Apr 3, 2013, 11:44 am
Last edit by: markr33
Read the wiki before posting a question.
Check your BB load limits BEFORE asking in this thread about "tender not allowed" or any other errors.
Bluebird website. There's no need to buy a Bluebird kit in-store; sign-up free on the website.
The original FlyerTalk discussion thread is here: Wal-Mart, Amex take on banks with Bluebird debit card
Bluebird Load Limits:
*For online debit load, only use of bank-issued cards is allowed. The use of pre-paid debit cards (Netspend, Paypower, Univision, Paypal, etc.) and VGC/MGC/AGCs is not allowed. Your account will be flagged upon first/second attempt. If blocked, call Account Protection Services at 1-800-660-2454 to clear it (9am-8pm EST, Mon-Fri).
The day currently resets around midnight Eastern/11pm Central/10pm Mountain/9pm Pacific.
For online bill pay
Loading with debit card at Walmart
Self checkout does not work for loading.
Many Walmart stores are enforcing a rule against the use of gift cards when loading, even though the register and the MCE do not enforce. Do not make your prepaid debit cards visible. Show them a bank debit card if asked. Otherwise, you may be asked by management to never visit the MC again to load with gift cards.
Loads at register over $500 will sometimes trigger ID requirement. There is a limit of four swipes per transaction; this means your card plus three payments.
If your card doesn't say "debit" on the front, it isn't a debit card.
Please see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manuf...bit-cards.html for additional information on using prepaid debit cards.
Training a WM cashier:
Error Messages:
DEBIT NOT AVAILABLE
Received when I used a card I thought I had activated but hadn't.
DEBIT NOT APPROVED
Received when the card's monthly load limit had been reached.
TENDER NOT ALLOWED
Card was incorrectly read, or wrong PIN entered .
HOST TIMEOUT
Connection problems. The GC may be drained but the transaction should reverse itself, and funds will become available again. Try again later.
UPdate Notice on Sept 15, 2014.
Some minor changes on the ATM limits and fees:
• Out-of-Network ATM Fees:
Beginning October 30, 2014, the fee for withdrawing funds using out-of-network ATMs will increase from $2.00 to $2.50. ATM operator fees may also apply.
• Free In-Network MoneyPass® ATMs:
Effective immediately, all Bluebird Customers can withdraw funds for free when using in-network MoneyPass ATMs. You can find one of the more than 24,000 MoneyPass ATMs below.
• ATM Withdrawal Limits Increase:
We have increased your daily ATM limit, so you can withdraw up to $750 per day. Your monthly ATM withdrawal limit will remain at $2,000.
-----
•If you use Wal-Mart Savings Catcher, you can earn double rewards by redeeming to your BlueBird account <== Doubling of savings catcher amounts ended sometime in the summer of 2015.
Check your BB load limits BEFORE asking in this thread about "tender not allowed" or any other errors.
Bluebird website. There's no need to buy a Bluebird kit in-store; sign-up free on the website.
The original FlyerTalk discussion thread is here: Wal-Mart, Amex take on banks with Bluebird debit card
Bluebird Load Limits:
- BB loading via VR or WM load: $2,500/day and $5,000 total per calendar month
- Online Debit Card Load* - $200/day and $1,000/month
- Checking/Savings Account - $2,000/month
- Checks - $2,000/day and $10,000/month
- ATM Withdrawals - $750/day and $2,000/month
*For online debit load, only use of bank-issued cards is allowed. The use of pre-paid debit cards (Netspend, Paypower, Univision, Paypal, etc.) and VGC/MGC/AGCs is not allowed. Your account will be flagged upon first/second attempt. If blocked, call Account Protection Services at 1-800-660-2454 to clear it (9am-8pm EST, Mon-Fri).
The day currently resets around midnight Eastern/11pm Central/10pm Mountain/9pm Pacific.
