Apr 19, 2014, 8:07 am
Last edit by: RedSun
Please read this thread for help with Debit cards: PIN available now for Visa/MC prepaid debit cards
Many stores that accept Gebit for regular purchases will not accept Gebit for a MO purchase.
Supermarket chain policy varies by region, and even by store to store within the same region.
e.g. Kr0g3r may allow such in the South and Southeast, but does not in West, Southwest, Northwest, etc
Publix & Walmart & Winn Dixie = NO auto drain.
Publix & Walmart allow splits
Places that sell MO (need more DPs):
Supermarket and Grocery Stores:
Walmart
Shoprite (?)
Stop & Shop
Weis (cash only)
Wegmans (?)
Drug Stores:
CVS (?)
Rite Aids (acquired by Walgreens)
Walgreens
Convenience Stores:
7-11 (?)
QuickChek (?)
Wawa (?)
Many stores that accept Gebit for regular purchases will not accept Gebit for a MO purchase.
Supermarket chain policy varies by region, and even by store to store within the same region.
e.g. Kr0g3r may allow such in the South and Southeast, but does not in West, Southwest, Northwest, etc
Publix & Walmart & Winn Dixie = NO auto drain.
Publix & Walmart allow splits
Places that sell MO (need more DPs):
Supermarket and Grocery Stores:
Walmart
Shoprite (?)
Stop & Shop
Weis (cash only)
Wegmans (?)
Drug Stores:
CVS (?)
Rite Aids (acquired by Walgreens)
Walgreens
Convenience Stores:
7-11 (?)
QuickChek (?)
Wawa (?)
Where to buy money orders with prepaid/gift cards?
Apr 18, 2014, 6:23 pm
#151
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 116
Apr 18, 2014, 7:43 pm
#153
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 1,139
Don't do it with Chase credit cards, but an alternative is to simply mail the money orders as payments on your credit card. Chase credit card divisions does not like this at all, but I have paid a lot of Amex and BOA and US Bank credit card bills with money orders without hearing a peep (although check free bill pay is better for BOA and US Bank visas). There is certainly a business reason for mailing money orders to your credit card company - you have a damn liability that needs to be satisfied before interest starts accruing! Most credit card companies state in their literature that they prefer that one payment be enclosed in each envelope, so there is a reason to send one money order in each envelope. And the reason that the money orders tend to be around $1,000 each is the fact that $1,000 is the maximum that Wal-Mart sells them for. Also, if you read the frightening Structuring cases, you will find plenty of examples of the government seizing bank accounts during an investigation - I am not exactly sure how the government would seize a credit card account, unless it has a debit balance.
Apr 18, 2014, 8:22 pm
#154
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: JFK
Programs: *$ Gold :)
Posts: 1,061
Apr 18, 2014, 10:54 pm
#155
Join Date: Nov 2006
Programs: Marriott Platinum, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum
Posts: 3,720
Apr 19, 2014, 6:13 am
#156
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 1,139
No lost ones yet. The big credit card companies have really good processing centers. Amex posts fast, Capital One took forever, and BOA and US Bank are between these two extremes.
I buy two money orders at WalMart at a time using four $500 swipes with a $.70 charge for each money order, since that is the maximum that can be purchased using four swipes per transaction using our favorite cards. One think that simplifies tracking us to vary the amounts. Instead of always buying $999.30 amounts, if a person buys $999.40 / $999.20, etc., tracking becomes a lot easier.
Interesting fact with Chase credit card division is that they did not like multiple payments of approximately $1,000 each. The guy asked me why I did not just buy one money order for $5,000 instead of five money orders of around $1,000 each when paying my hypothetical $5,000 bill. He was surprised to find out that most money orders sellers place a maximum on the amount of each money order and he was surprised to find out that money orders can be purchased with debit/gift cards. This is one of the problems, we know this system but the banks & credit card companies do not. He thought I had a massive pile of cash that I was breaking up into parts to avoid reporting because that is what is taught in class. There are no MS examples in their training materials and there probably never will be. Fortunately, I did not lose any Chase credit card accounts but had to agree to not send them any more money orders.
Of course, with the cost of stamps, paying the credit card bills with money orders only works economically with a 5 percent card.
I buy two money orders at WalMart at a time using four $500 swipes with a $.70 charge for each money order, since that is the maximum that can be purchased using four swipes per transaction using our favorite cards. One think that simplifies tracking us to vary the amounts. Instead of always buying $999.30 amounts, if a person buys $999.40 / $999.20, etc., tracking becomes a lot easier.
Interesting fact with Chase credit card division is that they did not like multiple payments of approximately $1,000 each. The guy asked me why I did not just buy one money order for $5,000 instead of five money orders of around $1,000 each when paying my hypothetical $5,000 bill. He was surprised to find out that most money orders sellers place a maximum on the amount of each money order and he was surprised to find out that money orders can be purchased with debit/gift cards. This is one of the problems, we know this system but the banks & credit card companies do not. He thought I had a massive pile of cash that I was breaking up into parts to avoid reporting because that is what is taught in class. There are no MS examples in their training materials and there probably never will be. Fortunately, I did not lose any Chase credit card accounts but had to agree to not send them any more money orders.
Of course, with the cost of stamps, paying the credit card bills with money orders only works economically with a 5 percent card.
Apr 19, 2014, 6:51 am
#157
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: JFK
Programs: *$ Gold :)
Posts: 1,061
Apr 19, 2014, 7:28 am
#158
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 1,139
Yes, money orders stick together quite badly and I think more than one per envelope would cause all but the first one to get thrown away from time to time, even if a piece of paper separated them. The processing center employees would rarely get more than one check per envelope, so they are not accustomed to looking for more than one payment per envelope.
Apr 19, 2014, 9:04 am
#159
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: In the ATL
Posts: 156
That's weird, the Krogers I've been to here in the ATL don't care if you use debits and don't check the cards. Telling them to do $500 for each GC is fine. $0.69 fee for $1000 max MO.
Apr 19, 2014, 1:59 pm
#160
Join Date: May 2010
Programs: Marriott Platinum, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Gold, HH Diamond
Posts: 174
As with everything, YMMV. I have 4 Krogers in about 10 mile radius. One I usually don't have any issues buying MO with VGC. Another one, it depends on who's working the booth. The last two ask to see the cards used and will refuse debit unless your name is on the card.
Apr 28, 2014, 11:34 am
#161
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: CHICAGO, IL
Programs: Arrival Points, M-Life, Hyatt, ULTIMATE REWARDS, AA, UAL, SOUTHWEST
Posts: 121
Strategy and MO locations
Which begs the question, what is the best liquidation strategy for someone MS'ing $5-10K MO/month?
I can deposit them to the same account, but every thread talks about shutdown.
Now it seems depositing them into different accounts looks suspicious in a different way. I can only conclude there is another way - maybe a middle ground - given the established viability of this activity. But I am not quite getting it yet.
I can deposit them to the same account, but every thread talks about shutdown.
Now it seems depositing them into different accounts looks suspicious in a different way. I can only conclude there is another way - maybe a middle ground - given the established viability of this activity. But I am not quite getting it yet.
Will be opening other bank accounts going forward as other MSers have 5 to 7 bank accounts - just to keep accounts safe.
Wally is our only go to for MOs. Have to visit several per month.
A simple GC cash-out is using BB online with a $100/day limit - allows around $3000/month per account.
Apr 28, 2014, 11:12 pm
#164
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: UA 1K, AA EP, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Platinum, M life Noir
Posts: 1,279