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Bluebird prepaid debit, now with FDIC insurance and paper checks (2013-2014)

Old Apr 3, 2013, 11:44 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
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:
  • 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.
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Bluebird prepaid debit, now with FDIC insurance and paper checks (2013-2014)

Old Nov 19, 2014, 8:37 am
  #6871  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Virginia
Programs: AA Gld 1MM; Marriott Silver; Hilton Gold
Posts: 47
Originally Posted by tigerhunt2011
Forget the fees (I'd pay a small one), for me, it's the outright ability to load Redbird directly with a CC at target, and then BP the CC off.

No heinous GC buying at Kroger with semi-clueless ringers. No having to step foot in a WM (^^^) and then finally no $5.95 purchase fee (plus driving around Tucson in hellish traffic).
"...and then BP the CC off."
GreatPeer is offline  
Old Nov 19, 2014, 8:50 am
  #6872  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,207
Originally Posted by GreatPeer
"...and then BP the CC off."
for those with difficulty with basic acronyms, perhaps you should start your own flyertalk community because this forum isnt for you Billpay and credit card....
hamokmonky is offline  
Old Nov 19, 2014, 1:01 pm
  #6873  
 
Join Date: May 2005
Programs: UA Plat (1MM), AA Plat, HH Diamond, MR Plat, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Plat.
Posts: 655
Originally Posted by ericdabbs
Is it too late to cancel? If not just cancel the pending transaction and delete the Amex payee and create a FIA Card Services payee and send it through there. I doubt that it will just automatically reroute itself to FIA Card Services for security reasons since it doesn't know that it is a Fidelity Amex. Most likely it will bounce and the funds will be returned to you but not sure how long that takes.

Thanks and I cancelled and created a new FIA payee, and so on.

Another data point though - a while ago I got a WF Proper Amex card, and without even realizing it, I just added Amex as payee and paid it, instead of of Wells Fargo. The payment did go through.

But like you said, better be 100% sure about it. Thanks again!
@ORD is offline  
Old Nov 19, 2014, 1:23 pm
  #6874  
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Beverly Hills
Posts: 713
Originally Posted by hamokmonky
for those with difficulty with basic acronyms, perhaps you should start your own flyertalk community because this forum isnt for you Billpay and credit card....
hahaha yes! sorry to slam out some FT poetry there. Thx for clarifying
tigerhunt2011 is offline  
Old Nov 19, 2014, 5:39 pm
  #6875  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Virginia
Programs: AA Gld 1MM; Marriott Silver; Hilton Gold
Posts: 47
Originally Posted by hamokmonky
for those with difficulty with basic acronyms, perhaps you should start your own flyertalk community because this forum isnt for you Billpay and credit card....
Thanks! I was going nuts with this... looking too deeply. Basis Points? British Petroleum? Some kind of Breath Mint... oh, wait... Happy to know it's just bill pay!
GreatPeer is offline  
Old Nov 19, 2014, 6:35 pm
  #6876  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 192
Single transaction limit?

I don't know if this is something but I've run into this problem twice this month. Every time I tried to load another transaction in the same card in the same day, it errors out. Anyone having this problem? Obviously I didn't hit my daily limit or monthly limit. I.e. I do a $1000 load and another load is declined...
shingu79 is offline  
Old Nov 19, 2014, 11:25 pm
  #6877  
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,493
Originally Posted by shingu79
I don't know if this is something but I've run into this problem twice this month. Every time I tried to load another transaction in the same card in the same day, it errors out. Anyone having this problem? Obviously I didn't hit my daily limit or monthly limit. I.e. I do a $1000 load and another load is declined...
What are you loading it with?
ericdabbs is offline  
Old Nov 20, 2014, 3:04 pm
  #6878  
Accor Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist, *A Silver
Posts: 4,889
I linked one of my checking accounts with BB, got the 2 small transactions, verified. When I tried to load $40 onto Bluebird, my account got an error message says something like risk denied transaction. Then got the following email. Has anyone else experienced this? Seems like a sh load of PII requested for such a small thing.

Hello agp,
During a recent review, we noticed irregular activity on your Bluebird Account. For your security and protection, some of the features on your Bluebird Account have been suspended while we conduct further investigation.

In order to restore these account features, please help us verify your identity by sending a readable copy of the following documents within ten days of the date on this email:

Valid Picture ID
A valid driver's license card OR
A valid state issued ID OR
A valid Government ID Card (e.g. Green Card)OR
A valid United States Passport

A copy of your Bank Statement from US Bank Account Ending in XXXX, which is dated within the last 3 months, and shows your name, address and last four digits of your account number.
A copy of the front of the Debit Card or Payroll Card Ending in NA.
For your convenience, these documents can be sent in one of the following three ways:

Secure Document Upload:
You can securely send your documents using your desktop or supported mobile device by:
Clicking here
Logging in with your account credentials and
Uploading your documents
OR Fax:
Fax your document(s) to 1-855-586-3256.
OR Mail:
Account Protection Services
4315 South 2700 West
Salt Lake City, Utah 84184
Please call Account Protection Services at 1-800-660-2454 if you have any questions or concerns.

Thanks,
Bluebird

Last edited by TOMFORD; Nov 20, 2014 at 3:10 pm
TOMFORD is offline  
Old Nov 20, 2014, 3:19 pm
  #6879  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 3,688
Originally Posted by agp423
I linked one of my checking accounts with BB, got the 2 small transactions, verified. When I tried to load $40 onto Bluebird, my account got an error message says something like risk denied transaction. Then got the following email. Has anyone else experienced this? Seems like a sh load of PII requested for such a small thing.
since you got that email from amex CPS, you either comply with their requirement or you can't load. Ignoring it won't work.
Mamibear is offline  
Old Nov 20, 2014, 4:49 pm
  #6880  
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Programs: 25 million points to burn!
Posts: 1,522
Chase codes my Neighborhood WM as grocery--implications for Q1 '15 Freedom categories. Are these still loadable to BB: Variable load WM branded Visa GC issued by Sunrise?
Preacher7 is offline  
Old Nov 20, 2014, 5:34 pm
  #6881  
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,493
Originally Posted by Preacher7
Chase codes my Neighborhood WM as grocery--implications for Q1 '15 Freedom categories. Are these still loadable to BB: Variable load WM branded Visa GC issued by Sunrise?
Sunrise VGCs are still good. Sears sells Sunrise VGCs and I used it to load Serve. I assume your plan is to buy VGCs from the neighborhood WM and then load them to BB.
ericdabbs is offline  
Old Nov 20, 2014, 6:47 pm
  #6882  
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 30
Originally Posted by Preacher7
Chase codes my Neighborhood WM as grocery--implications for Q1 '15 Freedom categories. Are these still loadable to BB: Variable load WM branded Visa GC issued by Sunrise?
I've been buying the Sunrise WM brand at WM Neighborhood. YMMV but at all my stores these cards have to be rung up separately. The register displays the message so nothing else can be in that trxn. Just a heads up...
tobyrocks is offline  
Old Nov 20, 2014, 8:44 pm
  #6883  
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 15
Can reloadit be used to fund BB or is it only for Serve?
brn4 is offline  
Old Nov 21, 2014, 1:07 am
  #6884  
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,493
Originally Posted by brn4
Can reloadit be used to fund BB or is it only for Serve?
Only Serve.
ericdabbs is offline  
Old Nov 21, 2014, 3:17 am
  #6885  
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 23
I am new to the forum guys. I've been a lurker for well over a year now. I have a BB account. Can BB be loaded with the GC's? or only Serve? I canceled Serve for BB about a year ago.
1NiteOwL is offline  

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