For online bill pay
- You can pay the credit card that you used to buy reloads
- Error 1302 means that you have 1 pending payment the same amount as the one you just submitted. For example, 1000 bill pay to sapphire preferred from Friday and then on Saturday you submit another bill pay for 1000 to sapphire preferred, you will get this error.
- Tip: if using online bill pay to the same place multiple times, vary your amounts by $0.01 to make it easier to track since your confirmation number does not match the tracking number on your credit card statement
Loading with debit card at Walmart
Self checkout does not work for loading.
Many Walmart stores are enforcing a rule against the use of gift cards when loading, even though the register and the MCE do not enforce. Do not make your prepaid debit cards visible. Show them a bank debit card if asked. Otherwise, you may be asked by management to never visit the MC again to load with gift cards.
Loads at register over $500 will sometimes trigger ID requirement. There is a limit of four swipes per transaction; this means your card plus three payments.
If your card doesn't say "debit" on the front, it isn't a debit card.
Please see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manuf...bit-cards.html for additional information on using prepaid debit cards.
Training a WM cashier:
- If the WM cashier doesn't know how to load the card, advise them to enter "70" then press "action code".
- If you are using a temp card that doesn't have your name on it, you can swipe the card from your side of the terminal. The WM rep never has to touch any of your cards. The screen will say "enter account." That is your prompt to slide the card.
- The terminal will ask the WM employee if you are loading in multiples of $2000. Advise them to enter "no."
- Avoid saying gift card. Always refer to your card as a debit card.
Error Messages:
DEBIT NOT AVAILABLE
Received when I used a card I thought I had activated but hadn't.
DEBIT NOT APPROVED
Received when the card's monthly load limit had been reached.
TENDER NOT ALLOWED
Card was incorrectly read, or wrong PIN entered .
HOST TIMEOUT
Connection problems. The GC may be drained but the transaction should reverse itself, and funds will become available again. Try again later.
UPdate Notice on Sept 15, 2014.
Some minor changes on the ATM limits and fees:
• Out-of-Network ATM Fees:
Beginning October 30, 2014, the fee for withdrawing funds using out-of-network ATMs will increase from $2.00 to $2.50. ATM operator fees may also apply.
• Free In-Network MoneyPass® ATMs:
Effective immediately, all Bluebird Customers can withdraw funds for free when using in-network MoneyPass ATMs. You can find one of the more than 24,000 MoneyPass ATMs below.
• ATM Withdrawal Limits Increase:
We have increased your daily ATM limit, so you can withdraw up to $750 per day. Your monthly ATM withdrawal limit will remain at $2,000.
-----
•If you use Wal-Mart Savings Catcher, you can earn double rewards by redeeming to your BlueBird account <== Doubling of savings catcher amounts ended sometime in the summer of 2015.
Bluebird prepaid debit, now with FDIC insurance and paper checks (2013-2014)
Jul 2, 2013, 5:44 pm
#1306
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: CMH
Programs: DL Silver Medallion, UA, Chase UR, AMEX MR
Posts: 198
If I use billpay, is it required for him also to have a BB account? or will they just him a check with no requirement for him to open a BB account?
Jul 2, 2013, 7:01 pm
#1307
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 2
Bluebird Verificaion
I been a lurker a while on the site and thanks for the great information provided here.
I recently signed up for Bluebird online and received an email today stating that the are requiring a copy of my SSN and drivers license to be faxed to them.
Has anybody else received this?
Is this common thing that they request?
If anybody can shed some light on this, it would be appreciated.
I recently signed up for Bluebird online and received an email today stating that the are requiring a copy of my SSN and drivers license to be faxed to them.
Has anybody else received this?
Is this common thing that they request?
If anybody can shed some light on this, it would be appreciated.
Jul 2, 2013, 7:20 pm
#1308
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: LAX/SNA
Programs: AA, Hilton Gold
Posts: 3,887
Jul 2, 2013, 7:22 pm
#1309
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Boston
Posts: 106
SSN and BB
I been a lurker a while on the site and thanks for the great information provided here.
