Jun 22, 2013, 10:42 am
Last edit by: ChrisFlyer66
There is a new thread for 2017: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1819569-pin-available-now-visa-mc-prepaid-debit-cards-2017-a.html
Federal Reserve interpretation of Dodd-Frank financial reform regulations has resulted in Visa/MC gift cards getting PINs as of April 1, 2013.
Setting PINS
At Walmat, many MCs default to credit(and fail) and require pressing a button to change the payment type to debit. Here are the workarounds:
Old POS systems (monochrome black on green terminals and replacement color terminals):
1a. Screen shows "Insert or Swipe Card Quickly" with "Espanol" button in lower right (note if your screen blinks)
1b. Swipe card
1c. Screen shows "Waiting for cashier..." with with working animation in lower center and "Cancel" button in lower right
2. Press "Cancel" on the screen or red button on pad (if your screen blinks, do not hit button until after blink)
3. Press "ATM/DEBIT" from upper left
4. Press "No Cash Back"
5a. Enter PIN
5b. Screen shows "Waiting for cashier..."
6. Cashier hits blue (not green) Debit button on their side.
New POS systems (color terminal):
1. Swipe GC
2. Press "Change Payment" on screen (Yellow button on pad should also work, but screen works better for some. Timing is critical.)
3. Press "DEBIT"
4. Press "No Cash Back"
5. Enter PIN - Screen showing another 'Waiting for cashier...'.
6. Ask Cashier to hit blue color Debit button on the screen
When splitting transactions among multiple cards at a Walmart register, make sure to have the cashier hit the debit button on their physical keypad. If they hit the debit button on the touchscreen, it will not work. If your transaction got declined, try having the cashier hit 'Debit' using the physical keypad on the right of the screen.
As of 6/19/2014, Walmart rejects Debit attempts above $49.99 on all cards issued by InComm/ITC Financial Services, namely all Vanilla VISA and OneVanilla. There is no workaround.
Error Messages
DEBIT NOT AVAILABLE
Not enough funds available to cover whatever amount was typed in, or most likely NOT typed in.
DEBIT NOT APPROVED
Received when the card's monthly load limit had been reached.
HOST TIMEOUT
Connection problems. The GC may be drained but the transaction should reverse itself, and funds will become available again.
Federal Reserve interpretation of Dodd-Frank financial reform regulations has resulted in Visa/MC gift cards getting PINs as of April 1, 2013.
Setting PINS
- MetaBank VISA or Sunrise VISA -use the last four digits of the card number (or to set personal PIN call 888-524-1283)
- US Bank VISA and Mastercard - Newer cards come with a PIN printed on cardstock inside the package. To set/reset PIN, call 866-952-5653. One person reports: VISA that has pre-set PIN locks PIN on first use if not previously reset; always call to set PIN before use. If you forget to reset the pin and you can't unload the funds to your BB, call the toll free # and ask rep. to "reset" the card and they will do some magic and you should then be able to unload the funds at WM.
- Vanilla VISA and OneVanilla(not MyVanilla, etc) - selection of 4 digits on the first transaction becomes the PIN
At Walmat, many MCs default to credit(and fail) and require pressing a button to change the payment type to debit. Here are the workarounds:
Old POS systems (monochrome black on green terminals and replacement color terminals):
1a. Screen shows "Insert or Swipe Card Quickly" with "Espanol" button in lower right (note if your screen blinks)
1b. Swipe card
1c. Screen shows "Waiting for cashier..." with with working animation in lower center and "Cancel" button in lower right
2. Press "Cancel" on the screen or red button on pad (if your screen blinks, do not hit button until after blink)
3. Press "ATM/DEBIT" from upper left
4. Press "No Cash Back"
5a. Enter PIN
5b. Screen shows "Waiting for cashier..."
6. Cashier hits blue (not green) Debit button on their side.
New POS systems (color terminal):
1. Swipe GC
2. Press "Change Payment" on screen (Yellow button on pad should also work, but screen works better for some. Timing is critical.)
