May 27, 2015, 12:00 am
Last edit by: iflyjetz
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 discussion. The previous 2013- 2014 megathread.
For information on switching from BB to Serve, see the Serve thread wiki.
Bluebird Load Limits:
The cash load limit for a temp card is $1,500 total.
*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.
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 discussion. The previous 2013- 2014 megathread.
For information on switching from BB to Serve, see the Serve thread wiki.
Bluebird Load Limits:
- Cash loading via VR or WM load: $2,500/day and $5,000 total per calendar month
- Cash loading up to $1999.99/day at Walmart registers (tested by PedroNY in Post #525 and showed to not be enforced. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1501215-bluebird-prepaid-debit-now-fdic-insurance-paper-checks-2015-a-35.html#post25611848 )
- 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
The cash load limit for a temp card is $1,500 total.
*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.
Bluebird prepaid debit, now with FDIC insurance and paper checks (2015)
Jun 12, 2015, 8:31 am
#286
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 1999
Posts: 24,153
If the supermkts and drug stores become Level 3s then kiss them good-bye, just like getting MOs @ Wally using DCs(not from your bank acct) went bye-bye. OK you can still get them but your acct gets the shutdown very soon afterwards
Jun 13, 2015, 7:20 pm
#287
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: ATL
Programs: AA, AGR, DL, MR, WoH, UA
Posts: 951
And my view of the thread only has 8 pages, so I wouldn't even be able to follow your references....
Jun 25, 2015, 1:34 am
#288
Suspended
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 292
Stupid question:
I haven't courted MS. Kate with my BB in a while. Can I use the Staples 200 cards to load my BB? Is there a fee?
Mucho Gracias!
I haven't courted MS. Kate with my BB in a while. Can I use the Staples 200 cards to load my BB? Is there a fee?
Mucho Gracias!
Jun 30, 2015, 10:04 pm
#290
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 16
Bluebird prepaid debit, now with FDIC insurance and paper checks (2015)
Went to load bluebird at Kate today with $500 Visa Kroger US Bank Giftcards; first $500 loss went through, 2nd gift card would not load and receipt would only read "debit not approved call authorizer"..... Anyone seen this rejection before? If so any workaround or advice.??? Called on the card and it said balance of $500 is available
Jul 1, 2015, 1:39 am
#291
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 25
Went to load bluebird at Kate today with $500 Visa Kroger US Bank Giftcards; first $500 loss went through, 2nd gift card would not load and receipt would only read "debit not approved call authorizer"..... Anyone seen this rejection before? If so any workaround or advice.??? Called on the card and it said balance of $500 is available
If that is the case, I think some people were able to regain the debit function by calling USB and asking the CSR to "reset" the card (ie say that you want to use it at Costco but forgot the PIN). I personally haven't been successful when this happened (CSRs telling me to just use it as credit or that the card is fine), so I just unloaded it naturally (i.e. actually buying stuff).
Jul 1, 2015, 12:26 pm
#292
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: LAC
Programs: Regal Crown Club
Posts: 488
Never heard about that before... Had a couple of Mastercards last year which made PIN trouble but only AFTER having changed the PIN via the phone interface. When using the original PIN provided on that sticker it always worked for me, even when I had mis-typed.
Jul 3, 2015, 2:19 pm
#293
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: ATL
Programs: AA, AGR, DL, MR, WoH, UA
Posts: 951
I would suggest checking the main pre-paid debit card thread. There's likely to be more information there.
Jul 10, 2015, 9:40 am
#294
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: San Diego
Posts: 35
Kate never works! In my area I've never found a Kate without the 9 digit error!
Anyway went to load at cashier yesterday. First $500 went through. Asked to do another $500 and it showed "debit card error" the cashier couldn't cancel the transaction without the manager override. Both were USB VGCs so not sure why one worked and not the other.
Anyway went to load at cashier yesterday. First $500 went through. Asked to do another $500 and it showed "debit card error" the cashier couldn't cancel the transaction without the manager override. Both were USB VGCs so not sure why one worked and not the other.
Jul 10, 2015, 1:09 pm
#295
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: San Diego
Posts: 35
Kate never works! In my area I've never found a Kate without the 9 digit error!
Anyway went to load at cashier yesterday. First $500 went through. Asked to do another $500 and it showed "debit card error" the cashier couldn't cancel the transaction without the manager override. Both were USB VGCs so not sure why one worked and not the other.
Anyway went to load at cashier yesterday. First $500 went through. Asked to do another $500 and it showed "debit card error" the cashier couldn't cancel the transaction without the manager override. Both were USB VGCs so not sure why one worked and not the other.
Update: loaded $500 VGC today, asked cashier to do another load since there wasn't a line, cashier said u can only do 1 load at a time at the cash register. The register won't allow more. So I walked around the store for awhile, picked up a few items and tried another register. Cashier said she won't load $500 at register bc "it works better at the money center". By then she was already ringing up the next customer. Ugh last week I had no problem doing 2 loads at each register.
Jul 11, 2015, 7:03 am
#296
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: S.E. Pennsylvania
Programs: SPG, SW Air, AA, all of'em!
Posts: 239
Update: loaded $500 VGC today, asked cashier to do another load since there wasn't a line, cashier said u can only do 1 load at a time at the cash register. The register won't allow more. So I walked around the store for awhile, picked up a few items and tried another register. Cashier said she won't load $500 at register bc "it works better at the money center". By then she was already ringing up the next customer. Ugh last week I had no problem doing 2 loads at each register.
There is no limit to how many transactions the cashiers POS can do in a day, only the $2500 Bluebird imposed limit per card, per day.
Kates in my area of SE PA - about 30% of them work, the rest are crap.
Jul 11, 2015, 8:01 pm
#297
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 148
Well like anything MS, it's YMMV. Stores around my area, the WM cashiers get antsy doing loads over $500. Initially tried to load 1k with them but they mostly always direct me to the MC. Though I think the managers have instructed them to do that. So I stick to $500 and switch between different cashiers and Kate if working.
Jul 13, 2015, 8:27 pm
#298
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: US Air, UA BA LH AI DELTA MARRIOTT CHOICE SGP
Posts: 9,883
can I load a BB online (like I used to with Vanilla Reloads) with a Simon Mall Visa debit card ?
Thank you.
Thank you.
Jul 13, 2015, 8:44 pm
#299
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: SAN
Programs: Delta Gold. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Explorist.
Posts: 1,678
Jul 13, 2015, 9:07 pm
#300
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: CA
Posts: 48
WalMart Customer Service Manager told me today that they cannot reset KATE...Only can be done automatically around midnight by their IT guy. I wish we could all just get along