I recently signed up for Bluebird online and received an email today stating that the are requiring a copy of my SSN and drivers license to be faxed to them.
Has anybody else received this?
Is this common thing that they request?
If anybody can shed some light on this, it would be appreciated.
I recently signed up for Bluebird online and received an email today stating that the are requiring a copy of my SSN and drivers license to be faxed to them.
Has anybody else received this?
Is this common thing that they request?
If anybody can shed some light on this, it would be appreciated.
I would call them and make sure its them
Jul 2, 2013, 7:22 pm
#1310
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 112
I been a lurker a while on the site and thanks for the great information provided here.
I recently signed up for Bluebird online and received an email today stating that the are requiring a copy of my SSN and drivers license to be faxed to them.
Has anybody else received this?
Is this common thing that they request?
If anybody can shed some light on this, it would be appreciated.
I recently signed up for Bluebird online and received an email today stating that the are requiring a copy of my SSN and drivers license to be faxed to them.
Has anybody else received this?
Is this common thing that they request?
If anybody can shed some light on this, it would be appreciated.
Jul 2, 2013, 8:19 pm
#1312
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA, BA, CX, DL, EK, F9, GA, HA, IB, JL, KE, LH, MH, NH, OS, PG, QR, RJ, SA, TG, UA, VN, WN, ZH
Posts: 927
Jul 3, 2013, 7:05 am
#1314
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 96
I would actually love someone to explain how they pay for their CC statements via BB because it seems counter-productive. Say you have $1k to pay off, so you buy $1k in gift cards, upload to BB, and send out. Then you have $1k to pay off again and it seems like a never ending circle. Please explain!
Let's say you pay $500 in rent, so you want to buy a VR and use BB to pay your landlord. So you pay $503.95 to get a $500 VR, then you load it to BB. You use your $500 on BB to pay the rent. You're left with a $503.95 credit card bill. How do you pay that off? With cash from your checking account, or some other form of payment.
It's really not any different than buying a VR for $503.95 and then using BB to pay $500 of the balance on the CC. You then use cash from your checking account to pay your rent $500 and the leftover $3.95 balance on your CC.
The credit card companies are getting their fees, so the only cases where I expect they care are:
1) large amounts of spending in a bonus category (imo more of a risk where the issuer hasn't put a cap)
2) your spend on a card starts to get close to or exceed your annual income
Jul 3, 2013, 7:16 am
#1315
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 1,818
When I first started using BB, I was excited about the prospect of paying bills with a CC that I couldn't ordinarily pay. However, the 2-step nature of this "game" actually renders the bill pay portion moot.
Let's say you pay $500 in rent, so you want to buy a VR and use BB to pay your landlord. So you pay $503.95 to get a $500 VR, then you load it to BB. You use your $500 on BB to pay the rent. You're left with a $503.95 credit card bill. How do you pay that off? With cash from your checking account, or some other form of payment.
It's really not any different than buying a VR for $503.95 and then using BB to pay $500 of the balance on the CC. You then use cash from your checking account to pay your rent $500 and the leftover $3.95 balance on your CC.
The credit card companies are getting their fees, so the only cases where I expect they care are:
1) large amounts of spending in a bonus category (imo more of a risk where the issuer hasn't put a cap)
2) your spend on a card starts to get close to or exceed your annual income
Let's say you pay $500 in rent, so you want to buy a VR and use BB to pay your landlord. So you pay $503.95 to get a $500 VR, then you load it to BB. You use your $500 on BB to pay the rent. You're left with a $503.95 credit card bill. How do you pay that off? With cash from your checking account, or some other form of payment.
It's really not any different than buying a VR for $503.95 and then using BB to pay $500 of the balance on the CC. You then use cash from your checking account to pay your rent $500 and the leftover $3.95 balance on your CC.