3. Press "DEBIT"
4. Press "No Cash Back"
5. Enter PIN - Screen showing another 'Waiting for cashier...'.
6. Ask Cashier to hit blue color Debit button on the screen
When splitting transactions among multiple cards at a Walmart register, make sure to have the cashier hit the debit button on their physical keypad. If they hit the debit button on the touchscreen, it will not work. If your transaction got declined, try having the cashier hit 'Debit' using the physical keypad on the right of the screen.
As of 6/19/2014, Walmart rejects Debit attempts above $49.99 on all cards issued by InComm/ITC Financial Services, namely all Vanilla VISA and OneVanilla. There is no workaround.
Error Messages
DEBIT NOT AVAILABLE
Not enough funds available to cover whatever amount was typed in, or most likely NOT typed in.
DEBIT NOT APPROVED
Received when the card's monthly load limit had been reached.
HOST TIMEOUT
Connection problems. The GC may be drained but the transaction should reverse itself, and funds will become available again.
PIN available now for Visa/MC prepaid debit cards(2013-2016).
Apr 17, 2013, 6:27 pm
#556
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Sweet Home Chicago
Programs: Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 646
Apr 17, 2013, 6:33 pm
#557
Join Date: Apr 2013
Programs: UA MPE, BA Blue, AA, IHG Plat Amb, Marriot Silver, HHonors Silver, National Exec, Avis First
Posts: 553
Apr 17, 2013, 6:42 pm
#558
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 191
Originally Posted by PainCorp
Haha, I'm keeping all my gift cards and credit cards in an old shoe box, just to see how many I can collect.
I have a feeling you guys developed that "hobby" in case Cardinals knock on your door and ask to explain what you've been up to
Haha, I'm keeping all my gift cards and credit cards in an old shoe box, just to see how many I can collect.
I have a feeling you guys developed that "hobby" in case Cardinals knock on your door and ask to explain what you've been up to
Apr 17, 2013, 7:22 pm
#559
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 167
Apr 17, 2013, 7:32 pm
#560
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: LAX/SNA
Programs: AA, Hilton Gold
Posts: 3,887
It did start when the Debit came around, but wasn't because of the fear of being shut down and proving myself. I'm putting any old card in there. Work IDs, DL, GC, etc.
Apr 17, 2013, 8:18 pm
#562
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 367
So I just had such a freaking disaster loading my BB card today.
(this is super long...but sorry no TL : DR will do justice to this nightmare)
Just this weekend I had loaded it no problem with 2x$100 and 1x$25 debit gcs with PINs at one WM. So, I was back out there today and tried to use the kiosk to load them as FrequentMiler and others reported success with.
At the kiosk screen I chose "Money Card" and then is asked me how much I wanted to load. I put in $100 and then swiped my BB when it asked me. It then went to a processing/authorizing screen and stayed there for about 2 minutes. It then asked, out of nowhere, "Do you want to continue the transaction" and I clicked Yes. After another couple of minutes the same thing came up and I clicked Yes again. Then 2 more minutes and nothing, it was just stuck at the "Do you want to continue transaction screen." Whether I clicked Yes or No didn't matter it just stayed stuck there for almost 10 minutes.
Finally I asked one of the ladies at the MoneyCenter counter if they could do anything like reboot the machine because I didn't want to leave it in the middle of a transaction. A manager/supervisor with a key came by and unlocked the machine and reset it. They said it would probably be better if I went to the counter because the machine takes like 10 minutes to reset.
So, I went to the counter and told them that I wanted to load the card - but I wasn't sure how many cards I could split up the load with. The girl said she didn't know and that we should just "try it." So I said "ok, let's load $500 split up 5 ways." So she rang it up as $500 and had me swipe and the transaction was denied. I told her that in the past they seemingly have to punch in something between each card swipe - presumably letting the system know how much to authorize on each one.
