Feb 8, 2014, 2:22 pm
Last edit by: weezl
please be aware the Target breach cards are currently on the black market, as always be aware of activity on all accounts
Purchase in store. Each store seems to have just one lane that has them on display (unlike the AMEX GC which are at most lanes). Package is larger than other gift cards, silver and red.
Not available in all states. Search here for possible locations
Note: Unlike AMEX's restriction on BB/Serve/Redbird where one person can only hold one of those, you can have an AFT (2, actually) while holding a BB, Serve, or Redbird
Need DL to purchase.
Max 1 purchase per ss# per day--this means one person can actually have 2 AFT cards, which is why there is a $5000 total limit for 2 cards (see below).
Max initial load $500 + $3 load fee.
May reload temp card as soon as verification of identity is complete, may take 48 hours. You can use an ATM with a temp card as soon as you're able to view your temp card PIN online. If you're unable to view your PIN online, you won't be able to use an ATM until you have the permanent card, which takes about two weeks.
Many stores now limit reloading to the service desk, and no longer at cashiers. The card must be swiped at a cash terminal to reload, not scanned! Ask cashiers to try if they don't seem to recognize the card. Ask if loading at service desk is a policy, it might just be a knee-jerk response from cashiers that don't know about the card. I have been told that a few times, "You need to go to the Service Desk," it has never been true. Say please and thank you.
Limits & Fees
Loading
Codes as purchase on all cards.
Load fee $3
Max $1000 per card in 24 hour period.
Max $5000 total for both cards per 28 day rolling period.
May load any card *until* balance is $2500 for 28 day period (not *up to*)
System will allow a $1000 load on a card with a $2000 balance so long as you are under $5000 for all cards over 28 day period. See below for optimal load sequence, $15/$5k a month after 1st month and $15k in 65 days for new cards.
Unload via ATM
Max $400/card/day (resets sometime in the wee hours of the morning)
First ATM w/d per month per card is free, based on 1st of the month (not rolling)+ any ATM owner fee.
Additional ATM w/d fee $3 + ATM fee.
When asked 'from account' choose 'checking.'
Possibly helpful link:
Free and Low-Cost ATMs
Unload by purchases
No fee. No cash back.
Additional information
Optimal load pattern for least number of $3 fees after first $500 load is $3k/$2k.
New accounts can load $15k in 65 days. 4 trips in a week for new cards, 3 in a week once a month after that.
Load always means load $1000. 28 day load total in parenthesis. 'Dropped' means that load is past the 28 day mark.
Day 1: Purchase card #1, load $500
Day 3: Purchase card #2, load $500; Load card #1 ($1500)
Day 5: load card #1 ($2500); load card #2 ($1500)
Day 7: load card #2 ($2500)
*********************************wait************
Day 29: ($2000)($2500) day 1 dropped
Day 31: ($1000)($2000) day 3 dropped
Day 32: load card #1 ($2000) ; load card #2 ($3000)
Day 33: ($1000)($2000) day 5 dropped
Day 34: load card #1 ($2000); load card #2 ($3000)
Day 35: ($2000) ($2000) day 7 dropped
Day 36: load card #1 ($3000), ($2000)
*********************************wait************
Day 61: load both cards, day 32 dropped
Day 63: load both cards
Day 65: load one card.
Repeat Loads waiting 29 days between loads, if you loaded both cards 29 days ago load both now, if you loaded one card, load one now. So next load date is 61+29= Day 90
FAQ
Q: Will this show up as a CA?
A: No, Target is not a financial institution.
Q: Even with xxxx cards?
A: Yes, no cards will be charged a CA.
Q: Can I load with Visa/MC/Amex Gift Cards?
A: Yes. Also the balance can be detected and drained if you ask to load more than the value on a prepaid it will just prompt you to give a second payment form. Great for draining random balances.
Q: How about Target gift cards?
A: The register prompts not to allow Target gift cards. They may not be hard coded, though.
Q: Will I get 5% off if I load with a Target Red card?
A: No. Sorry, I wish.
Q: Can I load multiple cards in one transaction?
A: Yes. Up to 3 cards can be loaded in one transaction, but each card will be charged $3.
Q: Why load multiple accounts in one transaction?
