Jan 22, 2014, 3:27 pm
Last edit by: XP1
Warning: The T-M website contains an apparent Bill Pay function. Attempting to use it to pay credit card bills, or probably any significant $ amount bills of any sort, will get your account frozen. Ditto large scale ATM or MO withdrawals. The one method of unloading likely to keep you under the radar is small scale WM BP. Also likely to get you shut down, according to consensus reports, is running much more than $5K a month thru your account. You ignore this advice at your own risk.
SUMMARY
1. FAQ's
2. Free to use for TMo customers.
3. Issued by Bancorp
4. Load at T-mobile store (Registers are HARD CODED not to accept anything other than cash.)
5. or Reloadit, (find a grocery store that sold reloadit cards with a cc)
List Stores hard coded for cash or Credit Card accepted
T-Mobile (cash only)
Home Depot (cash only, hard coded)
Harris Teeter - Bought with CC on 2/16/14, hard coded denied CC on 5 APR 2014
Winn-Dixie - Hard coded for cash (debit may work, untested) as of Oct-2015
Meijer (Cash/Debit including VGC)
Giant Eagle/GetGo (Cash, Debit including VGC )
Safeways/Vons/Pavilions in California - most only Cash
Food Lion - Manager override now required. Many stores cash or bank debit only, but registers are not hard coded.
Save-A-Lot: Hard coded cash only
BigY: At least some stores have gone cash only as of 1/8
Acme in PA: Hard-coded cash only (Source)
Note on ReloadIt Cards
These come in two main flavors, up to $500, and up to $950 (there are ones that go up to $50, too). Both are $3.95 load fee. The older grey cards, have CASH ONLY on them. Even if the cash register is coded to accept it, many cashiers will be hesitant to even try, or get shut down by manager.
The maximum value reload will be $2,500.00. There is no maximum number of times you may value reload your Card Account per day; however, the maximum dollar amount of value reloads you may make to your Card Account in one day is $2,500.00. We will accept direct deposits larger than $2,500.00, but any direct deposit value reloaded to your Card Account will count against the $2,500.00 daily limit.
Value Reload Fee: Each time you value reload $300.00 or more to your Card Account in a single transaction, you will receive a credit for any fee you paid. If you are a T-Mobile Wireless Customer and value reload your Card Account at a participating T-Mobile Wireless location, you will receive a refund at the register (and will pay no fee for your value reload). If you value reload your Card Account for $300.00 or more via another method, we will issue a credit to your Card Account in the amount of the fee you paid.
In practice, a ReloadIt >= $300 loaded via the safe will receive credit for the fee. However, the terms formally state "Please note: Value reloads made from Reloadit Packs that have been placed in the Program Manager’s Reloadit `Safe' are not eligible for any fee credit." so this is not guaranteed.
The Limits:
Daily limit: $2500 during a rolling 24 hour period
Monthly limit: ?
Annual Limit: ?
Max Bill Pay (per transaction): = $5000 (tested March 6th, can do 'at least' a second for the same amount to the same payee momment later).
Daily ATM limit: $500 (rolling 24 hr rather than calendar day)
Total monthly bill pay limit: ?
The maximum value of your Card Account is restricted to $10,000.00
T-Mobile Prepaid Customer Service Email: [email protected]
If you need to escalate to the FDIC, Bancorp's registered FDIC# is 35444.
If you want to try to open an FDIC complaint or investigation you can send one in electronically at
http://www2.fdic.gov/IDASP/DIRSInfoRequest.asp
Alternative FDIC link to file complaint
https://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp
FAQ
SUMMARY
1. FAQ's
2. Free to use for TMo customers.
3. Issued by Bancorp
4. Load at T-mobile store (Registers are HARD CODED not to accept anything other than cash.)
5. or Reloadit, (find a grocery store that sold reloadit cards with a cc)
List Stores hard coded for cash or Credit Card accepted
T-Mobile (cash only)
Home Depot (cash only, hard coded)
Harris Teeter - Bought with CC on 2/16/14, hard coded denied CC on 5 APR 2014
Winn-Dixie - Hard coded for cash (debit may work, untested) as of Oct-2015
Meijer (Cash/Debit including VGC)
Giant Eagle/GetGo (Cash, Debit including VGC )
Safeways/Vons/Pavilions in California - most only Cash
Food Lion - Manager override now required. Many stores cash or bank debit only, but registers are not hard coded.