So, she tried it again - and this time each $100 card was being approved. Finally - after 4 cards - the system spit something out to her (either on the screen or on a printed slip) that said something about max 4 cards. She sighed and said that it looks like you can only use 4 - so she had to get another supervisor to come and void the transaction. Then, we tried to do it again with only 4 ($400). This time however, half my cards didn't work - because they must have had temporary authorizations put on them from the first attempt. So, I used some of the untried cards. On the last card swipe - it appeared everything went through - but then it went back to the screen saying $100 - as if the last card didn't process (even though it had already flashed approved). She didn't know what had happened or how to solve it - so I just asked her to cancel the entire transaction because at this point I was worried that money was being taken from the cards and not being properly applied.
By now, the kiosk had rebooted - so I went over to try it again. I tried both the "MoneyPass" option and the "Greendot" option and both went down like this: Same thing happened as above with the kiosk except this time when it asked me to continue I said "No" the first time and it gracefully exited to the menu. I tried this a few times each and the same result. As a test I chose to just do a balance inquiry and not a reload and sure enough it spit out a receipt with the proper balance of my BB - so it obviously was able to read it and communicate with the bank!
One of the WM cashiers who had been hanging around at the Money Center through this whole thing was asking me if it was now working and I told her no and explained what was going on. She asked if I had tried to press "Yes" when it asked me if I wanted to proceed since the machine had been rebooted. When I said no she said "Well what have you got to lose - they can reset it again if it hangs." So, this time I said "Yes" when asked after waiting a couple of minutes. Immediately after hitting Yes it then asked me AGAIN how much I wanted to load. So, I punch in $100 again and immediately it comes back with "Operation Denied" (or maybe Operation Not Successful...something like that). So that was a total bust.
What is important to note here is that at no point was I prompted for the debit card to load. All I was asked was how much I wanted to load and then to swipe my BB - I couldn't even get past that part.
But wait...it gets worse. On my way home I stopped by another WM that I usually don't go to and went to the MoneyCenter in the back of the store. They had a kiosk but it was out of order and had a sign taped to it that looked like it had been that way for quite some time. So, I waited a few minutes in line and then went up and said I wanted to load my BB.
I told the cashier that I wanted to do $400 split across 4 cards. She asked what type of cards (as if it is her g-damn business - just ring it up) - so I showed them to her. She looked puzzled and asked to see my license, which I gave her. She then called the supervisor over because she was saying I couldn't use these cards despite me telling her I have used them before. The supervisor looked unsure but after I insisted again she said "try it."
So, the cashier rung them up..she put in $400 and then told me to swipe. I said something to her like "don't you have to punch in $100 or something to split these up?" So she typed something in the console and then I swiped and it appeared to successfully go through. We did this for all 4 cards with each one saying "Authorized" and it appeared to be a successful transaction. Instead of a receipt printing however it printed a slip that said something like "Transaction Max 4 Debit" and it didn't appear to go through. What I suspect happened is that the cashier made some mistake and keyed in something that made it think it was going to use another debit card (like what had happened at the original WM).
So, I said - "Why don't we just to one then. Let's ring it up for $100." So, she keyed in a $100 - I swiped one card and everything went fine. As there was no line I said "Would you mind just ringing the other 3 up as a separate transactions?" She said she had to ask the manager (who was standing right there) and the manager shook her sourpuss head no. I asked why and she spouted some bull$--t about not being able to ring up multiple transactions. I asked if this was policy and was told yes - but she said she was not allowed to show or share with me such policy. As I knew I wasn't about to get anywhere with this uneducated dolt I let her know I would be confirming the policy with corporate and started to leave.
I stopped by the customer service center to try and see if I could find the Manager's # usually posted on the wall. A woman who looked like she might have been a supervisor (had a walkie-talkie and keys) was rounding the corner and I asked her where the manager # was posted or if there was a manager on duty. She started to spout off a #, and when I asked her to hold so I could get my phone she asked me if she could help me with anything. I quickly recapped the situation summarizing with the fact that my debit card rang up when used individually but that the woman at the MoneyCenter refused to allow me to ring up in multiple transactions.