A: to avoid multiple $1003 transactions on same CC in minutes. This may trigger a fraud alert.
Q:Is there a max number of payment swipes?
A: Yes. Maximum swipes for split payments is 7, though other users have reported being able to swipe at least 10 gift cards for payment without problems.
Q: Any reason not to load multiple cards in one transaction?
A: Yes, when you have multiple small value gift cards to unload because of 7 swipe limit.
Q: The title says withdrawals are 1.3%, is that true?
A: No. Do the math. I'm not very good at math. Under 1.3% includes Costco ATM fees. It is not possible to edit a thread title, the fees are lower due to the ATM limit now being $400.
Q: What are the lowest possible fees with a fee-free ATM available?
A: For 2 cards, each loaded with $2.5K each over 2 months ($10K in total), you would pay $30 in loading fees (10 load fees of $3 each) and $63 in ATM fees (25 total withdrawals, with 1 free withdrawal per card each month, resulting in 21 ATM fees of $3 each).
Official fund loading from T&C
You may load funds to your Cards using your Funding Source until the Available Funds on any Card purchased by you equals $2,500 and on all card purchased by you equals $5,000... Not more than $1,000 may be loaded to any Card purchased by you in a 24 hour period using your Funding Source, not more than $5,000 may be loaded to all Cards purchased by you in any 28-day period using your Funding Source.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE IF YOU LOADED YOUR PREPAID CARD AT TARGET DURING THE CHRISTMAS SECURITY BREACH: It is important to have AMEX reissue your cards (just phone the number on the card and ask for a new card). Thieves have the numbers and pins and can drain your account at any time. AMEX does not appear to be using software to block suspicious activity, so they can drain it all. If you loaded your prepaid card at Target between November 27 and December 15, 2013, you are at significant risk of having your money stolen (several reported cases in April and May).
Purchase in store. Each store seems to have just one lane that has them on display (unlike the AMEX GC which are at most lanes). Package is larger than other gift cards, silver and red.
Not available in all states. Search here for possible locations
Note: Unlike AMEX's restriction on BB/Serve/Redbird where one person can only hold one of those, you can have an AFT (2, actually) while holding a BB, Serve, or Redbird
Need DL to purchase.
Max 1 purchase per ss# per day--this means one person can actually have 2 AFT cards, which is why there is a $5000 total limit for 2 cards (see below).
Max initial load $500 + $3 load fee.
May reload temp card as soon as verification of identity is complete, may take 48 hours. You can use an ATM with a temp card as soon as you're able to view your temp card PIN online. If you're unable to view your PIN online, you won't be able to use an ATM until you have the permanent card, which takes about two weeks.
Many stores now limit reloading to the service desk, and no longer at cashiers. The card must be swiped at a cash terminal to reload, not scanned! Ask cashiers to try if they don't seem to recognize the card. Ask if loading at service desk is a policy, it might just be a knee-jerk response from cashiers that don't know about the card. I have been told that a few times, "You need to go to the Service Desk," it has never been true. Say please and thank you.
Limits & Fees
Loading
Codes as purchase on all cards.
Load fee $3
Max $1000 per card in 24 hour period.
Max $5000 total for both cards per 28 day rolling period.
May load any card *until* balance is $2500 for 28 day period (not *up to*)
System will allow a $1000 load on a card with a $2000 balance so long as you are under $5000 for all cards over 28 day period. See below for optimal load sequence, $15/$5k a month after 1st month and $15k in 65 days for new cards.
Unload via ATM
Max $400/card/day (resets sometime in the wee hours of the morning)
First ATM w/d per month per card is free, based on 1st of the month (not rolling)+ any ATM owner fee.
Additional ATM w/d fee $3 + ATM fee.
When asked 'from account' choose 'checking.'
Possibly helpful link:
Free and Low-Cost ATMs
Unload by purchases
No fee. No cash back.
Additional information
Optimal load pattern for least number of $3 fees after first $500 load is $3k/$2k.
New accounts can load $15k in 65 days. 4 trips in a week for new cards, 3 in a week once a month after that.
Load always means load $1000. 28 day load total in parenthesis. 'Dropped' means that load is past the 28 day mark.