The credit card companies are getting their fees, so the only cases where I expect they care are:
1) large amounts of spending in a bonus category (imo more of a risk where the issuer hasn't put a cap)
2) your spend on a card starts to get close to or exceed your annual income
Once u buy that VR, you already earned your miles/hotel points, how you get rid of that funds from BB is up to you. A lot of people pay bills to make it look "normal". Some people pay off that same CC with BB. I usually just write a big check to my sister here and there, that way I can still have & use my auto bill payments that has been set up with my regular bank which is more convenient for me.
Last edited by SuperKirby; Jul 3, 2013 at 7:24 am Reason: typo
Jul 4, 2013, 2:39 am
#1316
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: PHX & AGP
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Gold
Posts: 11,456
When I first started using BB, I was excited about the prospect of paying bills with a CC that I couldn't ordinarily pay. However, the 2-step nature of this "game" actually renders the bill pay portion moot.
Let's say you pay $500 in rent, so you want to buy a VR and use BB to pay your landlord. So you pay $503.95 to get a $500 VR, then you load it to BB. You use your $500 on BB to pay the rent. You're left with a $503.95 credit card bill. How do you pay that off? With cash from your checking account, or some other form of payment.
It's really not any different than buying a VR for $503.95 and then using BB to pay $500 of the balance on the CC. You then use cash from your checking account to pay your rent $500 and the leftover $3.95 balance on your CC.
Let's say you pay $500 in rent, so you want to buy a VR and use BB to pay your landlord. So you pay $503.95 to get a $500 VR, then you load it to BB. You use your $500 on BB to pay the rent. You're left with a $503.95 credit card bill. How do you pay that off? With cash from your checking account, or some other form of payment.
It's really not any different than buying a VR for $503.95 and then using BB to pay $500 of the balance on the CC. You then use cash from your checking account to pay your rent $500 and the leftover $3.95 balance on your CC.
This game has really grown and of course I know of more people who are making money while collecting points and miles and it's more then bloggers.
Jul 4, 2013, 10:56 am
#1318
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Los Angles
Posts: 2,101
The manufactured spend has a price whether it is 3.95 for the bean or $5.95 for the Visa Gift Cards. Now how you go about this is all up to you, for me, I use the Chase Freedom Card, so when I go and buy my $1500 of beans, I get back $15 (1% cash back on purchases), and the cost of the beans is $11.86, so I'm making $3.14 per $1500 I buy. So for me to use my Freedom card, for pay for things I normally would be able to it is not costing me anything.....
Jul 4, 2013, 12:09 pm
#1319
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 122
Bluebird prepaid debit, now with FDIC insurance and paper checks.
I never thought of it being the same as me paying rent each month, but I definitely see that it is. My biggest fear (like most I assume) is getting shut down, so I have only used BB for rent. I plan to maximize it more by paying for my energy bill next month and on.
I'd like to use it to pay off my credit card and make it a revolving cycle, but it seems too easy to get shut down. Do you think by the fact that I use it to pay rent and utilities, it will chill that factor a bit? I pay with MyVanilla and have yet to find another gc worth it besides chase gc which I used last month.
I'd like to use it to pay off my credit card and make it a revolving cycle, but it seems too easy to get shut down. Do you think by the fact that I use it to pay rent and utilities, it will chill that factor a bit? I pay with MyVanilla and have yet to find another gc worth it besides chase gc which I used last month.
Jul 4, 2013, 12:25 pm
#1320
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 112
I never thought of it being the same as me paying rent each month, but I definitely see that it is. My biggest fear (like most I assume) is getting shut down, so I have only used BB for rent. I plan to maximize it more by paying for my energy bill next month and on.
I'd like to use it to pay off my credit card and make it a revolving cycle, but it seems too easy to get shut down. Do you think by the fact that I use it to pay rent and utilities, it will chill that factor a bit? I pay with MyVanilla and have yet to find another gc worth it besides chase gc which I used last month.
I'd like to use it to pay off my credit card and make it a revolving cycle, but it seems too easy to get shut down. Do you think by the fact that I use it to pay rent and utilities, it will chill that factor a bit? I pay with MyVanilla and have yet to find another gc worth it besides chase gc which I used last month.