Originally Posted by
robbert
Article in the Washington Post
here.
"In the six months since Bluebird debuted, more than 575,000 customers have signed up, placing more than $275 million into their accounts."
"Nearly half of Bluebird cardholders are under age 35 and use the card for everyday expenses, Schulman said. The prepaid card has allowed American Express to tap into a broader segment of the market, as 85 percent of account holders are new to the company."
If the info in this article is true, FTers and those interested in the miles game are a drop in the bucket, and the product has otherwise been extremely successful.
Originally Posted by
DCBob
Well, I have excellent credit and I have NEVER had a fraud alert or FR from using Amex to buy VR cards (Hilton, Starwood, and Platinum). I also use my Chase Visa and MasterCard cards and never had a fraud alert or other inquiry. The one bank that is a royal pain to deal with is Barclays Bank - I simply stopped using them for VR purchases after they denied my very first $500 VR purchase.
But I do agree that it's wise to vary the CCs you use each month so that you don't put more than $2K on any one card per month. I might just be overly cautious, but it's better than being reckless.
I've had similar experiences, and I think a similar risk tolerance (though I have not yet used Barclay). It kills me to pay WP, but I've been using it to meet the $25k spend threshold on my UA MP card. I've just set WP, insurance, and a few other smaller recurring payments to bill to my UA card. Then once a month I buy a couple VRs. I'll hit the $25k threshold without even using the card for any "daily" expenses.