Day 1: Purchase card #1, load $500
Day 3: Purchase card #2, load $500; Load card #1 ($1500)
Day 5: load card #1 ($2500); load card #2 ($1500)
Day 7: load card #2 ($2500)
*********************************wait************
Day 29: ($2000)($2500) day 1 dropped
Day 31: ($1000)($2000) day 3 dropped
Day 32: load card #1 ($2000) ; load card #2 ($3000)
Day 33: ($1000)($2000) day 5 dropped
Day 34: load card #1 ($2000); load card #2 ($3000)
Day 35: ($2000) ($2000) day 7 dropped
Day 36: load card #1 ($3000), ($2000)
*********************************wait************
Day 61: load both cards, day 32 dropped
Day 63: load both cards
Day 65: load one card.
Repeat Loads waiting 29 days between loads, if you loaded both cards 29 days ago load both now, if you loaded one card, load one now. So next load date is 61+29= Day 90
FAQ
Q: Will this show up as a CA?
A: No, Target is not a financial institution.
Q: Even with xxxx cards?
A: Yes, no cards will be charged a CA.
Q: Can I load with Visa/MC/Amex Gift Cards?
A: Yes. Also the balance can be detected and drained if you ask to load more than the value on a prepaid it will just prompt you to give a second payment form. Great for draining random balances.
Q: How about Target gift cards?
A: The register prompts not to allow Target gift cards. They may not be hard coded, though.
Q: Will I get 5% off if I load with a Target Red card?
A: No. Sorry, I wish.
Q: Can I load multiple cards in one transaction?
A: Yes. Up to 3 cards can be loaded in one transaction, but each card will be charged $3.
Q: Why load multiple accounts in one transaction?
A: to avoid multiple $1003 transactions on same CC in minutes. This may trigger a fraud alert.
Q:Is there a max number of payment swipes?
A: Yes. Maximum swipes for split payments is 7, though other users have reported being able to swipe at least 10 gift cards for payment without problems.
Q: Any reason not to load multiple cards in one transaction?
A: Yes, when you have multiple small value gift cards to unload because of 7 swipe limit.
Q: The title says withdrawals are 1.3%, is that true?
A: No. Do the math. I'm not very good at math. Under 1.3% includes Costco ATM fees. It is not possible to edit a thread title, the fees are lower due to the ATM limit now being $400.
Q: What are the lowest possible fees with a fee-free ATM available?
A: For 2 cards, each loaded with $2.5K each over 2 months ($10K in total), you would pay $30 in loading fees (10 load fees of $3 each) and $63 in ATM fees (25 total withdrawals, with 1 free withdrawal per card each month, resulting in 21 ATM fees of $3 each).
Official fund loading from T&C
You may load funds to your Cards using your Funding Source until the Available Funds on any Card purchased by you equals $2,500 and on all card purchased by you equals $5,000... Not more than $1,000 may be loaded to any Card purchased by you in a 24 hour period using your Funding Source, not more than $5,000 may be loaded to all Cards purchased by you in any 28-day period using your Funding Source.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE IF YOU LOADED YOUR PREPAID CARD AT TARGET DURING THE CHRISTMAS SECURITY BREACH: It is important to have AMEX reissue your cards (just phone the number on the card and ask for a new card). Thieves have the numbers and pins and can drain your account at any time. AMEX does not appear to be using software to block suspicious activity, so they can drain it all. If you loaded your prepaid card at Target between November 27 and December 15, 2013, you are at significant risk of having your money stolen (several reported cases in April and May).
AmEx for Target: $400/week credit card ATM withdrawals for 1.3%+ in certain cities
Jul 24, 2014, 10:09 am
#2281
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 394
This doesn't make sense to me.
Let's look at a $2k example (because the math is easy)
Buy $2k AGC through portal with FIA: $40 + portal cash (which we'll ignore)
Liquidate at ATMs: $15 @ fee free ATM
Net: $25 + portal cash - $6 load fees
Buy $2k AGC through portal with AFT: $0 + portal cash (which we'll ignore)
No ATM liquidation needed: $0
Net: $0 + portal cash - $6 load fees
So the only thing you get in scenario B is portal cash, which you ALSO get in scenario A. Plus in scenario a, you also get CC rewards.
I realize the math changes if you have to pay at the ATM, but if that makes this avenue a losing proposition, then you shouldn't be doing AFT in the first place.
