Jan 7, 2016, 8:18 am
Last edit by: RedSun
This is the 2016 and onwards Bluebird thread.
The original discussion. The previous 2013- 2014 megathread. The previous 2015 megathread.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Read the wiki before posting a question.
The most recent huge wave of shutdowns occurred in May 2019.
Most accounts used for MS were shut down on Jan 8, 2016. Another wave of shutdowns occurred on March 4, 2016. Using Bluebird for MS is very likely to lead to account closure. There is no clear pattern as to how to avoid the account shut-downs. Some of the dormant accounts were not shut down.
Check your BB load limits BEFORE asking in this thread about "tender not allowed" or any other errors.
Bluebird website. There's no need to buy a Bluebird kit in-store; sign-up free on the website.
For information on switching from BB to Serve, see the Serve thread wiki.
Bluebird Load Limits:
The cash load limit for a temp card is $1,500 total.
*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. Your account will be flagged upon first/second attempt. If blocked, call Account Protection Services at 1-800-660-2454 to clear it (9am-8pm EST, Mon-Fri).
The day currently resets around midnight Eastern/11pm Central/10pm Mountain/9pm Pacific.
For online bill pay
Loading with debit card at Walmart
Self checkout does not work for loading.
Many Walmart stores are enforcing a rule against the use of gift 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. Otherwise, you may be asked by management to never visit the MC again to load with gift cards.
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.
If your card doesn't say "debit" on the front, it isn't a debit card.
Please see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manuf...bit-cards.html for additional information on using prepaid debit cards.
Training a WM cashier:
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.
The original discussion. The previous 2013- 2014 megathread. The previous 2015 megathread.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Read the wiki before posting a question.
The most recent huge wave of shutdowns occurred in May 2019.
Most accounts used for MS were shut down on Jan 8, 2016. Another wave of shutdowns occurred on March 4, 2016. Using Bluebird for MS is very likely to lead to account closure. There is no clear pattern as to how to avoid the account shut-downs. Some of the dormant accounts were not shut down.
Check your BB load limits BEFORE asking in this thread about "tender not allowed" or any other errors.
Bluebird website. There's no need to buy a Bluebird kit in-store; sign-up free on the website.
For information on switching from BB to Serve, see the Serve thread wiki.
Bluebird Load Limits:
- Cash loading: $2,500 ($1,999.99 at Walmart) per card per day; $9,000 per day all BB cards combined; $5,000 total per calendar month each card; $10,000 calendar month and $100,000 per year all BB cards combined for each SSN.
- Direct Deposit: $100,000 per year
- Online Debit Card Load* - $200/day and $1,000/month
- Checking/Savings Account - $2,000/month
- Mobile Check Capture by Ingo® Money - $5,000/day and $10,000/month
- ATM Withdrawals - $750/day and $2,000/month
The cash load limit for a temp card is $1,500 total.
*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. Your account will be flagged upon first/second attempt. If blocked, call Account Protection Services at 1-800-660-2454 to clear it (9am-8pm EST, Mon-Fri).
The day currently resets around midnight Eastern/11pm Central/10pm Mountain/9pm Pacific.
For online bill pay
- You can pay the credit card that you used to buy reloads
- 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
Loading with debit card at Walmart
Self checkout does not work for loading.
Many Walmart stores are enforcing a rule against the use of gift 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. Otherwise, you may be asked by management to never visit the MC again to load with gift cards.
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.
If your card doesn't say "debit" on the front, it isn't a debit card.
Please see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manuf...bit-cards.html for additional information on using prepaid debit cards.
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.
Bluebird master thread (2016 onwards)
Jan 12, 2019, 8:49 pm
#676
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 3,688
I'm not sure FD can load BB but if they do, they may charge fees up to $4.94 per transaction. If you load BB and Serve at WM, there is no fee.
Jan 14, 2019, 8:26 am
#678
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 825
I used to have serve card 2-3 years ago, was shut down during the slaughtering. Not able to sign since then. When I call customer service number you can't directly talk to rep unless you have existing account etc, does anyone have their customer service number and talk to a human to find out what it is the reason , the application for new card won't be approved online?
Jan 14, 2019, 11:46 am
#679
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: Continental Onepass, Hilton, Marriott, USAir and now UA
Posts: 6,423
I used to have serve card 2-3 years ago, was shut down during the slaughtering. Not able to sign since then. When I call customer service number you can't directly talk to rep unless you have existing account etc, does anyone have their customer service number and talk to a human to find out what it is the reason , the application for new card won't be approved online?
Jan 16, 2019, 3:55 am
#680
Join Date: Mar 2011
Programs: AA CO
Posts: 29
Hi everyone,
I am sharing my experience and seeking help here regarding my bluebird cash reload at Walgreens.
I forgot that my bluebird was shutdown in Jan 2016 and lost the ability to add money. I did not close the account when I zeroed out the balance. I still have access to my account on Bluebird.com.
On Dec 3, 2018, I went to Walgreens and loaded $1000 cash to my bluebird card, two transactions, $500 each. The transactions went through but the money never showed up on my account.
I called and filed a dispute. I uploaded the Walgreens cash reload receipts as I was told. Several days later I got an email saying my dispute has been declined and no credit is due on my account, and the investigation is closed.
I called again, the agents from the dispute team were not helpful. They keep saying they could not verified my claim and that's it. They asked me to contact Walgreens, and I did. The Walgreens says, "take a look at the back of receipt", which says "Keep your receipt as proof of your reload. Check with your card provider for your updated account balance. Stores cannot provide refunds or exchanges".
There’s something I forgot to mention. I did receive a replacement card (and I activated the new card) about 6-8 months ago and that’s the one I used on Dec 3, 2018 at Walgreens. I believe the old card (the original card) has expired.
Any suggestion is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
I am sharing my experience and seeking help here regarding my bluebird cash reload at Walgreens.
I forgot that my bluebird was shutdown in Jan 2016 and lost the ability to add money. I did not close the account when I zeroed out the balance. I still have access to my account on Bluebird.com.
On Dec 3, 2018, I went to Walgreens and loaded $1000 cash to my bluebird card, two transactions, $500 each. The transactions went through but the money never showed up on my account.
I called and filed a dispute. I uploaded the Walgreens cash reload receipts as I was told. Several days later I got an email saying my dispute has been declined and no credit is due on my account, and the investigation is closed.
I called again, the agents from the dispute team were not helpful. They keep saying they could not verified my claim and that's it. They asked me to contact Walgreens, and I did. The Walgreens says, "take a look at the back of receipt", which says "Keep your receipt as proof of your reload. Check with your card provider for your updated account balance. Stores cannot provide refunds or exchanges".
There’s something I forgot to mention. I did receive a replacement card (and I activated the new card) about 6-8 months ago and that’s the one I used on Dec 3, 2018 at Walgreens. I believe the old card (the original card) has expired.
Any suggestion is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Jan 16, 2019, 9:14 am
#681
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 3,688
I forgot that my bluebird was shutdown in Jan 2016 and lost the ability to add money. I did not close the account when I zeroed out the balance. I still have access to my account on Bluebird.com.
On Dec 3, 2018, I went to Walgreens and loaded $1000 cash to my bluebird card, two transactions, $500 each. The transactions went through but the money never showed up on my account.
I called and filed a dispute. I uploaded the Walgreens cash reload receipts as I was told. Several days later I got an email saying my dispute has been declined and no credit is due on my account, and the investigation is closed.
I called again, the agents from the dispute team were not helpful. They keep saying they could not verified my claim and that's it. They asked me to contact Walgreens, and I did. The Walgreens says, "take a look at the back of receipt", which says "Keep your receipt as proof of your reload. Check with your card provider for your updated account balance. Stores cannot provide refunds or exchanges".
There’s something I forgot to mention. I did receive a replacement card (and I activated the new card) about 6-8 months ago and that’s the one I used on Dec 3, 2018 at Walgreens. I believe the old card (the original card) has expired.
On Dec 3, 2018, I went to Walgreens and loaded $1000 cash to my bluebird card, two transactions, $500 each. The transactions went through but the money never showed up on my account.
I called and filed a dispute. I uploaded the Walgreens cash reload receipts as I was told. Several days later I got an email saying my dispute has been declined and no credit is due on my account, and the investigation is closed.
