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New to Manufactured Spending? Start Here (2015)

Old Jan 3, 2015, 3:13 am
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Last edit by: CWAL
Welcome to Manufactured Spending. If you are new here, please spend some time reading before posting. Most likely your questions have already been answered multiple times. Consider deals that you share. These threads are searchable by Google. A volatile deal may be worth holding close to the vest.

Hints

1) On FT, topics are heavily consolidated. Sometimes the title of the thread and first few posts may not properly reflect the broad range of discussion inside the thread. Be sure to visit any thread relating to the product or service you want to learn more about because you might be surprised by how in depth the discussion really is. High "View Count" and "Replies" are good indicators of active "master threads" on a specific topic.

2) Use Google to search FT. It works a lot better than the built-in search.

Important Rules

1) MSing is very YMMV. It varies by store, manager, and right down to the cashier working at the moment. That being said, always be nice and courteous in the face of rejection. The biggest secret for success is to lay low so you can try again.

2) DO NOT spend more than you can afford. START WITH SMALL AMOUNTS TO TEST THE WATER! As an example.. don't start with a $5000 purchase of VGCs if you can't afford to float that much! Instead, buy one and try it, and scale up once you are comfortable with a new method. It's easy to lose track, or get robbed, when you are handling so much money. Getting a refund is NOT always possible.

3) DO NOT ask employees, cashiers, customer service representatives, etc... about how to MS, or about things you read on this forum. The information you read here are very specific, unknown, legal uses of products or services. Most employees, cashiers, and even managers do not know about them. At best you'll get bad information. At worst you'll create a lot of unnecessary misunderstanding.

4) It bears repeating that there are no guarantees. you could easily buy $10,000 in gift cards or some other instrument, only to discover that your method for liquidating them vanishes the very next day. MS is not "normal" financial activity ("normal" being defined by the banks), and thus is often perceived as "suspicious" even if it is legal.

5) never underestimate the risk of criminal activity. gift cards can easily be stolen, loaded onto a compromised account, loaded in a debit card skimmer, or even fraudulent (e.g., an already used card put back on the rack).

If you have a question that does not seem to fit anywhere, or you have not found an appropriate place for it, post it here.

- A helpful note from seat17D about some of the inherent risks of MS
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New to Manufactured Spending? Start Here (2015)

Old Jan 3, 2015, 3:11 am
  #1  
Moderator: Manufactured Spending
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 6,570
New to Manufactured Spending? Start Here (2015)

Welcome to Manufactured Spending. If you are new here, please spend some time reading before posting. Most likely your questions have already been answered multiple times.

This thread is a continuation from http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manuf...t-here-94.html
cbn42 is offline  
Old Jan 3, 2015, 3:58 am
  #2  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 714
Best gc to buy for ms

Hey yall

I just remembered the third billing cycle for my Southwest card closes on the 8th! I closed my BB account the other day (w/o reading here first!) and now have a temporary Serve card so am not able to load anything to it. Which gift cards would be the best to buy for now so I can load them later? I am near everything, 7-11, CVS, Family Dollar, Dollar General, etc. I haven't seen the US bank gcs at the Simon mall near me. Any advice is appreciated!
diseased is offline  
Old Jan 3, 2015, 5:50 am
  #3  
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 329
When you visit your Simon Mall you have to ask the customer service representative. The gift cards not on a rack.
PowerMan572 is offline  
Old Jan 3, 2015, 10:18 am
  #4  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 437
Thanks for doing this cbn42, the last thread did not make much sense.

My #2 post advice for noobs: Please do not start new threads. You're not going to get any help in new threads, people will just yell at you. A lot. People here are mean. So save yourself the grief and ask your questions here.

Last edited by vinhboy; Jan 3, 2015 at 2:59 pm
vinhboy is offline  
Old Jan 3, 2015, 4:36 pm
  #5  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 3,688
I am near everything, 7-11, CVS, Family Dollar, Dollar General, etc.
if you have DiscoverIT card, activate it for first Q CB offer and buy non vanilla VGCs at 7-11 with gas stations. You'll earn 5% CB up to $1500 purchase.

Last edited by Mamibear; Jan 3, 2015 at 4:41 pm Reason: added info
Mamibear is offline  
Old Jan 3, 2015, 11:49 pm
  #6  
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 46
Originally Posted by Mamibear
if you have DiscoverIT card, activate it for first Q CB offer and buy non vanilla VGCs at 7-11 with gas stations. You'll earn 5% CB up to $1500 purchase.
I was able to use One Vanilla GC earlier last year and load them to BB/Serve but then they stopped working for meat the cashier, they worked for a few more weeks on Kate only and eventually even the Kate stopped working. Here in DC metro area I haven't been able to find a 7-11 with gas station that would sell GC with CC payment. The only ones working for me were the US Bank Mastercards (the ones from grocery stores and $taples, that mention mygiftcardsite dot com). My family members now have Target Red Card so we were able to use Vanilla GCs at Target which we used to max out the Discover 5% for Q4 2014 when used with google wallet on the phone with NFC payment.

