prasha11

Next time if you want $498.26 ask the clerk type in '49826' (without decimal) some cashiers know some don't.

dsauch

i have Ink and Ink Bold to meet spending limit on, as well as bonus on US Air
After visiting 10 CVS/Walgreens, one sold me two on US Air, but couldnt on Ink Bold - they received "merchant referral information" slip, that asked them to call for credit authorization. Clerk asked manager what it meant and she said "cash only", even though they just sold me two on CC :-)
I guess they didnt want to deal with me, so I went on my way.

9 more stores - either nothing, or cash only.
Finally - LAST store on the list I struck out and bought 5 VR on "Ink", getting my spend done. But they couldnt do Ink Bold - I wasnt able to get the reason why, but I suspect it asked for the same call to authorization center.

oh well, may be Ill try again later at night at that store and manage to sweet talk clerk to calling the center.

DaveInLA

I tried paying my Citibank credit card bill yesterday (12/10) with my BB, and it listed 12/11 (today) as the "completion" date. My other billpays (AMEX) took 2 days, but when I log onto BB today, it says complete. However, when I log onto my Citi account, there's no record of the payment. I know it's only been 1 day, but the fact that it's complete on BB bothers me. Is this normal, or should I be worried at this time? The Citi card due date is coming up in a few days.

ddallas

Sounds about normal. I wouldn't worry about it.

arizonawildcat

How funny - I received a post card via snail mail from OD. "Arizona Wildcat - Can't wait to see you again!" Come back and enjoy a limited time savings in store or online of $10 off your qualifying purchase of $50 or more.

You know, there is one way to get me back in your store regularly...

Happy

Go to BB's FAQ and see the diagram on how Bill Pay works - it is essentially an ACH.

BB sends the payment thru the ACH system on the day you requested, ACH then clears it and send it to Citi the following business day which IS the day BB told you the scheduled arrival day.

It takes overnight processing for Citi to post the receipt which would bear the date of today.

Log back in Citi tomorrow you will see the payment and it is dated today.

It often takes 3 business days instead of 2 for many inter-banks external ACH transfer. It is perfectly normal for an ACH payment which actually is quite fast only takes one day from BB to Citi.

iminsandiego

I've used the one vanillas a couple times as well. One time I just asked them to put 450 on the VR so there were no weird looks asking for 496. I ran the card and the woman said it shouldn't work because my name wasn't on the card. The signature screen was up, so I asked if I could just sign. She said, "well I guess it took it, so ok." The other time I did 500 on VR I asked to put 400 on the 1vanilla and used another CC for the remainder.

iminsandiego

I'm with you. I only buy one card at a time and do it every 3 or 4 days assuming it's actually in stock. I use different payment methods each time to reduce any attention to one particular CC and spread the risk around.

NYBanker

Don't be so sure, mate. Look at the fee rate card associated with the Vanilla Reloadable products. Vanilla makes a tidy sum off of their model customers (which admittedly few FT'ers are!).

NYBanker

Fair points.

I typically redeem at $0.04 - $0.07 CPM valuation (for tickets I would otherwise pay cash for), so at less than $0.01, this trade makes a lot of sense for me. Add in the GC angle, and I can get the cost to negative.

If you had to go 5 miles out of your way each day to buy the VRs, and you're generally limited to $1k per visit, the cost in time really adds up.

NYBanker

The clerk was mistaken. I've loaded $496.05 more than once without issue.

NYBanker

Good move. I am buying a little more, but I spread it over a number of cards and card issuers.

Corridor!

I wanted to post my experience of transferring funds from BB to my bank account. I made the transfer on a Monday. It showed completed on BB a few days later but the funds weren't in my bank account. I called four days after making the transfer and they said it will take 5 business days to process. It actually took 6 business days to process.

TravelTexan

Yes, that is my plan as well- once a week changing around credit cards (especially will use Chase Freedom in 1st quarter 2013 for drug store 5x) between Chase, BofA and Citibank. Plus I usually have a couple of items I need to pick up as well while I am there so the total is never $503.95, but $521.26 for example the other day.

BCF

This is getting ridiculous guys!
I went to a C-V-S near my home to buy beans. Well there wasn't any in the designated place because someone hided them behind other gift cards!!! Oh, and almost all drugstores in my city have beans