Dollar General $500 OneVanilla Gift Cards - Success story
 

My first post, thought I would share a recent success story in light of the new restrictions on Vanilla Reloads from CVS. Please note I am in the process of reaching my Citi AAdvantage 100k mile bonus. This is the first time I've used MS - my past bonuses were all achieved at times when I had legitimate reasons to put purchases on the cards (PIF of course).

I picked up a $500 OneVanilla Visa Gift Card from Dollar General using my Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard. The cashier said she doesn't think I could use a credit card, but she said she would try anyway. It went through!

I then came home to register the PIN, however upon logging in I found that you actually don't register a PIN. The cardholder sets the pin at the first purchase.

I took the card to my Walmart Money Center (which does not have a kiosk). I asked the cashier for a money order for 499.30 (the money order charge is 70 cents). I swiped the card, selected a pin (any pin), and then came approval.

I received the Money Order, endorsed it and paid it to myself, headed over to my bank which, conveniently is located inside WalMart, and made a deposit.

This was my first MS, I was a bit nervous to be honest! I hope this information can help someone.

Great example of someone who can read, comprehend and execute successfully

Awesome, thank you for sharing! Welcome to the MS forum.

Cool story bro. Glad to hear that you were successful at Dollar General.

Good stuff.

You could of bought that card at cvs though. :). Just no prepaid reloadables at cvs. Vgc, ov, etc are still good. :)

Good for you..

But FYI - you can buy these at DS or Grocery store with 2x or 5x credit cards.. So yeah.. You will start understanding the game and what I mean...

Doesn't matter where you buy it if meeting minimum spend. Citi AAdvantage is same at DG, DS, or Grocery.

Great Job!! Good luck in the future as this can be pretty addictive.

Great point - I'm going for the AAdvantage bonus, location of purchase has no impact. I did check out Giant Eagle (grocery) where I get fuel rewards for GC purchases, however my location only had $25 and $50.00 VGCs. I'm going to try another nearby location, perhaps they may carry higher denominations.

I chose DG because it's located closer to me and on the way to Walmart. But knowing that is helpful so thank you. :-)

+1 for saving on gas.

Wow, not only did you execute your first MS in a flawless manner you were extremely efficient with time/distance spent. Way to go!

With that kind of savviness, I'm sure you'll maximize other MS avenues in no time! ^

Sounds an awful lot like my first experience. The only difference is I first dipped my toes in with a $20 Variable load GC. Congrats I'm sure it wont be long until your addicted :)

I am assuming same $4.95 fee as other outlets?

Congrats on a successful and reasonably stress-free first time. My first MS was exactly like yours except with a GC from Safeway with the waived activation fee from the Club Card. I then graduated to VR's (snif!) and haven't looked back. If only all newbies would take the time to do what you (and I) did - read, start with baby steps and not panic. Well done.

All thanks to this forum!

I try my best to make running errands and driving (time spent/costs) as efficient as possible - I really dislike driving out of my way.

As for the execution, I played out the entire scenario in my head beforehand - I felt like Jason Bourne on a mission ;)

Yes, 4.95

Thanks! I felt confident enough with the my plan to "go all in" at $500.00 - plus, I just couldn't justify spending the same 4.95 for a $25 or $50 VGC. Worst case scenario, I'd have a $500 gift card to use for misc purchases.

I like this strategy, and I'll stick with it, but I'm already getting the "itch" to explore more options. Baby steps though! :cool: