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Serve - Another Paypal/Amazon payments (2015)

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Old Jan 10, 2015, 8:55 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: ericdabbs
The previous megathread is here.

Read the wiki before posting a question.
It's a literacy test that's easy to pass.


As of April 16, 2015 regular Serve cards will only accept American Express network cards for online credit card loads.
Softcard Serve accounts are apparently grandfathered in the old system and continue to work as before, being able to load Mastercard, Visa, and Discover (see below).


Serve loads count towards minimum spend on AmEx-issued cards, including SPG.

This is the Serve thread. Post questions or information concerning other topics in the appropriate threads elsewhere in this forum.

For additional information on using prepaid debit cards, see PIN available now for Visa/MC prepaid debit cards.


You cannot make an ACH pull from Serve. The direct deposit account and routing numbers are for deposits only.

https://www.serve.com/#/add-cash

If your card doesn't say "debit" on the front, it isn't a debit card.


Loads at 7-11 and CVS are cash only. Debit cards are NOT allowed.

Loads at Walmart have been confirmed with debit cards. Self checkout does not work for loading Serve. Many Walmart stores are enforcing a rule against the use of prepaid debit cards when loading, even though the register and the MCE do not enforce. Do not make your prepaid debit cards visible. Show them a bank debit card if asked, then discreetly use your prepaid card when asked to swipe. Otherwise, you may be asked by management to never visit the MC (Walmart Money Center) again to load.

Debit loading at Family Dollar appears to be limited to $500 per day per store total (not per person or per account). Whoever gets there first gets the load for the day. Troubleshooting loading problems at FD

Regular Serve
  • Serve loading via VR/MP or WM/FD load: $2,500/day and $5,000 total per calendar month
  • Online Debit Card Load - $200/day and $1,000/month [B]
  • Online Credit Card Load (AmEx only) - $200/day and $1,000/month
  • Checking/Savings Account - $2,000/month
  • Checks - $2,000/day and $10,000/month
  • ATM Withdrawals - $750/day and $2,000/month

You can combine the three methods above and load a total of $7k/month to a single Serve account for miles/points earning purposes, but beware that you're also subject to a $10,000/month add money limit which also includes check deposits, ACH transfers, and Serve transfers.

Softcard Serve
Softcard has shutdown and there is no longer any way to apply for this version.
  • Serve loading via VR/MP or WM/FD load: $2,500/day and $5,000 total per calendar month
  • Online Debit Card Load - $500/day and $1,500/month
  • Online Credit Card Load - $500/day and $1,500/month
  • Checking/Savings Account - $2,000/month
  • Checks - $2,000/day and $10,000/month
  • ATM Withdrawals - $750/day and $2,000/month

You can combine the three methods above and load a total of $8k/month to a single Serve account for miles/points earning purposes, but beware that you're also subject to a $10,000/month add money limit which also includes check deposits, ACH transfers, and Serve transfers.

Temp Serve
You can only load a maximum of $500/day, $1000/month on a temporary card. Once you get your permanent card, then you can load more. The initial $500 when you purchase the temp card doesn't count against the $5,000/month load limit.

OneVip Card: (Mucho gracias, AndrewTheMan)
This card is essentially just like the regular, fee-free, "old" serve. You may reload this card up to $2,500/day; $1,000/transaction at Walmart (not impacted by Blue Bird daily limit change). Have not tested FD or anywhere else. KATE takes this no problems..
You can use this to load the FIDO AMEX up to 1k a month.

Limits for online debit card and credit card loads reset at 9 PM PST/12 AM EST

Online Credit Card Loads
Only one card can be linked at a time.

For online CC/DC loads, the name on the Serve account is supposed to match the name of the primary or joint cardholder. So using someone else's CC/DB card to load a Serve account is not allowed.

A few report no problems loading with an AU card in the Serve account holder's name. Increase your chances by making sure the AUs social security number is on file with the Credit Card.