She started ogling my debit cards and began saying that I couldn't use them because they were "credit." I pointed out the big words "debit" above the visa logo and told her these were PIN based debit cards. She insisted that they were not debit cards, but that they were credit cards because they had account numbers written across the front. I told her all cards have account numbers across the front - that's how you use them. Then explained again that they rang up just fine when used one at a time, and all I was asking was to have them rung up that way.
She then called a manager over who once again I had to recount the story to - all the way back to the original WM visit and the fact that some of my cards had holds put against them and that is why I didn't finish my transaction at the other WM. Another supervisor came by who the manager had to ask some questions to which showed he had no clue at all about the BB cards. Then, the supervisor from the MoneyCenter showed up and started spouting her bs to the manager.
In summary what they were claiming was that she apparently had just done some "training" and said that what I was trying to do (breaking up a transaction against multiple cards) was called "structuring" and that it had nothing to do with me specifically - but that they weren't supposed to allow this. Of course none of this makes any sense since the other WM do it and, especially, since she had already okayed the first attempt at breaking it up into 4X$100 swipes. She was of course just making stuff up because she didn't think the gc should be usable and she though I was doing something sketchy. I reiterated to them that if I were doing something sketchy would I be giving them my license and asking to speak with a manager? I told them that obviously there is nothing wrong with using these cards as the $100 transaction rang up fine - that there is either something with their system or with the girl who rang it up that made some sort of error for the multi-swipe.
In the end I got no where with them. I asked them when I call corporate and tell corporate that the store manager along with 3 supervisors tells me there is a policy about doing more than one transaction load that corporate will say that is correct - in their ignorance they all acknowledged that to be the case.
I think that the idiots at the DMV and P.O are now geniuses compared to these WM folks.
I'm pretty sure that I will have no problem if I continue to load 4 at a time at the cashier at the original WM - but unless I find another nearby WM with a kiosk that allows me to do this it is going to be painful to liquidate more than $400 every couple of weeks.
I do plan to escalate this to either WM corporate or BB...not exactly sure my strategy yet though.
(this is super long...but sorry no TL : DR will do justice to this nightmare)
Just this weekend I had loaded it no problem with 2x$100 and 1x$25 debit gcs with PINs at one WM. So, I was back out there today and tried to use the kiosk to load them as FrequentMiler and others reported success with.
At the kiosk screen I chose "Money Card" and then is asked me how much I wanted to load. I put in $100 and then swiped my BB when it asked me. It then went to a processing/authorizing screen and stayed there for about 2 minutes. It then asked, out of nowhere, "Do you want to continue the transaction" and I clicked Yes. After another couple of minutes the same thing came up and I clicked Yes again. Then 2 more minutes and nothing, it was just stuck at the "Do you want to continue transaction screen." Whether I clicked Yes or No didn't matter it just stayed stuck there for almost 10 minutes.
Finally I asked one of the ladies at the MoneyCenter counter if they could do anything like reboot the machine because I didn't want to leave it in the middle of a transaction. A manager/supervisor with a key came by and unlocked the machine and reset it. They said it would probably be better if I went to the counter because the machine takes like 10 minutes to reset.
So, I went to the counter and told them that I wanted to load the card - but I wasn't sure how many cards I could split up the load with. The girl said she didn't know and that we should just "try it." So I said "ok, let's load $500 split up 5 ways." So she rang it up as $500 and had me swipe and the transaction was denied. I told her that in the past they seemingly have to punch in something between each card swipe - presumably letting the system know how much to authorize on each one.
So, she tried it again - and this time each $100 card was being approved. Finally - after 4 cards - the system spit something out to her (either on the screen or on a printed slip) that said something about max 4 cards. She sighed and said that it looks like you can only use 4 - so she had to get another supervisor to come and void the transaction. Then, we tried to do it again with only 4 ($400). This time however, half my cards didn't work - because they must have had temporary authorizations put on them from the first attempt. So, I used some of the untried cards. On the last card swipe - it appeared everything went through - but then it went back to the screen saying $100 - as if the last card didn't process (even though it had already flashed approved). She didn't know what had happened or how to solve it - so I just asked her to cancel the entire transaction because at this point I was worried that money was being taken from the cards and not being properly applied.
By now, the kiosk had rebooted - so I went over to try it again. I tried both the "MoneyPass" option and the "Greendot" option and both went down like this: Same thing happened as above with the kiosk except this time when it asked me to continue I said "No" the first time and it gracefully exited to the menu. I tried this a few times each and the same result. As a test I chose to just do a balance inquiry and not a reload and sure enough it spit out a receipt with the proper balance of my BB - so it obviously was able to read it and communicate with the bank!
One of the WM cashiers who had been hanging around at the Money Center through this whole thing was asking me if it was now working and I told her no and explained what was going on. She asked if I had tried to press "Yes" when it asked me if I wanted to proceed since the machine had been rebooted. When I said no she said "Well what have you got to lose - they can reset it again if it hangs." So, this time I said "Yes" when asked after waiting a couple of minutes. Immediately after hitting Yes it then asked me AGAIN how much I wanted to load. So, I punch in $100 again and immediately it comes back with "Operation Denied" (or maybe Operation Not Successful...something like that). So that was a total bust.
What is important to note here is that at no point was I prompted for the debit card to load. All I was asked was how much I wanted to load and then to swipe my BB - I couldn't even get past that part.
But wait...it gets worse. On my way home I stopped by another WM that I usually don't go to and went to the MoneyCenter in the back of the store. They had a kiosk but it was out of order and had a sign taped to it that looked like it had been that way for quite some time. So, I waited a few minutes in line and then went up and said I wanted to load my BB.
I told the cashier that I wanted to do $400 split across 4 cards. She asked what type of cards (as if it is her g-damn business - just ring it up) - so I showed them to her. She looked puzzled and asked to see my license, which I gave her. She then called the supervisor over because she was saying I couldn't use these cards despite me telling her I have used them before. The supervisor looked unsure but after I insisted again she said "try it."
So, the cashier rung them up..she put in $400 and then told me to swipe. I said something to her like "don't you have to punch in $100 or something to split these up?" So she typed something in the console and then I swiped and it appeared to successfully go through. We did this for all 4 cards with each one saying "Authorized" and it appeared to be a successful transaction. Instead of a receipt printing however it printed a slip that said something like "Transaction Max 4 Debit" and it didn't appear to go through. What I suspect happened is that the cashier made some mistake and keyed in something that made it think it was going to use another debit card (like what had happened at the original WM).
So, I said - "Why don't we just to one then. Let's ring it up for $100." So, she keyed in a $100 - I swiped one card and everything went fine. As there was no line I said "Would you mind just ringing the other 3 up as a separate transactions?" She said she had to ask the manager (who was standing right there) and the manager shook her sourpuss head no. I asked why and she spouted some bull$--t about not being able to ring up multiple transactions. I asked if this was policy and was told yes - but she said she was not allowed to show or share with me such policy. As I knew I wasn't about to get anywhere with this uneducated dolt I let her know I would be confirming the policy with corporate and started to leave.
I stopped by the customer service center to try and see if I could find the Manager's # usually posted on the wall. A woman who looked like she might have been a supervisor (had a walkie-talkie and keys) was rounding the corner and I asked her where the manager # was posted or if there was a manager on duty. She started to spout off a #, and when I asked her to hold so I could get my phone she asked me if she could help me with anything. I quickly recapped the situation summarizing with the fact that my debit card rang up when used individually but that the woman at the MoneyCenter refused to allow me to ring up in multiple transactions.
She started ogling my debit cards and began saying that I couldn't use them because they were "credit." I pointed out the big words "debit" above the visa logo and told her these were PIN based debit cards. She insisted that they were not debit cards, but that they were credit cards because they had account numbers written across the front. I told her all cards have account numbers across the front - that's how you use them. Then explained again that they rang up just fine when used one at a time, and all I was asking was to have them rung up that way.
She then called a manager over who once again I had to recount the story to - all the way back to the original WM visit and the fact that some of my cards had holds put against them and that is why I didn't finish my transaction at the other WM. Another supervisor came by who the manager had to ask some questions to which showed he had no clue at all about the BB cards. Then, the supervisor from the MoneyCenter showed up and started spouting her bs to the manager.
In summary what they were claiming was that she apparently had just done some "training" and said that what I was trying to do (breaking up a transaction against multiple cards) was called "structuring" and that it had nothing to do with me specifically - but that they weren't supposed to allow this. Of course none of this makes any sense since the other WM do it and, especially, since she had already okayed the first attempt at breaking it up into 4X$100 swipes. She was of course just making stuff up because she didn't think the gc should be usable and she though I was doing something sketchy. I reiterated to them that if I were doing something sketchy would I be giving them my license and asking to speak with a manager? I told them that obviously there is nothing wrong with using these cards as the $100 transaction rang up fine - that there is either something with their system or with the girl who rang it up that made some sort of error for the multi-swipe.
In the end I got no where with them. I asked them when I call corporate and tell corporate that the store manager along with 3 supervisors tells me there is a policy about doing more than one transaction load that corporate will say that is correct - in their ignorance they all acknowledged that to be the case.
I think that the idiots at the DMV and P.O are now geniuses compared to these WM folks.
I'm pretty sure that I will have no problem if I continue to load 4 at a time at the cashier at the original WM - but unless I find another nearby WM with a kiosk that allows me to do this it is going to be painful to liquidate more than $400 every couple of weeks.
I do plan to escalate this to either WM corporate or BB...not exactly sure my strategy yet though.
Last edited by BenH; Apr 17, 2013 at 8:29 pm
Apr 17, 2013, 8:25 pm
#563
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: LAX/SNA
Programs: AA, Hilton Gold
Posts: 3,887
Why didn't you just say "I want to do 4 $100 loads", instead of 1 $400 load that you need to split up? Would make it a hell of a lot easier.
Also, you aren't supposed to select "MoneyPass," but "WalMart Money Card," which was part of your problem.
Really doesn't sound like that big of a nightmare, you shouldn't be out any money after the holds are released, this is part of the game, learn and move on.
Also, you aren't supposed to select "MoneyPass," but "WalMart Money Card," which was part of your problem.
Really doesn't sound like that big of a nightmare, you shouldn't be out any money after the holds are released, this is part of the game, learn and move on.
Apr 17, 2013, 8:32 pm
#564
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 367
Why didn't you just say "I want to do 4 $100 loads", instead of 1 $400 load that you need to split up? Would make it a hell of a lot easier.
Also, you aren't supposed to select "MoneyPass," but "WalMart Money Card," which was part of your problem.
Really doesn't sound like that big of a nightmare, you shouldn't be out any money after the holds are released, this is part of the game, learn and move on.
Also, you aren't supposed to select "MoneyPass," but "WalMart Money Card," which was part of your problem.
Really doesn't sound like that big of a nightmare, you shouldn't be out any money after the holds are released, this is part of the game, learn and move on.
And the reason I did it as one transaction is that is the way it worked before. It is (theoretically) easier to do one split-tender transaction. And, according to the supervisor at the second Walmart they would not have even allowed me to do more than one transaction.
It was a nightmare (obviously that is hyperbole) because of what should have been a simple transaction ended (that worked for others - nothing I did here was trying new waters) ended up being a huge waste of time and effort and culminated in a conversation with a bunch of idiots who would rather lie about policy than simply try to ring me up.
Apr 17, 2013, 8:35 pm
#565
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 367
Oh...BTW - for those of you looking to find Walmart's with Money Center Express kiosks - I may have found a way.
Go to BB and use the ATM locator:
http://www.moneypass.com/atm-locator.aspx
Type in your zip. Most of them will come up with a MoneyPass logo - but some should come up with Walmart. Now these are Walmarts with ATMs - and these ATMs might not necessarily be Money Center Express machines - but I think it is a good bet they are.