I called again, the agents from the dispute team were not helpful. They keep saying they could not verified my claim and that's it. They asked me to contact Walgreens, and I did. The Walgreens says, "take a look at the back of receipt", which says "Keep your receipt as proof of your reload. Check with your card provider for your updated account balance. Stores cannot provide refunds or exchanges".
There’s something I forgot to mention. I did receive a replacement card (and I activated the new card) about 6-8 months ago and that’s the one I used on Dec 3, 2018 at Walgreens. I believe the old card (the original card) has expired.
Since you loaded with cash at WAG (did you pay a fee for each load? how much?), if I were you I'd focus effort on getting with WAG HQ by looking for the district office's phone number and talk to the district manager that covers the store you made the transactions. It is WAG that can trace where your money went to. Usually, stores do NOT provide refunds or exchanges when it comes to prepaid card transactions but since you have a receipt that WAG accepted your cash, WAG should be the one to trace where it is now. This may be a long battle for you where you have to spend a lot of time to follow up on your case. Once you talk to the District manager and you're still getting the run around treatment, your last resort is file a complaint with CFPB. However, don't expect guarantees the CFPB will/can get your money back.
On a side note, why did you attempt to load your account with cash, pay a fee just to load and why choose WAG? If you had BB in the past, I assume you loaded them for free at WM? What you did was quite unusual which I'm sure you have your reasons for doing so, unfortunately the money is now in limbo. I don't think Incomm, which took over Amex, will assist you in getting your funds since your account has been disallowed to accept loads.
Regarding replacement card you received 6 months ago and were able to activate it, didn't you say you zeroed out balance back in 2016? Even if old card has expired with an account that is NOT close, the replacement card may be activated but it doesn't mean you can load funds to it again. I'm wondering why you decided to load a huge amount without checking status of the card? I know hindsight is 20/20, good luck in getting your money back.
Jan 17, 2019, 5:14 am
#682
Join Date: Mar 2011
Programs: AA CO
Posts: 29
I bolded the salient points of your case.
Since you loaded with cash at WAG (did you pay a fee for each load? how much?), if I were you I'd focus effort on getting with WAG HQ by looking for the district office's phone number and talk to the district manager that covers the store you made the transactions. It is WAG that can trace where your money went to. Usually, stores do NOT provide refunds or exchanges when it comes to prepaid card transactions but since you have a receipt that WAG accepted your cash, WAG should be the one to trace where it is now. This may be a long battle for you where you have to spend a lot of time to follow up on your case. Once you talk to the District manager and you're still getting the run around treatment, your last resort is file a complaint with CFPB. However, don't expect guarantees the CFPB will/can get your money back.
On a side note, why did you attempt to load your account with cash, pay a fee just to load and why choose WAG? If you had BB in the past, I assume you loaded them for free at WM? What you did was quite unusual which I'm sure you have your reasons for doing so, unfortunately the money is now in limbo. I don't think Incomm, which took over Amex, will assist you in getting your funds since your account has been disallowed to accept loads.
Regarding replacement card you received 6 months ago and were able to activate it, didn't you say you zeroed out balance back in 2016? Even if old card has expired with an account that is NOT close, the replacement card may be activated but it doesn't mean you can load funds to it again. I'm wondering why you decided to load a huge amount without checking status of the card? I know hindsight is 20/20, good luck in getting your money back.
Since you loaded with cash at WAG (did you pay a fee for each load? how much?), if I were you I'd focus effort on getting with WAG HQ by looking for the district office's phone number and talk to the district manager that covers the store you made the transactions. It is WAG that can trace where your money went to. Usually, stores do NOT provide refunds or exchanges when it comes to prepaid card transactions but since you have a receipt that WAG accepted your cash, WAG should be the one to trace where it is now. This may be a long battle for you where you have to spend a lot of time to follow up on your case. Once you talk to the District manager and you're still getting the run around treatment, your last resort is file a complaint with CFPB. However, don't expect guarantees the CFPB will/can get your money back.
On a side note, why did you attempt to load your account with cash, pay a fee just to load and why choose WAG? If you had BB in the past, I assume you loaded them for free at WM? What you did was quite unusual which I'm sure you have your reasons for doing so, unfortunately the money is now in limbo. I don't think Incomm, which took over Amex, will assist you in getting your funds since your account has been disallowed to accept loads.