When adding a new card you will usually need to call Serve Account security (1-800-555-4318) for verification of the new card on the second load try. This verification usually requires uploading of a photo of your ID and the credit card. You may pre-emptively avoid the error by going to the above website, logging in, and uploading a scan of a photo ID and the card you are trying to add. You may call back to expedite approval. One person with a Serve/Softcard account reported being sent to the main Serve number for this process.

https://www.serve.com/help/#add-money-5

Regular Serve Credit Card Loading

Regular Serve can only load from American Express network cards. In addition to those issued directly by American Express, this includes the following:
  • AAA Rewards AmEx
  • Alitalia AmEx
  • Bank of America Accelerated Rewards AmEx
  • Bank of America Asiana Airlines AmEx
  • Bank of Hawaii AmEx Card with MyBankoh Rewards
  • Bloomingdale's AmEx
  • Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select AmEx
  • Citi Dividend AmEx (not obtainable unless specifically requested)
  • Citi Thank You Preferred AmEx (not obtainable unless specifically requested)
  • Dillard's AmEx
  • FNBO AmEx
  • FNBO Graphite AmEx
  • FNBO Platinum AmEx
  • Macy's AmEx
  • Penfed Premium Travel Rewards AmEx
  • SavingStar AmEx
  • Travelocity AmEx
  • US Bank Flexperks AmEx
  • USAA Cash Rewards/Rewards Plus AmEx
  • Wells Fargo Propel World/365 AmEx

Softcard Serve Credit Card Loading

If you are fortunate enough to be grandfathered into a Softcard Serve Account, you can also load other credit cards beside American Express cards. Softcard Serve is not available to new applicants anymore so you'll need to get one of the other Serve options if you don't already have one. In general, Mastercard and American Express cards post as purchases. Visa cards transact as a cash advance and, therefore, require available CA limit; although most cards post as a purchase.

Treated as purchase, earns cashback/points/miles:
  • Bank of America (FIA) (MasterCard, American Express)
  • Barclaycard (Mastercard, Visa)
  • Capital One (Mastercard, Visa)
  • Chase (MasterCard, Visa)
  • Citi (MasterCard, American Express)
  • Discover
  • Wells Fargo (American Express)

Treated as purchase, but doesn't earn points/miles:
  • American Express issued (Counts toward minimum spend -- see post #434) but does not earn points. Example: For the Delta Amex card, Serve counts towards min spend DL miles sign-up bonus, but that spend and subsequent trials of spend on Serve will not earn points. Don't do it, man!

Posts as a cash advance:
The Chase Ink Bold is a charge card and has no cash advance ability.

A few report being unable to add the Chase IHG MC.

Online Debit Card Loads
For online debit load, only use of bank-issued cards is allowed. The use of pre-paid debit cards (Netspend, Paypower, Univision, Paypal, etc.) and VGC/MGC/AGCs is not allowed. While initial transactions may work, your account will eventually be flagged.

Switching to Serve
Helpful instruction post, latest. Thanks raeneye.

Also see this thread: Switching from Serve to BlueBird - 31 day wait???

Switching from BB to Serve
  1. Login to BB account, bring account balance to Zero, (By Bill Pay, Send money, etc..)
  2. Call BB, tell them that you want to open a serve account and close your current BB account. after they check everything they will say something like: "Your account will be permanently closed after 31 days, you can reopen it within 31 day if you change your mind, and you can apply for your new Serve account now, just make sure use the exact same register info from BB."
  3. at this point BB is closed. next morning, goto CVS and get a temporary Serve card (only with cash), load $500, ($2.95 waived, Yeah!!)
  4. get back home, register temporary Serve online, First error: "phone number already registered, please try a different number" could be the my BB's ghost account still showing up on their system, could be my info is not match my BB's registration? i'm not really sure at this point. What I did is keep the same number but change from Cell phone to home phone. and registration went through
  5. after the register and login, second error: "We're still processing your application. Please check your email for an update"
  6. I have see people on the thread reported waiting for weeks for the same message, So, I pickup the phone and called them, ask them to speed up the process.
  7. CSR, told me that my account went to "account security protection department" transfer me to them.
  8. at account security protection department, they told me need to call back on my phone number which I registered to verify.
  9. after the call back of verification, CSR told me that my new Serve account is active now, email address verification will be send with in 5 minutes, permanent card will be received within 7-10 days.
  10. CSR also told me the I can load and spend on the temporary card, but not bill pay.