Let's look at a $2k example (because the math is easy)
Buy $2k AGC through portal with FIA: $40 + portal cash (which we'll ignore)
Liquidate at ATMs: $15 @ fee free ATM
Net: $25 + portal cash - $6 load fees
Buy $2k AGC through portal with AFT: $0 + portal cash (which we'll ignore)
No ATM liquidation needed: $0
Net: $0 + portal cash - $6 load fees
So the only thing you get in scenario B is portal cash, which you ALSO get in scenario A. Plus in scenario a, you also get CC rewards.
I realize the math changes if you have to pay at the ATM, but if that makes this avenue a losing proposition, then you shouldn't be doing AFT in the first place.
so for $3 load fee, plus $10 MP fees, 1k gets loaded to Serve.
assuming 2.5% CB for AGC leaves $12 to cover fees for other purchases.
Jul 24, 2014, 10:45 am
#2282
Suspended
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 313
May be I am missing something but I can't figure out a proper way of loading this card. I bought/loaded my first $500 on 6/25 and second one on 6/30 while also reloaded the first one on 6/30. Now according to my calculations my 28 days are up for the first card, I tried loading it at the target but wasn't able to do. Receipt printed out saying I need to contact the number on the back of card. Am I doing something wrong or do I have to few more days (till 6/30) to be on a safe side for reloading? On a side note, How do you guys keep track of landing pattern on these cards? I mean the specific dates esp if you didn't follow the wiki.
thanks
thanks
Jul 24, 2014, 11:03 am
#2283
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 138
May be I am missing something but I can't figure out a proper way of loading this card. I bought/loaded my first $500 on 6/25 and second one on 6/30 while also reloaded the first one on 6/30. Now according to my calculations my 28 days are up for the first card, I tried loading it at the target but wasn't able to do. Receipt printed out saying I need to contact the number on the back of card. Am I doing something wrong or do I have to few more days (till 6/30) to be on a safe side for reloading? On a side note, How do you guys keep track of landing pattern on these cards? I mean the specific dates esp if you didn't follow the wiki.
thanks
thanks
Jul 24, 2014, 11:17 am
#2284
Suspended
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 313
I did load $1000 to temp card (After verification was done) while activating second temp. card with $500 on 6/30. Did you say $5000/card or is total across 2 cards for 30 day window.
Thanks
Thanks
Jul 24, 2014, 11:19 am
#2285
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 79
Jul 24, 2014, 12:20 pm
#2289
Join Date: May 2014
Location: New York
Posts: 391
No way to get to $7k/month. It is possible to load a card to have >$2,500, but not to exceed the $5k/28 days. Direct quote from the wiki: "System will allow a $1000 load on a card with a $2000 balance so long as you are under $5000 for all cards over 28 day period."
Jul 24, 2014, 12:29 pm
#2290
Jul 24, 2014, 12:30 pm
#2291
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 138
No way to get to $7k/month. It is possible to load a card to have >$2,500, but not to exceed the $5k/28 days. Direct quote from the wiki: "System will allow a $1000 load on a card with a $2000 balance so long as you are under $5000 for all cards over 28 day period."
Jul 24, 2014, 12:55 pm
#2293
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Washington D.C. via Sao Paulo via Houston via Washington D.C. via Boston via New York
Posts: 1,172
Jul 24, 2014, 1:42 pm
#2294
Suspended
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 313
"not to exceed the $5k/28 days"
I think this is what preventing me for loading $1000.
I did load my first temp card on 6/25 but the second load was on 6/30 plus second card activated on the same day with $500. It means I can load $1000 again on or around 7/28.
I think this is what preventing me for loading $1000.
I did load my first temp card on 6/25 but the second load was on 6/30 plus second card activated on the same day with $500. It means I can load $1000 again on or around 7/28.
Jul 24, 2014, 2:22 pm
#2295
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 79
I think your load pattern is fine if not conservative: you did two initial $500 loads (25th/30th) and only one successful $1K reload to-date (30th)? Was your permanent card ever issued? I thought once permanent is issued the temp only works until permanent is activated OR until X days? Login to your account and check what card #s show up, permanent will be a new number. I think your issue is along those lines.