Originally Posted by chef3543

Has anyone had the experience of SM clerk saying that he/she needed to call to get pre-approval before processing your transaction? While we don't frequent SM often, we purchased $10,000 during the holidays when there wasn't a fee without a hitch. However, my SO and I went in this week to purchase 11 $500 FB cards, and it was just a weird experience. First, the clerk left desk to get manager approval, and then had to call some phone number to get "pre-approval" which seemed to be a new policy. They didn't seem to get that to work, and finally, after about 25 minutes, sold us the gift cards without pre-approval, whatever that means. Everything just felt very uncomfortable. We weren't doing anything wrong, at least, not to my knowledge, so I thought I would ask if anyone has any insight.