Switching from Redbird is presumably similar. See the RedCard thread for more information.

The number to call to approve your registration after closing Bluebird: Serve Account security 1-800-555-4318

Loading with debit card at Walmart register
Loads at register over $500 will sometimes trigger ID requirement. There is a limit of four swipes per transaction; this means your card plus three payments.

Training a WM cashier:
  • If the WM cashier doesn't know how to load the card, advise them to enter "70" then press "action code".
  • If you are using a temp card that doesn't have your name on it, you can swipe the card from your side of the terminal. The WM rep never has to touch any of your cards. The screen will say "enter account." That is your prompt to slide the card.
  • The terminal will ask the WM employee if you are loading in multiples of $2000. Advise them to enter "no."
  • Avoid saying gift card. Always refer to your card as a debit card.

Error Messages:
DEBIT NOT AVAILABLE
Received when I used a card I thought I had activated but hadn't.

DEBIT NOT APPROVED
Received when the card's monthly load limit had been reached.

TENDER NOT ALLOWED
Card was incorrectly read, or wrong PIN entered.

HOST TIMEOUT
Connection problems. The GC may be drained but the transaction should reverse itself, and funds will become available again. Try again later.

Using Serve
For online bill pay
  • You can pay the credit card that you used to buy VRs/GCs
  • Error 1302 means that you have 1 pending payment the same amount as the one you just submitted. For example, 1000 bill pay to sapphire preferred from Friday and then on Saturday you submit another bill pay for 1000 to sapphire preferred, you will get this error.
  • Tip: if using online bill pay to the same place multiple times, vary your amounts by $0.01 to make it easier to track since your confirmation number does not match the tracking number on your credit card statement

For bank transfers
Under Settings --> Funding & Transfers --> Bank & Cards --> U.S. Bank Account, you can add your bank info and transfer funds from your Serve card directly to your bank. The bank account must be verified, either by the standard "deposit 2 small sums into your account, such as $0.23 & $0.42" method, or doing an "instant verification" by actually logging into your bank account while still logged into Serve.
===

People with an apartment address can find helpful information quoted in post #7
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Serve - Another Paypal/Amazon payments (2015)

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Old Jun 22, 2015, 4:16 pm
  #1621  
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 1,112
Originally Posted by BalisongAddict
Anyone have any experience with BOA closing your Fidelity Amex or Serve closing your account when MSing $1000 a month through Serve? I searched the thread and couldn't find anything, so hopefully that is good news.
It seems very few people in general have been shutdown with the Fidelity card. The only sorry I've heard is in the shutdown thread. It should be fine to MS with the card that way.
Phantom707 is offline  
Old Jun 22, 2015, 5:50 pm
  #1622  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: Hyatt Diamond, Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 275
Hi everyone, a follow up question on meeting spend requirements with Serve. I asked whether Serve load can meet initial spend requirements and was told yes. Today I checked both my wife and my accounts, my wife already got the 50K Delta miles deposited into her account with regular spend meeting the requirements but miles weren't deposited into mine (I satisfied the spend requirements with both Serve load and regular spend).

The statement for both accounts were closed yet but I wonder if this indicates that Serve load doesn't count toward initial spend requirement anymore. I don't mind not to get the 1 miles per $1 spend but would love to make sure meeting the initial spend and getting the 50K.

