Wal-Mart, Amex take on banks with Bluebird debit card
Nov 11, 2012, 12:56 pm
#2296
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: 787
Programs: Too many to list
Posts: 1,306
Nov 11, 2012, 12:57 pm
#2297
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 363
I was thinking of depositing money into my bluebird from a debit card. Looking at the Bluebird website, it appears that there is a $100 daily limit and a $2 fee per load. Has this always been the case?
Nov 11, 2012, 1:07 pm
#2298
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Airline nobody. Sad!
Posts: 26,062
If you load directly online, yes. Go into Walmart and you have a higher limit with no fee.
Nov 11, 2012, 1:12 pm
#2300
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: DTW
Programs: AA Gold, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 819
I'm such small beans here but am happy for the very minor amount of spend I got in at OD ($1,780). Didn't use any card other than my new IB (with it's nice new card smell). Got a new modem/router too
. Didn't load up on miles with Delta card since we're working on the minimum spend with 5 new Chase cards. Those are first priority. Fortunately it looks like Chase is going to lower the required spend on IB to $5k. Since all the cards are with Chase I wasn't going to mess up my accounts by just having reload cards satisfy all the spend requirements, whether it was for 5x UR points or 1x. While it sounds like others may be playing around with $20k on reload cards, that's out of my comfort zone.
I began a search for new cc's back in August because we were maxing out the benefits of our MR Visas. I've been around flyertalk for a number of years and with the help of the community here we've churned a whopping 14 cc's.
so it was only natural for me to do some catching up at ft when I was looking for new cards.
Somewhere in the timespan between my last serious flyertalk layover and August, blogging came into being a new business for a passionate group. dH is a Civil War blogger so I understand the drive/outlet aspect to blogging. As I was reading through the forums there was mention of "Gary said...". Gary? Who's Gary? Finally, there was a link to "View From The Wing" so I took a look. Since VFTW is on the Boardingarea website I first thought BA was Gary's website and VFTW was the editorial section. Soon, though, I figured out the collective group of BA bloggers. During the same 2 month timeframe I also came across MMS's website. Probably from a flyertalk link.
By Oct. I had a plan for our next cc churn and the BB came out. The IB was on our list of cards as I actually do have a garden design business registered in MI with it's own DBA. I wanted the IB for Internet/phone expense. BB was just a pleasant bonus that would maybe last, maybe not according to both the blogs and forums.
During this time I found MilesBuzz. Previously my ft reading was confined to forums for the programs we participated in. For me it was several months of intense ft and blog reading. I became a complete bore to anyone who would listen. In the end I laid out the plan to DH and we sat one evening to begin the app process. Then it was a trip to the bank to beg for even another card. They nicely obliged.
I've been glued to this thread. The info, the help, the nonsense, the confusion, the speculation, the drama, the cautions, the letdown and the accusations. For me I don't see it as flyertalk vs. the bloggers. If the bloggers weren't separated from the pack (some seem to do both) they would be sharing their passion here. Seems this was tHeir training ground for years before the blogs began. I've tried to point out that I knew nothing of the bloggers in August. Flyertalk led me to them. Any post, whether complimentary or complaining that mentions a blogger is directly tied to whatever sharing goes on in that blog. So anyone pointing an accusatory finger should be careful they don't poke their eye out.
Winding up, I want to thank everyone, flyertalkers and bloggers, for the sharing. We're moving along with the current plan and in 3months I already have a plan for the next batch of cards. I'll make a conscious effort to talk about something other than cards/miles/points/BB to my friends and family.
And thank you so very much amokold for the video. . .that was a terrific laugh. Then I shared it with DH and got to laugh again. Wonderful!
. Didn't load up on miles with Delta card since we're working on the minimum spend with 5 new Chase cards. Those are first priority. Fortunately it looks like Chase is going to lower the required spend on IB to $5k. Since all the cards are with Chase I wasn't going to mess up my accounts by just having reload cards satisfy all the spend requirements, whether it was for 5x UR points or 1x. While it sounds like others may be playing around with $20k on reload cards, that's out of my comfort zone. I began a search for new cc's back in August because we were maxing out the benefits of our MR Visas. I've been around flyertalk for a number of years and with the help of the community here we've churned a whopping 14 cc's.
so it was only natural for me to do some catching up at ft when I was looking for new cards.Somewhere in the timespan between my last serious flyertalk layover and August, blogging came into being a new business for a passionate group. dH is a Civil War blogger so I understand the drive/outlet aspect to blogging. As I was reading through the forums there was mention of "Gary said...". Gary? Who's Gary? Finally, there was a link to "View From The Wing" so I took a look. Since VFTW is on the Boardingarea website I first thought BA was Gary's website and VFTW was the editorial section. Soon, though, I figured out the collective group of BA bloggers. During the same 2 month timeframe I also came across MMS's website. Probably from a flyertalk link.
By Oct. I had a plan for our next cc churn and the BB came out. The IB was on our list of cards as I actually do have a garden design business registered in MI with it's own DBA. I wanted the IB for Internet/phone expense. BB was just a pleasant bonus that would maybe last, maybe not according to both the blogs and forums.
During this time I found MilesBuzz. Previously my ft reading was confined to forums for the programs we participated in. For me it was several months of intense ft and blog reading. I became a complete bore to anyone who would listen. In the end I laid out the plan to DH and we sat one evening to begin the app process. Then it was a trip to the bank to beg for even another card. They nicely obliged.
