100 credit card miles to get 25 extra grocery miles...
Well I think it depends on the $$$ to miles ratio is it 1:1 or something else? I person's debit card POS (point-of-sale) limit is usually about 2.5 times the atm daily withdrawl limit. So if you ask for the maximum a particular Safeway store would allow in cash back and then redeposit in your account - you lose nothing. Most banks do not charge a fee for grocery store transactions so if you get $500 cash back, then redeposit - you can do this a few times per month and create some extra miles.



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Old May 15, 2001 | 12:04 am
  #6  
 
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Does anyone have a Debit card that they have used at Safeway that earns miles, and which one?


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Old May 15, 2001 | 12:43 am
  #7  
 
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The US Bank WorldPerks debit card should work well with this. You would be getting Northwest and United at the same time.
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Old May 15, 2001 | 1:35 am
  #8  
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Leisuremiles: There is at least one Safeway lurker among us. Sorry, I can't remember her name at the moment.
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Old May 15, 2001 | 9:00 am
  #9  
 
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Leave it up to UA to come up with the worst ratio of earning FF miles. At .5 miles per $1, this has to be the worsrt in the industry.

However, if you can coordinate with other purchases, it is not so bad. I bought some Kelloggs for AA miles with my Citibank Visa, thus earning 1 mile per dollar on AA and .5 on UA. In addition to all of the Kelloggs/Publix certs!

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Old May 15, 2001 | 10:42 am
  #10  
 
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A word of caution: Watch your Safeway receipts carefully. Around December, Safeway began DEDUCTING miles from my accumulation. Recently, they stopped giving them. I find myself calling their 1(800)SAFEWAY line more often than I care to. Aren't computers wonderful???
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Old May 17, 2001 | 1:20 am
  #11  
 
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I thought we suppose to be smart and witty bunch, what's happening to us: MileageAddict throws in a great idea and how do we react?

We are missing the point: simply go to Safeway, but a loaf of bread, pay with you ATM card, take the maximum available cash (is it $300 per day?), enter your pin, pocket 151 miles. Now, shove $300 bucks in the deposit envelope, deposit it in Wells Fargo ten steps away.
Come back tomorrow and repeat till hell freezes over...
The ratio is 151 miles per $2, mileage debit card would only add miles for real purchase.

Now, is it too good to be true? What's the daily withdrawal limit? Did anyone get these "premium" miles posted, what Safeway prints on receipt sometimes very random.

Thank You, MileageAddict
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Old May 17, 2001 | 9:00 am
  #12  
 
Join Date: May 2001
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What list are you speaking of. How do I get on this list. Im assuming its an email list. Please post the details so I can know about all the many ways to get miles, loopholes, ect.ect. Thank you.
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Old May 17, 2001 | 9:20 am
  #13  
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Check: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/004564.html


[This message has been edited by RKG (edited 05-17-2001).]
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Old May 17, 2001 | 10:37 am
  #14  
 
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FlyerGod - this list is not a FlyerTalk list, just something two FTers have decided to put together and is only open to certain people after you manage to pass muster with them. They want to exclude "undesirable elements". Not something I want to be a part of.
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Old May 17, 2001 | 1:48 pm
  #15  
 
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Originally posted by worldbanker:
Leave it up to UA to come up with the worst ratio of earning FF miles. At .5 miles per $1, this has to be the worsrt in the industry.
I think Safeway decides the point level and the carrier in the market.

In Alaska, you can get one Alaska Airlines mile for every two $ spent for purchases at Safway and Carrs (the local chain they bought out.) In Chicago, it's 1 UA mile per $1 at Dominicks. At Tom Thumb stores, it's 1 AA miles per $. I believe it's OnePass miles at Randalls.

-Robert
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