Regarding replacement card you received 6 months ago and were able to activate it, didn't you say you zeroed out balance back in 2016? Even if old card has expired with an account that is NOT close, the replacement card may be activated but it doesn't mean you can load funds to it again. I'm wondering why you decided to load a huge amount without checking status of the card? I know hindsight is 20/20, good luck in getting your money back.
I needed to use bluebird to transfer money to my new checking account (which is reportedly counted as direct deposit) to get the bonus. Walmart is too far, Walgreens is 2 minutes walking from my house, so I did it at Walgreens. I did activate the new card after I received it.
Jan 17, 2019, 1:05 pm
#683
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 3,688
I needed to use bluebird to transfer money to my new checking account (which is reportedly counted as direct deposit) to get the bonus. Walmart is too far, Walgreens is 2 minutes walking from my house, so I did it at Walgreens. I did activate the new card after I received it.
As I said, hindsight is 20/20, your cash is in limbo right now; you'll have to act quickly for better chance to retrieve it. Keep us posted if you were able to retrieve it from WAG. Hopefully, others will be careful in loading cash to any type of prepaid reloadables.
Jan 17, 2019, 7:22 pm
#685
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: Continental Onepass, Hilton, Marriott, USAir and now UA
Posts: 6,423
I suspect that the answer is no. The only advantage of making the attempt on line is that you save the $2.95 or $3.95 that it costs to buy a temporary card at WM and then find out that you cannot register the temporary card.
Mar 10, 2019, 6:05 pm
#686
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 198
Is there a yearly load limit?. The wiki didn't say anything about yearly limit. Or should i assume its 10K/month (per wiki) x12= 120K/year across all cards /SSN?.
Mar 10, 2019, 7:59 pm
#687
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 291
https://www.bluebird.com/faqs/#fees-and-limits
Last edited by zenride; Mar 10, 2019 at 8:05 pm
Mar 13, 2019, 7:52 am
#688
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 198
I tried to load the Style Everywhere card at WM by split tender 200x3. The first 2 worked and the last not sure what happened, the receipt printed out saying Debit not available. The whole transaction reversed on all cards. I checked the SE cards and all show load and reversal. I tried just one SE card later and it said Debit not authorized. After a day tried again with $195 load - same message. Any idea what could be the issue. I haven't tried a regular debit/regular VGC. WIll try that later today.
Mar 13, 2019, 11:56 am
#689
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: Continental Onepass, Hilton, Marriott, USAir and now UA
Posts: 6,423
I tried to load the Style Everywhere card at WM by split tender 200x3. The first 2 worked and the last not sure what happened, the receipt printed out saying Debit not available. The whole transaction reversed on all cards. I checked the SE cards and all show load and reversal. I tried just one SE card later and it said Debit not authorized. After a day tried again with $195 load - same message. Any idea what could be the issue. I haven't tried a regular debit/regular VGC. WIll try that later today.
First, BB may simply not take SE cards.
Second. You may have reached a loading limit on your BB card and therefore your transactions were reversed.
Third. Maybe WG's does not allow BB loading with SE cards
Fourth. Maybe your SE card is either defective or not actually loaded to the amount you think it is.
Fifth. Maybe your BB card has been beheaded and you are not able to load your BB card any longer.
There are ways to find out the answer to all the above. Just let us know what the ultimate answer was, for our records
Mar 14, 2019, 6:41 am
#690
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 198
I presume that you are talking BB card here. There are several explanations that are possible for your situation.
First, BB may simply not take SE cards.
Second. You may have reached a loading limit on your BB card and therefore your transactions were reversed.
Third. Maybe WG's does not allow BB loading with SE cards
Fourth. Maybe your SE card is either defective or not actually loaded to the amount you think it is.
Fifth. Maybe your BB card has been beheaded and you are not able to load your BB card any longer.
There are ways to find out the answer to all the above. Just let us know what the ultimate answer was, for our records
First, BB may simply not take SE cards.
Second. You may have reached a loading limit on your BB card and therefore your transactions were reversed.
Third. Maybe WG's does not allow BB loading with SE cards
Fourth. Maybe your SE card is either defective or not actually loaded to the amount you think it is.
Fifth. Maybe your BB card has been beheaded and you are not able to load your BB card any longer.
There are ways to find out the answer to all the above. Just let us know what the ultimate answer was, for our records