I am very interested in further exploring GoC. I have paid over 30K in Student Loans w/ CC thus far and have another 18K to go. It has been a strange ride.

I started w/ GoC (spent about 7K) and then switched to depositing MOs in my Bank and then paying Student w/ those.

I found the MO route to be the quickest method w/ the biggest returns. However, right now MOs at WM are getting a little more annoying than I am comfortable with, and I am looking to get back into GoC.

I have the below DPs to share:

1. GoC operates on Mountain Standard Time. As per GoC Customer service, "Gifts received by 6pm (MST) Monday-Friday will be considered the same business day. Payments are processed in MST zone as well."
2. GoC will typically send your student loan provider a "CHECK" for your payment. They do not send ACH payment.
3. GoC gift cards can be purchased in $500 intervals. However, if you purchase multiple cards, and redeem all of the cards on the same day, GoC sends (1) lump sum check to your student loan provider. They will not send multiple $500 checks.

I have been paying "FED LOAN." For what its worth, below are my experiences (pros and cons) in no particular order. I would like to learn more, if someone could direct me towards a more lucrative CC to use, I am sure i am missing something that could improve returns.

1. CON: Takes approx 14 business days for payment to post. This is a long waiting period and may feel a little sketchy if you have thousands of dollars pending for 2-3 weeks.

2. PRO: Good Customer service, if you email GoC at: <[email protected]> they are pretty responsive and will get back to you if you have any questions

3. CON: You cannot submit targeted payments. If you are like me, and have a student loan account composed of multiple loans, GoC does not allow you apply targeted payments. GoC dumps the money as a lump sum into your account. Once the money enters your Student Loan account, you can call FED LOAN and have them adjust and allocate the money properly. However, this adds another couple of days to the process.

4. CON: If you go after work, shopping at Toys R Us is an absolute horror. Crying kids, hyped kids, screaming kids and sick kids. The checkout lines are often slow moving.

5. PRO: Can do high volume. If you are going to do high volume payments, GoC has no problem with it. I know i may have broken a cardinal rule, but I emailed customer service and asked if large lump sums were OKAY, and they said "surely" w/ a smile.

6. CON ?: Not as lucrative as other methods. Depending on what card you have, I believe Grocery Stores often have some of the best category rewards. I have not found anything as glamorous for toys R Us. Perhaps i am wrong ? Please advise. I have been using Discover "IT" card, earning 2% as this is my first year with the card.