Welcome to FT! I would not recommend jumping right to 10K a month if you're just starting out. Just buy one 500 card, liquidate it into a MO and deposit it into your secondary bank (not your main bank). If all goes well, you can repeat or SLOWLY ramp up. MS is a marathon, not a sprint. If you're in NY you can buy a 500 at Simon or a supermarket. GC.com will hit you with a shipping fee that will make the cost the same as the two above, but you'll have to wait a week to receive it.