If you can add aTarget Red card to your portfolio, you can earn a good cash back without the pain of being at a Walmart and you can load it directly using a credit card which eliminates one step. The downside is that we're getting 2% on Target right now, 5% on grocery is less commonly available than 5% on gas. We've just added an Amex OBC so that will bring 5% but with all the shutdowns I'm not sure if using that is a good idea. 5% on Wells Fargo is an option but it only lasts for 6 months and only for one card, they won't give it to the same person again no matter when you apply again (I have not found any success story about a repeat 5%).

Q1 2015 Chase 5% is valid on grocery but excludes WM and Target but you should be able to get GCs at other grocery stores.
nooobFlyer is offline  
Old Jan 4, 2015, 12:47 am
  #7  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 714
Originally Posted by PowerMan572
When you visit your Simon Mall you have to ask the customer service representative. The gift cards not on a rack.
Thanks, had only looked on the rack and saw Amex gcs. I was trying to figure out the safest cards to get and from where since I won't be able to cash them out for a few days.

Originally Posted by Mamibear
if you have DiscoverIT card, activate it for first Q CB offer and buy non vanilla VGCs at 7-11 with gas stations. You'll earn 5% CB up to $1500 purchase.
I have to use my Chase Southwest card but thanks! I used VRs last year and haven't had to ms in a while so learning that VRs are gone is disappointing.
diseased is offline  
Old Jan 5, 2015, 11:51 am
  #8  
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: VA
Posts: 147
Tips for newbies (since I am one)....

I've had plenty of success with VGCs and Kate. I saw my local gas station sold variable MCGCs up to $500. Bought one and tried to unload via Kate. Entered Pin and got the dreaded 9-digit pin screen (from my reading there is no workaround). Tried a different day at the MoneyCenter and got a "tender not allowed" message. Still reading on if I did something wrong there or not.

On a bright note, I only purchased the GC for $50, so I just used it to put gas in my car and learned what doesn't work. Moral of the story.... Start small and see what works!! If this was a $500 GC, I would not have been too happy.
MG49 is offline  
Old Jan 5, 2015, 5:34 pm
  #9  
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,837
Originally Posted by MG49
Tried a different day at the MoneyCenter and got a "tender not allowed" message. Still reading on if I did something wrong there or not.
my walmart updated the POS so right after you swipe your card, hit cancel on the bottom right corner of the screen. you will then get the menu and one of the options is for debit.
lumangoy is offline  
Old Jan 5, 2015, 10:41 pm
  #10  
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 76
Being a newbie, I accidentally bought a Vanilla VISA gift card with PIN (instead of a prepaid debit card). It looks exactly like this (http://saskbiz.com/wp-content/upload...d-fguzchpw.jpg this image is much darker than the real thing).

In the worst case scenario I can simply use it for real spend. But I am wondering if there are ways I can cash out? Thanks!

Last edited by medium_alpaca; Jan 5, 2015 at 11:15 pm
medium_alpaca is offline  
Old Jan 5, 2015, 11:14 pm
  #11  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 437
Originally Posted by medium_alpaca
In the worst case scenario I can simply use it for real spend. But I am wondering if there are ways I can cash out? Thanks!
You should remove your picture. It's huge and distracting in the thread. Everyone already knows what a Vanilla GC looks like.

Your answers are in this thread: Problem loading Bluebird with Vanilla Visa GC
vinhboy is offline  
Old Jan 5, 2015, 11:19 pm
  #12  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
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Originally Posted by vinhboy
Your answers are in this thread
Who says that BB is the only way to liquefy, ahm I mean liquidate a Vanilla GC? There are at least 3 other ways that come to mind. And no, I won't spoil the "search for yourself game" here so no PM please - there's a ton of threads about it.
Julian Brennan is offline  
Old Jan 6, 2015, 3:58 am
  #13  
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Hey folks, can you tell me the best portal to buy AMEX or Visa GC's for points/miles (not cash back)? It looks like on Alaska, I can go to Sears for 2 miles per $1. And then there is a link which goes to giftcard mall and I can buy VISA GC's ($500 denominated) and they only come with a $3.95 fee. However, my concern there is whether I actually get the 2 miles per $1 since Sears is linking me to an external site.
TMM1982 is offline  
Old Jan 6, 2015, 9:09 am
  #14  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Minnesota
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Originally Posted by vinhboy
You should remove your picture. It's huge and distracting in the thread. Everyone already knows what a Vanilla GC looks like.

Your answers are in this thread: Problem loading Bluebird with Vanilla Visa GC
I like picture just fine. Leave it there.
PortlySpartacus is offline  
Old Jan 6, 2015, 9:41 am
  #15  
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
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Originally Posted by vinhboy
You should remove your picture. It's huge and distracting in the thread. Everyone already knows what a Vanilla GC looks like.

Your answers are in this thread: Problem loading Bluebird with Vanilla Visa GC
I didn't know what the Vanilla GC looks like. I didn't even know there was such a card.
txpenny is offline  

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