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Old Jun 22, 2010 | 9:46 am
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daringtofly
Formerly known as god_forbids
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: DL Kettle
Posts: 167
Lightbulb PASS by AmEx (re-loadable card)

Mods: Feel free to merge with this somewhat related thread if need be.

I just got an e-mail from AmEx announcing their new (?) loadable card called PASS. Details at americanexpress.com/pass, T&Cs linked on that page.

Summary
Load Max - $2,500 per card [3 cards max]
Account Fee - $3.95/mo waived until Oct 1, 2010
ATM fee - $1.50 [network unknown]
Max withdrawal - $200/week

There is a promo going on until Aug 15, 2010 which gives a $25 credit after the first reload is done.

Oh, exploitable!
If you put in $200 every week from now until Oct 1 you could get 13 withdrawals ($19.50 in ATM charges) vs. the $25 credit for a gain of $5.50 and 2,600 MR points/SkyMiles/whatevs. Not massively churnable, sadly; If you kept up the weekly withdrawals for a year you'd net only 10,400 points at 1.13 cpm. But what about U.S. Mint, um, E-gift certificates or other gift card purchases?

Potential Issues
Don't know if purchases/reloads of PASS cards accrue reward points. T&Cs unclear on this point but would it be a cash equivalent? VISA/MC rules for their reloadables allows rewards, right? So did/do AmEx purchases of gift cards, I think ...
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