WISLUGGO

I have been MSing for two months now. When I started VRs were plentiful at my local CVS; I would buy $1k of Mastercard Cash Cards at Office Max, then use those to buy the VRs, then load into BB.

Now, my local CVS hasn't had VRs for almost a month. They said their distributor was out and they did not know when the would be back in I can find them at another CVS across town, but I worry that my MS strategy may not be diversified enough.

Amazon Payments doesn't seem to have much upside except for the $1k per month, so what else should i look at?

I was considering the HR Block Emerald Card, and Green Dot reloads are stacked to the gills...but I worry that my novice MS experience may mean I am missing something using Green Dot.

Should I worry about relying on Green Dot reloads at CVS? Should I research another vehicle?

ashap

Onevanilla Visas to MO to Bank has been my back up. I throw in AmEx GC via CB portal to OV to MO to earn some profits while I'm at it.

WISLUGGO

I was just researching PayPal Debit Card > BB. I can buy the Paypal Reload at CVS, I think.

Ah, I see Bluebird taps that at $1K per month too.

ctbarron

What credit cards are you using for MS? And, do you have access to a Walmart?

Rick471

A little confused...why were you buying mastercard's and the vr's with those??

nwflyboy

I wouldn't plan to rely on any Greendot-related strategy for too terribly long. Most people report getting Greendot smackdowns after a little while. Like Paypal, Netspend and other channels that at first look appealing, most people find that these are not really sustainable for very long.

Visa gift cards feeding Bluebird at Walmart seems the most reliable alternative for those who don't have access to VRs.

Voyaging

i agree with Rick471. You've been missing out on a double the points. You should just buy the MC GCs (with fees) -> BB without additional fees. Any VRs you buy should be from a pts-earning card OR to drain cards difficult to drain straight to BB, like to use up am3x gcs, which then would go to a BB
Remember BB 1K/day. 5K/month.

oneworld82

Can you load MC GC into BB?

WISLUGGO

Yes, i have access to both a Walmart (With the Money Center ATM) and a Neighborhood Walmart.

For credit cards, I am putting most my spend on my CSP and my Ink Bold. I am almost to the minimum spend on those. Even when I hit that threshold, I would like to continue to MS to get the URs.

Good question - I use the Ink Card at Office Max for the cash cards (5x points) so $2K for mortgage in cash cards = 10K ultimate reward points, then the cash cards go to buy the VRs and the VRs go to pay the mortgage. Then I pay off the Bold. I know the fees are higher with the cash card, but I am happy to pay the $6 per card to get the points.

dovergator

Absolutely...You can set a PIN number to your MC GC and then load up to $1,000/day or $5,000/month to your BB. I do this often at Wal-Mart.

With MC's you just have to hit "Change Payment" on the keypad and then code it to Debit quickly. Works like a charm.

I also have written a few blog posts about this (see blog below).

Good luck!

dovergator

So by my math, your out-of-pocket costs are as follows:

10 x $6.95 (they only sell up to $200 gift cards at OM) = $69.50
4 x $3.95 for VRs = $15.80
TOTAL = $85.30/month to pay your mortgage
TOTAL POINTS = 10 x $206.95 x 5 points/$ = 10,348 Chase UR points for $85.30

I guess it depends upon your use of the points, but I would certainly consider purchasing the VR's direct w/ an SPG Amex and lowering your cost per mile.

Just my two cents though.

WISLUGGO

^ Thanks for the suggestion Dovergator, I do appreciate it. I am more worried about the availability of VRs in general.

I am new to this, so I do like the flexibility of the URs...but now I will investigate the SPG.

zceuxbhjutf

The part above isn't MS. A convenience fee maybe, if it's more convenient to transport the GCs to CVS instead of kioskville...

WISLUGGO

So, is my math correct? If I spend $70 to generate 10K points, my cost per point is 70/10000 or $.007, and if the value of URs is between $0.015 or $0.02 then I am coming out ahead.

ctbarron

Yes, although the value of UR's is subjective.

On your original question, if you can not find VR's, your best bet is to buy gift cards and load them onto BB at Walmart. There is a whole thread on it.

As nwflyboy noted GreenDot Money Paks are tricky. Even experienced people eventually run into problems with them.