Save-A-Lot: Hard coded cash only
BigY: At least some stores have gone cash only as of 1/8
Acme in PA: Hard-coded cash only (Source)
Note on ReloadIt Cards
These come in two main flavors, up to $500, and up to $950 (there are ones that go up to $50, too). Both are $3.95 load fee. The older grey cards, have CASH ONLY on them. Even if the cash register is coded to accept it, many cashiers will be hesitant to even try, or get shut down by manager.
The maximum value reload will be $2,500.00. There is no maximum number of times you may value reload your Card Account per day; however, the maximum dollar amount of value reloads you may make to your Card Account in one day is $2,500.00. We will accept direct deposits larger than $2,500.00, but any direct deposit value reloaded to your Card Account will count against the $2,500.00 daily limit.
Value Reload Fee: Each time you value reload $300.00 or more to your Card Account in a single transaction, you will receive a credit for any fee you paid. If you are a T-Mobile Wireless Customer and value reload your Card Account at a participating T-Mobile Wireless location, you will receive a refund at the register (and will pay no fee for your value reload). If you value reload your Card Account for $300.00 or more via another method, we will issue a credit to your Card Account in the amount of the fee you paid.
In practice, a ReloadIt >= $300 loaded via the safe will receive credit for the fee. However, the terms formally state "Please note: Value reloads made from Reloadit Packs that have been placed in the Program Manager’s Reloadit `Safe' are not eligible for any fee credit." so this is not guaranteed.
The Limits:
Daily limit: $2500 during a rolling 24 hour period
Monthly limit: ?
Annual Limit: ?
Max Bill Pay (per transaction): = $5000 (tested March 6th, can do 'at least' a second for the same amount to the same payee momment later).
Daily ATM limit: $500 (rolling 24 hr rather than calendar day)
Total monthly bill pay limit: ?
The maximum value of your Card Account is restricted to $10,000.00
T-Mobile Prepaid Customer Service Email: [email protected]
If you need to escalate to the FDIC, Bancorp's registered FDIC# is 35444.
If you want to try to open an FDIC complaint or investigation you can send one in electronically at
http://www2.fdic.gov/IDASP/DIRSInfoRequest.asp
Alternative FDIC link to file complaint
https://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp
FAQ
- My fee did not get refunded. Has there been a policy change? ReloadIt Fees are processed overnight and could take 24 hours after you reload the card. As of 9/2015, ReloadIt cards added to the safe prior to loading on T-Mobile will still get the $3.95 refunded.
- What is a safe transaction amount? There is no definite safe or unsafe amount. However, starting the last week of Jul 2015, people have been reporting the account frozen after transactions larger than $1K.
- Can I use the BP Feature? It works well for some people. Many have reported getting shutdown after using it. A few have reported having the payments lost. Like all MS activity, use at your own risk.
- Should I mix in some regular spending to make it look like this is my primary card? If it makes you feel better, go for it. However people who do this still get shutdown.
- I can't log in. Did I get shutdown? Possibly. But more likely the website is having technical issues. Call in, o try to make a swipe purchase and test it out.
- If I pay my taxes with this card, will I get shutdown? Large purchase raise red flags. Taxes are no different and there are reports of people being shut down for doing this.
- What is a T-Mobile wireless customer? A qualifying T-Mobile wireless customer can be either a postpaid or prepaid customer. Source: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/24790705-post3703.html
T-Mobile Visa Prepaid - Bluebird Competitor for MS! (May not load w/CC)
May 4, 2014, 2:55 pm
#1623
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 1999
Posts: 24,153
Boy do I miss Vs and Ps on the WC. My subsitute place on the EC is a Pita, with V or P asked to load $495 and the cashier was able to handle it as if I was getting a 1/2 gal of milk.
My sub place I tried the $495 when $500 kept yielding long waits for a mgr of sorts to come over and look at my DL and CC. To no avail dont know what the trigger is but if the 3.95 stops being refunded then Im out as it takes way too much time, this is with the old grey cards to boot
My sub place I tried the $495 when $500 kept yielding long waits for a mgr of sorts to come over and look at my DL and CC. To no avail dont know what the trigger is but if the 3.95 stops being refunded then Im out as it takes way too much time, this is with the old grey cards to boot
May 5, 2014, 11:14 am
#1626
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 721
We load T-Mo by buying stuff at 5% grocery stores. $4K x 5% is $200 pure profit dude. You made a special call to them, asking for a human to look at all your loads to make sure they can see that you're loading $4K cuz their computer had no idea that you were one of the MSers???!!! For $5...
May 5, 2014, 11:23 am
#1627
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,036
I predict you will get shut down in about a month.
We load T-Mo by buying stuff at 5% grocery stores. $4K x 5% is $200 pure profit dude. You made a special call to them, asking for a human to look at all your loads to make sure they can see that you're loading $4K cuz their computer had no idea that you were one of the MSers???!!! For $5...