Anyone else got problem with using non-soft Serve account to load and meet initial spend for getting sign-up bonus? Thanks for any tip and help. Have a great day
NttDocomo is offline  
Old Jun 22, 2015, 10:38 pm
  #1623  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: HH Diamond, Hyatt Diamond, IHG Platinum, Marriott Silver
Posts: 252
Originally Posted by NttDocomo
Hi everyone, a follow up question on meeting spend requirements with Serve. I asked whether Serve load can meet initial spend requirements and was told yes. Today I checked both my wife and my accounts, my wife already got the 50K Delta miles deposited into her account with regular spend meeting the requirements but miles weren't deposited into mine (I satisfied the spend requirements with both Serve load and regular spend).

The statement for both accounts were closed yet but I wonder if this indicates that Serve load doesn't count toward initial spend requirement anymore. I don't mind not to get the 1 miles per $1 spend but would love to make sure meeting the initial spend and getting the 50K.

Anyone else got problem with using non-soft Serve account to load and meet initial spend for getting sign-up bonus? Thanks for any tip and help. Have a great day
Did the statement mention your earned the bonus miles? It may just be delayed in transferring over. My Amex Hilton was used to meet bonus through Serve only just a few weeks ago (and my wife's as well) and both of us had miles post.
knowledgeispower is offline  
Old Jun 23, 2015, 8:01 am
  #1624  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Programs: AA is all for now.
Posts: 77
I'm sure this is somewhere in the last 108 pages, but its not in the wiki and I don't have the patience. If I am signing up for a serve card for someone who lives in NY, but they want the card sent to me in FL due to more MS opportunities, can I use their name and information but my address when I register the card? Or do I need to first have it sent to their address, and then have them mail it to me?
Anomalychick is offline  
Old Jun 23, 2015, 9:47 am
  #1625  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: Hyatt Diamond, Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 275
Originally Posted by knowledgeispower
Did the statement mention your earned the bonus miles? It may just be delayed in transferring over. My Amex Hilton was used to meet bonus through Serve only just a few weeks ago (and my wife's as well) and both of us had miles post.
Thanks knowledgeispower for your response. The statement of both my wife and my account haven't closed. But the Delta miles shown in her account (both in Delta and Amex web page) are updated with the 50K bonus miles. While my accounts were not updated. We both spent over the requirement, just that I spent a small portion with Serve while she spent all with regular spending. I was trying to experiment if Serve works for initial spend and hope it goes through. But so far not looking good.

Anyone has the same issue or experience. Again thanks for any tip and help.
NttDocomo is offline  
Old Jun 23, 2015, 1:40 pm
  #1626  
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 2
I have a serve card through Softcard, so i can use visa or mastercards.

Can anyone confirm if either of the following cards post as cash advances:

TD Ameritrade Client Rewards Visa
Citibank Hilton HHonors Visa
hanistor is offline  
Old Jun 23, 2015, 1:51 pm
  #1627  
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 357
Originally Posted by Anomalychick
I'm sure this is somewhere in the last 108 pages, but its not in the wiki and I don't have the patience. If I am signing up for a serve card for someone who lives in NY, but they want the card sent to me in FL due to more MS opportunities, can I use their name and information but my address when I register the card? Or do I need to first have it sent to their address, and then have them mail it to me?
Second option. I believe they do a soft pull and might flag your application if there is a different address.
22calbr is offline  
Old Jun 23, 2015, 3:03 pm
  #1628  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: CMH, West Coast
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, oneworld emerald
Posts: 2,741
Originally Posted by NttDocomo
Thanks knowledgeispower for your response. The statement of both my wife and my account haven't closed. But the Delta miles shown in her account (both in Delta and Amex web page) are updated with the 50K bonus miles. While my accounts were not updated. We both spent over the requirement, just that I spent a small portion with Serve while she spent all with regular spending. I was trying to experiment if Serve works for initial spend and hope it goes through. But so far not looking good.

