jar2542

Can someone please PM what Iron Horse means? I have read this thread for hours, heck more like months, and I can't figure it out. I think I get 781482097.

Thanks!

lkar

I know that some pretty esoteric tecniques are discussed here, but I have a somewhat basic question. I don't think it requires code, and I hope the regulars in this thread can help wthout giving away any complicated tricks. I think the question is so basic that the last 50 pages or so aren't too helpful, because they involve more complicated matters.

I have a new citi card with a 2.5k spend. As it happens, I have a payment of a bit more than that due in a couple of days. Unfortunately, however, payment must be with MC or Amex, and the citi card is Visa. Is there an easy way to buy amex or mc instruments with my card in a way that citi will regard as a regular purchase and not give me grief? If I can do it locally, all the better. I don't need 5x or anything. I just want the easiest method that is safe with citi and doesn't require 25 $100 cards if there is such a thing. I don't know if the popular bean office supply store products work with citi, but it is not an option for me because I don't have one of those stores within 100 miles. My card is a hilton reserve, which only gives bonus points for travel and hilton categories, so I don't care where I have to shop. Thanks in advance.

caGALINDO

maybe AP

Marathon Man

Walk into cvs or a grocery store and buy 1-5 visa or mc gcs for $504.95 each, the fee for each being the $4.95

Maybe play it safe and buy like half today and the rest tomorrow

Then pay your bill $500 at a time if possible

If you are making a spend, i think eating such a fee is justified, especially if you need the money now for something and it wont take amex

Good luck

Mm

Surface Interval

Possible help here: http://boardingarea.com/blogs/freque...-reload-cards/

lkar

Thanks. I guess that makes sense. Citi doesn't knw what I am buying at cvs, right?

I also have to pay a $4 convenience charge for each payment. So, with the charge for the card, $45 in fees to meet the spend, paying a charge I have to pay (actually $41 net since I would pay the $4 if I made one payment on another card). That seems ok.

Marathon Man

If doing car payments be careful when using too many gcs
Space em out and do with a rep on phone if possible to gain accountabilty

Also you could call citi and try to have your ca limit set to $0 if they let you do that on that card. This would ensure no worry but also get clarification and the reps name and id info to have in case you need it later

And maybe buy one gc first and see how it goes thru on your cc
Call citi and ask

No, the cc should not know what youre buying and the store wont care if you buy a few but in this case do try to spread thespend over a day or two or three if you can so you are safe

Its too bad you have to pay all those convenience fees

But hey in some cases we have to eat such things since time is also of the essence

lkar

Thanks for the help, MM.

How about the Amex gift card bought online with overnight shipping? I think I can use a cash back portal. Is citi ok with Amex gift cards, if you know?

Marathon Man

From what i recall, citi amex may nail you with a ca fee if you get those and if you turn off ca then the trans wont go thru

Dont quote me that but the info is somewhere in this very thread ...like maybe 3500 posts ago lol

But yes, cb would be great and what you could do is use the amex gcs to buy cisa mc store ones and pay the fee in a split transaction but careful cuz some store clerks think you cant buy a gc with a gc

lkar

Ok, thanks. Complicated. Not sure how the regulars here keep it all straight.

Nottafatslob

One other thing you can do is use your card to buy gift cards that don't charge a fee. Many restaurant and gas gift cards are sold for face value as well as most big box and department stores. You need to eat and buy gas and stuff anyway and this way there is no fee.

Marathon Man

Yup
Nothing here is uncomplicated

But to quote another famous 80s movie when answering you in how a regular keeps it straight:

Its what he does! Its ALL he does!

Marathon Man

Yea and there was once a time you could use the ua or aa malls to buy sams gcs which work at walmart

Youd earn x miles per $ on the gc purchases, get them w free shipping, then use them in wm to buy things you need or even amex, visa, mc gcs depending on the store

Both malls are run by cartera who put a stop to earning miles on gcs but even still, you could still buy many wm gcs with your citi cc now, make spend, and use or convert them to a/v/m gcs later and only pay fees then

That way you could now pm someone here you trust and have that person pay your online bill with say, a chase ink that they have that happens to need spend, and then pay them back in wm or other gcs or cash later on as you both agree

I happen to know of just such a person

Happy

Not at all.

GC purchases at any drug store / grocery store / retail outlets, always are treated as purchase - this is COMMON SENSE because anybody could buy a GC for a present to somebody, not because that person needs to meet spend. I would wager to say, 90% of the GC buyers of such "cash equivalent" GCs are for really GIFTING a family member on special occasion, so they dont need to know exactly what kind of gifts would please the recipients. Isn't this a common sense?

Buying directly from AMEX would definitely trigger cash advance with Citi because it is too lazy to differentiate GC purchase versus real Cash Advance so it just uses Financial Institution as the trigger source to classify it as cash advance.

Setting the cash advance to 0 does NOT protect you because even when the merchant classifies it as purchase, in the direct AMEX purchase, it is coded as purchase by AMEX - but Citi can come in and changes it to cash advance, and then trigger the reset of the limit from 0 to your actual limit.

There are only 2 things to remember, seriously.

At a retailer level, all GC purchases are purchase.

At a financial institute level, it is cash advance for Citi card.

lkar

Thanks all. I found a local merchant, not OD, that sells the amex and the non vanilla green means of reloading them. Not quite 5x UR, but good to know for a certain hotel card that gives me 6x at this merchant. And good enough for my project this week.