We load T-Mo by buying stuff at 5% grocery stores. $4K x 5% is $200 pure profit dude. You made a special call to them, asking for a human to look at all your loads to make sure they can see that you're loading $4K cuz their computer had no idea that you were one of the MSers???!!! For $5...
May 5, 2014, 11:25 am
#1628
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,509
I predict you will get shut down in about a month.
We load T-Mo by buying stuff at 5% grocery stores. $4K x 5% is $200 pure profit dude. You made a special call to them, asking for a human to look at all your loads to make sure they can see that you're loading $4K cuz their computer had no idea that you were one of the MSers???!!! For $5...
We load T-Mo by buying stuff at 5% grocery stores. $4K x 5% is $200 pure profit dude. You made a special call to them, asking for a human to look at all your loads to make sure they can see that you're loading $4K cuz their computer had no idea that you were one of the MSers???!!! For $5...
Last edited by ericdabbs; May 5, 2014 at 11:53 am
May 5, 2014, 11:43 am
#1630
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,509
. I even told them that I have been buying reloadits from Safeway to get CC points too and that the nickname I was using is really a CC...*sigh*. You give way toooo much credit to the CSR folks who you think take the initiative to follow up and ensure this doesn't happen in the future beyond this call. I have dealt with a lot of CSRs and most don't give a crap beyond your call. They just think it was an anomaly in their system. Btw the 2nd month I had this card, I wasn't charged a monthly fee so obviously something happened in between them. I have had calls for other items non-MS related and they told me that they would follow up and get back to me BUT never did. I am sure they didn't actually follow up.
May 5, 2014, 12:05 pm
#1631
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 721
We're all in agreement that what happened is the computer failed to detect MS-style loads. The disagreement is whether or not that failure was a good thing LOL.
May 5, 2014, 3:50 pm
#1633
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,509
They are just normal CSRs there to answer account related issues like username/pw issues, profile related questions, whether funds get loaded correctly, fee related questions, etc.
We do know that people are getting shutdown upon BP. I don't know if I have heard of anyone getting shutdown when making a retail transaction.
Last edited by ericdabbs; May 5, 2014 at 4:15 pm
May 5, 2014, 4:55 pm
#1634
Join Date: May 2008
Programs: AA PLT 2MM
Posts: 2,026
In the transaction list it used to read:
Payment for payee nick name, Online Banking, Chantilly, VA 20151
Now it just reads:
Bill Payment
Further clicking on transaction details has the following (among other details):
Merchant Name: T-Mobile GPR
No indication of who the payee was..
Perhaps internally they can look up more details using the the 'Retrieval Reference Number'...
Also times that used to read 2 days on bill pay, now read 5 days.
In the least it appears they're doing the bill pays 'differently' than before.
And...a little disconcerting is the payees... have now disappeared again.
I hope I didn't send a payment into the great 'ether', and/or this is something similar to the BB-payee screw up that happened a month or so ago.
I'd tread cautiously with the BP for at the moment.
May 5, 2014, 6:54 pm
#1635
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,509
Well, the payee's had returned by Sunday afternoon... all info looked as before, however, once payment was made, something different.
In the transaction list it used to read:
Payment for payee nick name, Online Banking, Chantilly, VA 20151
Now it just reads:
Bill Payment
Further clicking on transaction details has the following (among other details):
Merchant Name: T-Mobile GPR
No indication of who the payee was..
Perhaps internally they can look up more details using the the 'Retrieval Reference Number'...
Also times that used to read 2 days on bill pay, now read 5 days.
In the least it appears they're doing the bill pays 'differently' than before.
And...a little disconcerting is the payees... have now disappeared again.
I hope I didn't send a payment into the great 'ether', and/or this is something similar to the BB-payee screw up that happened a month or so ago.
I'd tread cautiously with the BP for at the moment.
In the transaction list it used to read:
Payment for payee nick name, Online Banking, Chantilly, VA 20151
Now it just reads:
Bill Payment
Further clicking on transaction details has the following (among other details):
Merchant Name: T-Mobile GPR
No indication of who the payee was..
Perhaps internally they can look up more details using the the 'Retrieval Reference Number'...
Also times that used to read 2 days on bill pay, now read 5 days.
In the least it appears they're doing the bill pays 'differently' than before.
And...a little disconcerting is the payees... have now disappeared again.
I hope I didn't send a payment into the great 'ether', and/or this is something similar to the BB-payee screw up that happened a month or so ago.
I'd tread cautiously with the BP for at the moment.