I've been glued to this thread. The info, the help, the nonsense, the confusion, the speculation, the drama, the cautions, the letdown and the accusations. For me I don't see it as flyertalk vs. the bloggers. If the bloggers weren't separated from the pack (some seem to do both) they would be sharing their passion here. Seems this was tHeir training ground for years before the blogs began. I've tried to point out that I knew nothing of the bloggers in August. Flyertalk led me to them. Any post, whether complimentary or complaining that mentions a blogger is directly tied to whatever sharing goes on in that blog. So anyone pointing an accusatory finger should be careful they don't poke their eye out.
Winding up, I want to thank everyone, flyertalkers and bloggers, for the sharing. We're moving along with the current plan and in 3months I already have a plan for the next batch of cards. I'll make a conscious effort to talk about something other than cards/miles/points/BB to my friends and family.
And thank you so very much amokold for the video. . .that was a terrific laugh. Then I shared it with DH and got to laugh again. Wonderful!
Nov 11, 2012, 1:13 pm
#2301
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Airline nobody. Sad!
Posts: 26,062
Cash through Walmart $1 (fee no longer applies)
Debit has been included under cash through Walmart.
Nov 11, 2012, 1:24 pm
#2302
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Programs: AA Platinum, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 345
PointsG is still pimping this hard and strong, just this morning
"For instance, you can still get in on American Express’s Bluebird card, which I’ve been writing about a lot lately, and the lucrative bonus points you can earn by buying Vanilla Reloads at Office Depot. While there aren’t Office Depots in China, if you have a friend in the US that you trust to buy Vanilla Reloads for you and load them onto your Bluebird card, there’s no reason you can’t take advantage of the powerful spending tool the Bluebird card can be. And even if you’re not earning the 5x potential bonus by buying Vanilla Reloads at office supply stores, you can still get them at other outlets including CVS, where you can use a points-earning card to purchase them and then use the money to pay for expenses that you couldn’t normally use a credit card for.
That said, let’s put getting new credit cards aside for a moment..."
How bad do you think it hurt for him to even start typing that last line?
He's even suggesting you recruit your friends here to search out a dead deal. Pimping cards hard than ever this weekend and not even as much as a warning of recent events to the unsuspecting reader.
Nice new low.
"For instance, you can still get in on American Express’s Bluebird card, which I’ve been writing about a lot lately, and the lucrative bonus points you can earn by buying Vanilla Reloads at Office Depot. While there aren’t Office Depots in China, if you have a friend in the US that you trust to buy Vanilla Reloads for you and load them onto your Bluebird card, there’s no reason you can’t take advantage of the powerful spending tool the Bluebird card can be. And even if you’re not earning the 5x potential bonus by buying Vanilla Reloads at office supply stores, you can still get them at other outlets including CVS, where you can use a points-earning card to purchase them and then use the money to pay for expenses that you couldn’t normally use a credit card for.
That said, let’s put getting new credit cards aside for a moment..."
How bad do you think it hurt for him to even start typing that last line?
He's even suggesting you recruit your friends here to search out a dead deal. Pimping cards hard than ever this weekend and not even as much as a warning of recent events to the unsuspecting reader.
Nice new low.
Nov 11, 2012, 1:53 pm
#2304
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Airline nobody. Sad!
Posts: 26,062
Likewise. I probably wouldn't even go through the hassle with an Amex Hilton 6x at drugstores card outside of the minimum spending. Not enough points for the hassle to me.
Nov 11, 2012, 2:24 pm
#2305
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Dallas
Programs: AA,Platinum AmEx, SPG Gold,WN CP
Posts: 80
Nov 11, 2012, 2:49 pm
#2306
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Denver, CO
Programs: UA 1K, AA Exec Plat, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Plat
Posts: 85
Even with VR pulled, the reload-Amex is still available loaded up to $500...any reason not to use these - at least for normal spend?
Nov 11, 2012, 2:55 pm
#2307
Join Date: May 2007
Location: DEN
Programs: DL PM, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,816
Well there went my bluebird plan...been deployed ever since it came out and get back next week...signed up for a bluebird account and was going to go shopping for ice cream.....now back to the drawing board 
Nov 11, 2012, 2:59 pm
#2308
Join Date: Apr 2012
Programs: 25 million points to burn!
Posts: 1,522
By "reload-Amex", do you mean the Amex prepaid or the Target Amex? If you mean the Amex prepaid, you'll need VRs to reload it. If you mean the Target Amex, the load and unload fees are a lot more than with the Bird. Both options pale in comparison to what we had. I'm with BOSman who doesn't think 6X HHonors points are worth it: I don't think the Target Amex is worth the higher fees and the extra hassle, and the Prepaid doesn't work without VRs. For that matter, neither do Netspend, Mio, MyVanilla and all the rest.
Last edited by Preacher7; Nov 11, 2012 at 3:08 pm
Nov 11, 2012, 3:04 pm
#2309
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Denver, CO
Programs: UA 1K, AA Exec Plat, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Plat
Posts: 85
Yes - Amex prepaid. Any reason you NEED to re-load it? Can't you just buy several and use them individually? Once depleted, trash it and buy another...
Nov 11, 2012, 3:13 pm
#2310
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: DL DM Hub Captive, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, PC Plat, and other stuff.
Posts: 904
You can buy any single use prepaid credit card and use it like that. Not just the prepaid Amex cards, but the Vanilla Visas (as opposed to the Vanilla Reloads) as well. Single use prepaid cards was the way some people managed to get 5x UR points prior to the reloadable prepaids cards. Of course, there are lots of reasons why Bluebird was superior to this strategy, but the strategy can still work.