I do this all the time (getting VRs when I see them). The real danger (which I have not had happen) is just that people can try random PINS on the website, and if the card is activated, the transaction will go through. It will have to go on to a particular card, and in theory traced, but too late.

It would be better if the reload site also needed another factor, such as serial number, making the chance of "Vanilla Reload not Present" fraud almost 0.

Well planned by Amex.. They were losing with BB so made people switch to Serve by letting them load with CC (no fee) and do free MS.. Then close the loop and not allow people to switch back to BB.. LOL.. J/K..

So your time is worth negative money? May want to get a hobby.

lol yah!

but how about we move to quoting Animal House instead:

Bluto: What? cash only? Did you say "cash only"? Nothing is cash only until we MSers decide it is! Was it over when the Russian Government stopped

Otter: Russians?

Boon: Forget it. He's rolling.

Bluto: And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the MSin' gets tough . . . the tough get MSin'! Who's with me? Let's go! C'mon! [He runs out of the room screaming but then returns.]

Yeah, I know there are folks taking their gift cards into supermarkets and such and buying money orders. Obviously, there's a (modest) fee for this and all the usual problems of needing human assistance and "looking sketchy." But if you have a friendly supermarket, I'm sure it's a good option.


So you're talking about this card, right?

https://www.7-eleven.com/Cards/No-Co...a-Prepaid-Card

Will CVS still allow us to buy that one tomorrow?

Yeah, if I were in your shoes, I guess I'd feel a little smug satisfaction that others now had to endure the same hassle. :) But since you're obviously an expert in "alternative BB experiences," why don't you share what you've learned from the field?

Thanks for the link. The wiki there is helpful. But it sounds like you sometimes have to do a "payment dance" if you load with a cashier. Is there a card that just goes through without any drama -- or need for quick reflexes?

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From my encounters with many CVS managers over the last few years, I cannot believe some of you have so much faith that many of these managers check their email on a regular basis, even if such a policy is part of their job responsibilities. The cashiers are even worse, as many are not daily, full-time employees and this information would likely be posted behind the counter and later discussed during a weekly 30- to 60-minute store meeting (which may or may not be mandatory for all employees). This type of communication regularly takes a week or more to spread to everyone in the store ... and even that may not be long enough. When the register denies the purchase with CC, it will be the first time many people - managers and cashiers - at the CVS will know about the policy (and even then it will be a "I don't know why it is doing this..." response).

Until someone successfully purchases VR on 3/31 and someone else successfully purchase VR on 4/1, there should be a general assumption that this particular scheme at this particular venue is coming to an abrupt stop after today.

THIS!! VERY bad timing for my spg, that's for sure.

i did almost 10k in MS on friday and was very pleased. i have payments that haven't hit yet, so that 10k left me very little on the cards that make sense for VR's @ cvs.

pre devaluations, cards like ink and CSP still made sense to me @ .08, now it still offers savings vs the cash price, but when i factor in everything, it's not that compelling anymore.

Woohoo! I was able to buy VR's fee-free (thanks ISIS) :)

went to my favorite CVS this morning when it opened expecting to fight over the last VRs I'll probably ever buy, only to find an empty parking lot and an adequate supply. No problem buying $5k, but didn't ask the unfamiliar cashier about the new policy.

On Vanilla Reload's website:

https://www.vanillareload.com/images...WRR_092613.jpg

I'm about to go on my annual Sunday shopping routine, which involves a run to several CVS in Fort Worth. I'll ask the managers I come across about the memo.

This. Despite my local store pumping through hundreds of these cards a week, it is with amazing frequency that I run into employees who seemingly have no clue or what to do with them (how to load them, the need to scan ID, last 4 of CC number, etc.). The shift managers don't seem to know anything about the cards or when they come in (what day of the week, whether an order has been placed, whether they have any in inventory but not on the shelves). Only the actual store manager himself seems to have any comprehension of what is going on, and still it would not surprise me in the least if I were to find out that he hadn't been made immediately aware of high-level policies coming down from corporate.

http://www.walmart.com/cp/Rapid-Reload/1101512

theres the walmart link to this......and says its cash and check only.

Um, what's that one about?

That sounds simple enough. Obviously, if you have a drugstore bonus credit card it doesn't help you, but for folks simply using BB to reach their credit card minimum spends, why isn't this simple technique more popular?