Anyone has the same issue or experience. Again thanks for any tip and help.
Please do keep us updated. I was planning on doing the same thing with my new Delta Gold Amex.
nineworldseries is offline  
Old Jun 23, 2015, 9:32 pm
  #1629  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: Hyatt Diamond, Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 275
Originally Posted by knowledgeispower
Did the statement mention your earned the bonus miles? It may just be delayed in transferring over. My Amex Hilton was used to meet bonus through Serve only just a few weeks ago (and my wife's as well) and both of us had miles post.
Hi knowledgeispower, to follow up on your response, did you use Serve load to satisfy initial spend, then not use the card again for regular spend? I wonder if you got the bonus because your later spending satisfy the spend? Thanks.
NttDocomo is offline  
Old Jun 23, 2015, 10:55 pm
  #1630  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: HH Diamond, Hyatt Diamond, IHG Platinum, Marriott Silver
Posts: 252
Originally Posted by NttDocomo
Hi knowledgeispower, to follow up on your response, did you use Serve load to satisfy initial spend, then not use the card again for regular spend? I wonder if you got the bonus because your later spending satisfy the spend? Thanks.
Both cards were not used for any purchases other than Serve loads so it had to be because of Serve. I did the loads on June 1st and June 2nd and the points posted after about a week or so from that.
knowledgeispower is offline  
Old Jun 23, 2015, 11:48 pm
  #1631  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 19
Originally Posted by NttDocomo

The statement for both accounts were closed yet but I wonder if this indicates that Serve load doesn't count toward initial spend requirement anymore. I don't mind not to get the 1 miles per $1 spend but would love to make sure meeting the initial spend and getting the 50K.

Anyone else got problem with using non-soft Serve account to load and meet initial spend for getting sign-up bonus? Thanks for any tip and help. Have a great day
This concerns me a bit because I'm trying to use Serve to meet the minimum spend on my husband's Delta Amex. Are you totally sure that her billing cycle hasn't closed yet? I hit my minimum spend on my new Skymiles Amex (not using Serve) two weeks ago, and there is no bonus showing in my account. I've never had the miles post to my account before the statement has closed.
pennstate94 is offline  
Old Jun 24, 2015, 2:30 pm
  #1632  
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 102
Do Nationwide Visa Buxx cards work for KATE or counter loads?
Light is offline  
Old Jun 24, 2015, 2:59 pm
  #1633  
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,503
Originally Posted by pennstate94
This concerns me a bit because I'm trying to use Serve to meet the minimum spend on my husband's Delta Amex. Are you totally sure that her billing cycle hasn't closed yet? I hit my minimum spend on my new Skymiles Amex (not using Serve) two weeks ago, and there is no bonus showing in my account. I've never had the miles post to my account before the statement has closed.
Chill out. Let your statement post before you start worrying. CC companies do not have instant flags where the second you hit that minimum spend the bonus is awarded to you. Most of the time the bonus is given to you on your next statement. Its not like you are going to cancel the card right away so why fret?
ericdabbs is online now  
Old Jun 24, 2015, 3:28 pm
  #1634  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: CMH, West Coast
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, oneworld emerald
Posts: 2,741
Originally Posted by ericdabbs
Chill out. Let your statement post before you start worrying. CC companies do not have instant flags where the second you hit that minimum spend the bonus is awarded to you.
Actually, they do, and I'm sure AMEX does, because that's exactly what happened with my Starwood AMEX. Points posted the day after I hit the spend, not when the statement closed. I'm not saying that the Delta AMEX works the same way, though, because apparently it doesn't.
nineworldseries is offline  
Old Jun 24, 2015, 4:35 pm
  #1635  
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: EWR-SEA-IAD
Programs: UA 1P MM, AS MVP G*, SPG Gold, Hyatt Plat, IHG Plat, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 977
Amex is inconsistent with bonus point posting. For my spg it posted instantly but took 2 months for my prg card. Both used softserve to meet min spend.
HGHUA is offline  


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