Go to BB and use the ATM locator:
http://www.moneypass.com/atm-locator.aspx
Type in your zip. Most of them will come up with a MoneyPass logo - but some should come up with Walmart. Now these are Walmarts with ATMs - and these ATMs might not necessarily be Money Center Express machines - but I think it is a good bet they are.
Apr 17, 2013, 8:36 pm
#566
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 88
isn't the first rule "do not call"? if they find out what we are doing maybe the whole thing would be off.
Apr 17, 2013, 8:37 pm
#567
Join Date: May 2012
Location: New England
Programs: DL PM, HH Gold, the rest come and go
Posts: 313
So I just had such a freaking disaster loading my BB card today...
...I'm pretty sure that I will have no problem if I continue to load 4 at a time at the cashier at the original WM - but unless I find another nearby WM with a kiosk that allows me to do this it is going to be painful to liquidate more than $400 every couple of weeks.
I do plan to escalate this to either WM corporate or BB...not exactly sure my strategy yet though.
...I'm pretty sure that I will have no problem if I continue to load 4 at a time at the cashier at the original WM - but unless I find another nearby WM with a kiosk that allows me to do this it is going to be painful to liquidate more than $400 every couple of weeks.
I do plan to escalate this to either WM corporate or BB...not exactly sure my strategy yet though.
I think a lot of us would appreciate it if you wouldn't make a bigger deal of this than you have to, especially vis-a-vis talking to corporate. It turns out that different stores have slightly different policies and slightly different implementations of those policies. It sounds like you've figured out the limits and capabilities of the stores near you, and you should definitely do whatever you need to to max out the capabilities of those stores. For example, did you know that you can load your BB at any register, you don't need to go to the Money Center? That's a great way to quickly load as many cards as you like to to your Bluebird, up to $1k per day, not just $400. It's not like Walmart cashiers spend a lot of time monitoring their customers' behavior, as long as you don't make a scene.
Just remember, this isn't about your right to hundreds of thousands of free miles and points. This is about some loopholes that happen to exist in a system designed explicitly to take advantage of the needy. I find this perspective helps when my schemes don't go exactly according to plan.
Thanks for the data points, confirming that Walmart registers do not accept more than 4 forms of payment under any circumstances. That should help other members avoid the same mistake.
—SGS
Apr 17, 2013, 8:37 pm
#568
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: DCA, DEN, and CDG depending on the month
Posts: 233
@BenH
I had a similar experience with the kiosk at my Walmart today. Just kept getting the processing message no matter what I tried. I asked someone if they could reboot the machine, which they did, and it still didn't work after rebooting.
I would write to Walmart corporate about the broken machine, but I wouldn't tell them about the problems you had trying to load your gift cards. They are gift cards (pin based, but gift cards nonetheless) and technically you're not supposed to be able to load them. If you alert Walmart HQ or Bluebird that people are doing this, they may shut it down. Just a thought.
I had a similar experience with the kiosk at my Walmart today. Just kept getting the processing message no matter what I tried. I asked someone if they could reboot the machine, which they did, and it still didn't work after rebooting.
I would write to Walmart corporate about the broken machine, but I wouldn't tell them about the problems you had trying to load your gift cards. They are gift cards (pin based, but gift cards nonetheless) and technically you're not supposed to be able to load them. If you alert Walmart HQ or Bluebird that people are doing this, they may shut it down. Just a thought.
Apr 17, 2013, 8:40 pm
#570
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: Delta silver, HH silver, IHG platinum, SPG gold, AMEX platinum
Posts: 400
It has already been mentioned in this forum that others (including myself) have had problems splitting to 4 cards... 3 cards usually works just fine. Also regarding the card itself...I would have just said you had a debit card that can only do 200 (or whatever you were trying) per transaction.
If it takes longer than 10 seconds to explain..it's not worth explaining @ WM :-) There are plenty of other Cashiers/WMs out there. Good luck.
If it takes longer than 10 seconds to explain..it's not worth explaining @ WM :-) There are plenty of other Cashiers/WMs out there. Good luck.