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T-Mobile Visa Prepaid - Bluebird Competitor for MS! (May not load w/CC)

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Old Jan 22, 2014, 3:27 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
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
  • 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
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T-Mobile Visa Prepaid - Bluebird Competitor for MS! (May not load w/CC)

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Old Jul 30, 2014, 8:34 am
  #2371  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 71
Long-time lurker here.

I've been using t-mobile for a while. I got my card blocked during April, and got told not to BP and they reinstated the card. Now I mainly use Walmart billpay never more than $1,000 per swipe, and sometime I pay a Citi card or get cashback at the grocery store.

Originally Posted by mak101
Oh thanks. Can i use my tmobile card on evolve for BP? From all available options, i just want to drain 3k only. Can i pay my penfed heloc from tmobile account or tmobile/evolve?
I have used my card on Evolve without problems, but never more than $1,000

Last edited by tcook052; Jul 30, 2014 at 9:02 am
viag8 is offline  
Old Jul 31, 2014, 10:11 am
  #2372  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 319
I did a transaction on my TM card today and the balance after transaction should've been 0. However, I'm seeing my remaining balance as $810.... thoughts?
Pecan Pie is offline  
Old Jul 31, 2014, 11:06 am
  #2373  
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Join Date: May 2014
Location: ILG/PHL
Programs: Amex Plat, AA Gold, SPG Gold, Hyatt Gold, HHonors Gold, Carlson Gold
Posts: 1,075
Originally Posted by Pecan Pie
I did a transaction on my TM card today and the balance after transaction should've been 0. However, I'm seeing my remaining balance as $810.... thoughts?
Screen shot of your transaction history?
payeco is offline  
Old Jul 31, 2014, 11:44 am
  #2374  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 721
Originally Posted by Pecan Pie
thoughts?
Take the rest of the day off...
zceuxbhjutf is offline  
Old Jul 31, 2014, 12:19 pm
  #2375  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 69
payed reloadit with cc yesterday. 1 card, put $450 to play safe. unfortunately no fuel perks with the purchase
sean79 is offline  
Old Aug 1, 2014, 5:00 pm
  #2376  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 71
I just received an email saying I was randomly selected to answer a survey about T-mobile money services and that I will get $10 credit to my account for answering it. Has anybody gotten the same message?
viag8 is offline  
Old Aug 1, 2014, 5:01 pm
  #2377  
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Cali
Posts: 27
guys check your email. i was offered $10 for taking a short survey.
agarfield is offline  
Old Aug 1, 2014, 5:10 pm
  #2378  
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: SEA
Programs: Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 1,947
Originally Posted by agarfield
guys check your email. i was offered $10 for taking a short survey.
Yep. Done.
EkekoBWI is offline  
Old Aug 1, 2014, 5:13 pm
  #2379  
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,509
Originally Posted by agarfield
guys check your email. i was offered $10 for taking a short survey.
Thanks for the heads up but man I am going to wait until the freakin $5 monthly charge kicks in (3rd day of the month) so that they don't just rob me of it again.
ericdabbs is offline  
Old Aug 1, 2014, 5:26 pm
  #2380  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 71
Originally Posted by EkekoBWI
Yep. Done.
What sort of questions did they ask?
viag8 is offline  
Old Aug 1, 2014, 5:42 pm
  #2381  
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: SEA
Programs: Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 1,947
Originally Posted by viag8
What sort of questions did they ask?
Standard questions by a 3rd party that took all of 2 min to complete: on the Tmo app and via the website, what features I used/didn't and liked/didn't. No targeted questions (i.e. nothing based on my unique consumer data), so I believe this to be as random as advertised, though it may be generic questions put to a specific customer segment. Lots of text boxes (unstructured), so one could assume the survey company's sample size is small...or they will be spending a lot of time interpreting and compiling results.

My "how to improve" feedback included:
--Higher monthly ceilings
--Loading with CC in Tmo stores
--More stable BP
--Accurately charging the $5 monthly fee
--Fixing the app's quirk regarding RLs not always going through
EkekoBWI is offline  
Old Aug 1, 2014, 6:40 pm
  #2382  
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: The Phoenix Desert
Programs: Hilton Cubic Zirconia, Marriott Fools Gold
Posts: 1,692
Sometimes I feel like a velociraptor in Jurassic Park testing the fences (cashiers) for weaknesses in buying Rlits with a cc. I was successful twice this week at a previously dead-since-the-beginning store ^^
skitch23 is offline  
Old Aug 1, 2014, 7:06 pm
  #2383  
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 12
Hess Reloadit

One of my Hess store has a ton of reloadit cards (covered by dust!) but I can not get a transaction to start. Either the clerk does not know how to sell it or the Hess system discontinued the card. I lean toward that they do not know how to sell it. First, they tried to active the card before I even pulled my CC out. I have never seen any store will activate a card before a CC is swiped. Then, for a 2nd time, they tried to scanned the bar code (both UPC and the card code), none of them was found in the system, at least they claimed, I can not see the screen. Have anyone ever bought any reloadit in Hess? I do have another grocery store that sells reloadit with CC, but I would have to use Amex and each time a manager need to approve it (the store transaction limit is very tiny for gift card purchase with CC, even reloadit with 300 needs manager's approval)
BTW, all other Hess stores in my area have no reloadit on the rack and this one is the closest to me
michiganflyer is offline  
Old Aug 1, 2014, 8:25 pm
  #2384  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 222
hahaha

I got the e-mail too. at first, I didn't see the $10 offer. well, that's gonna be a problem since I've been shut down(account closed, however you want to word it). will they mail me $10? weird that they would e-mail me. maybe I should open a 3rd card and then fill out the survey. hey, $10 is $10...
goblue77 is offline  
Old Aug 1, 2014, 11:33 pm
  #2385  
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 21
Originally Posted by viag8
I just received an email saying I was randomly selected to answer a survey about T-mobile money services and that I will get $10 credit to my account for answering it. Has anybody gotten the same message?
I haven't touched my T-Mobile debit card since April, and it's been dead with a zero balance since. I still got the survey with the $10 reward. I don't know if I have a cc-enabled way of loading it anymore, so it's mostly useless. I suppose I could subsidize my phone bill by $10.
saru is offline  


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