Last edit by: Steve Oh
*** NS&I & HMRC NO LONGER AVAILABLE FOR 3V USE ***
Introduction 3V cards and Avios
Tesco gives 150 Clubcard point (convertible to 360 Avios/375 Virgin Miles) for every £50 spent on gift cards. These include the 3V 'Internet Shopping' Visa gift cards (which carry no fee) and have the ability to be recycled back into cash or to pay off bills where an Avios earning card is not accepted. To earn the points just purchase in multiples of £50; you combine with other gift cards (e.g. iTunes, Prepay Visa cards (with fee), Nandos etc).
Spending 3V cards
The original loophole of recycling 3V cards via NS&I direct saver accounts appears to have been closed as of 12/12/13. Other potential routes to dispose of cards can be found here, although this list is now out of date and some disposal methods listed are no longer available.
Current Disposal Options
Following the discontinuation of the NS&I loophole the following websites are still accepting payment by 3V and may be an ongoing useful source of 3V spend to collect points:-
Sky (but there are reports of Sky reversing the transactions); Orange/EE; BT; Virgin Media;Talk Talk, topcashback.co.uk (gift cards); PayPal; Highstreet Vouchers; ParentPay, United Utilities, EDF Energy, Scottish Power, Npower, Amazon (via giftcard), VoucherExpress
Purchasing cards at Tesco
It is strongly recommended when purchasing 3V cards at Tesco that a maximum of 4 cards is purchased in any one transaction (and ensure you have all four activation slips before leaving the store) due to the system limitations of Tesco's checkouts giving rise to potentially being charged for cards which haven't activated. Official Tesco advice to stores is for a maximum of 5 cards (although in this scenario no Clubcard points would be earned on the fifth card). Store policy on how many cards you can take away in one visit is variable although in an unknown store it is wise not to immediately draw too much attention to your activity - if staff are happy to proceed then you can always build to larger quantities before they decline to sell you more.
Non-Tesco 3V outlets
3V cards can also be found in Morrisons, Boots & Homebase. With Morrisons usually having large quantities, sometimes in excess of 100 cards per store and the offer of 1p off of every litre of fuel for every £10 spent makes this is a very good alternative if you're having problems locating stock at Tesco.
Introduction 3V cards and Avios
Tesco gives 150 Clubcard point (convertible to 360 Avios/375 Virgin Miles) for every £50 spent on gift cards. These include the 3V 'Internet Shopping' Visa gift cards (which carry no fee) and have the ability to be recycled back into cash or to pay off bills where an Avios earning card is not accepted. To earn the points just purchase in multiples of £50; you combine with other gift cards (e.g. iTunes, Prepay Visa cards (with fee), Nandos etc).
Spending 3V cards
The original loophole of recycling 3V cards via NS&I direct saver accounts appears to have been closed as of 12/12/13. Other potential routes to dispose of cards can be found here, although this list is now out of date and some disposal methods listed are no longer available.
Current Disposal Options
Following the discontinuation of the NS&I loophole the following websites are still accepting payment by 3V and may be an ongoing useful source of 3V spend to collect points:-
Sky (but there are reports of Sky reversing the transactions); Orange/EE; BT; Virgin Media;Talk Talk, topcashback.co.uk (gift cards); PayPal; Highstreet Vouchers; ParentPay, United Utilities, EDF Energy, Scottish Power, Npower, Amazon (via giftcard), VoucherExpress
Purchasing cards at Tesco
It is strongly recommended when purchasing 3V cards at Tesco that a maximum of 4 cards is purchased in any one transaction (and ensure you have all four activation slips before leaving the store) due to the system limitations of Tesco's checkouts giving rise to potentially being charged for cards which haven't activated. Official Tesco advice to stores is for a maximum of 5 cards (although in this scenario no Clubcard points would be earned on the fifth card). Store policy on how many cards you can take away in one visit is variable although in an unknown store it is wise not to immediately draw too much attention to your activity - if staff are happy to proceed then you can always build to larger quantities before they decline to sell you more.
Non-Tesco 3V outlets
3V cards can also be found in Morrisons, Boots & Homebase. With Morrisons usually having large quantities, sometimes in excess of 100 cards per store and the offer of 1p off of every litre of fuel for every £10 spent makes this is a very good alternative if you're having problems locating stock at Tesco.
3V cards | master thread
#361
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: London
Programs: SPG Gold, QR Silver, CX Gold, AMEX Plat, AMEX Gold
Posts: 143
Barcode Scanner 4.6
The official Android app of the open source ZXing project:
http://code.google.com/p/zxing
Free with no ads on it and did the job. I am still waiting for my broadband to be installed at my country retreat so the emailing works for me at the moment.
The official Android app of the open source ZXing project:
http://code.google.com/p/zxing
Free with no ads on it and did the job. I am still waiting for my broadband to be installed at my country retreat so the emailing works for me at the moment.
#362
Join Date: May 2009
Location: UK
Posts: 3,951
As of now, it has yet to credit, although it is not yet 24hrs which was advised over the phone. Will check again tonight, holding off from applying any more until it is has appeared. Thanks
#363
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Here today, gone tomorrow
Programs: Nothing shiny :-(
Posts: 2,493
If for any reason it doesn't credit to NSI, it will reappear on your 3V card anyway, so no harm done.
#364
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,967
I do take your point, and I am a benificiary so like you I am keen not to get this withdrawn either. Although I think if they are not happy due to the volume of transactions then they will withdraw the visa desposit completely or exclude those visa numbers regardless.
#367
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Dorset
Programs: BAEC Blue, VS Red, IHG Platinum
Posts: 597
You cannot use any credit cards to deposit into NS&I.
Ed
#368
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,967
Not tried a visa cc though, although as you say probably unlikely, and it would be counted as a cash advance rather than spend I imagine even if it worked.
EDIT: thanks for confirming that you can't do cc deposits yellow_peril.
#369
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: London, Copenhagen
Programs: SK*G, BA Gold, IHG Plat AMB
Posts: 969
Will have to diversify and add in a few trips to morrisons for what seems like almost free fuel if the spend is high enough!
#370
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: London
Posts: 17,007
Have you tried? I haven't, but I find that MasterCard credit cards are usually accepted as though they are debit cards on sites that charge for credit cards.
#371
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Wiltshire/London
Programs: BA Bronze
Posts: 157
I haven't got my ns&i login details to hand to check but can you deposit by paypal into ns&i?
#372
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Ipswich
Programs: BAEC Blue, BAPP
Posts: 158
Just to confirm to Pazza, my 3V transaction has now registered on the NSandI site. No confirmation email but payment has gone through fine.
#373
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Dorset
Programs: BAEC Blue, VS Red, IHG Platinum
Posts: 597
No PayPal option for NS&I but a credit card would probably show as a cash advance so be charged and also appears on your credit report (though don't know if it affects your actual score).
#374
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: LCY
Programs: BAEC Gold, HHonors Gold
Posts: 1,208
can anyone recommend an ios bar code scanning app that doesn't require a pc/laptop in addition?
Last edited by GadgetGal; Dec 10, 2013 at 7:09 am