Jan 9, 2016, 6:55 pm
Last edit by: ChrisFlyer66
This wiki is to an old thread and is no longer current and is no longer being maintained and/or updated.
Note: the 2015 version of the thread is here: New to Manufactured spending? Start Here(2015)
The 2017 discussion is here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1812407-new-manufactured-spending-start-here-2017-a.html#post27694982
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
Note: the 2015 version of the thread is here: New to Manufactured spending? Start Here(2015)
The 2017 discussion is here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1812407-new-manufactured-spending-start-here-2017-a.html#post27694982
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
New to Manufactured Spending? Start Here (2016)
Dec 12, 2016, 5:19 pm
#557
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: NY
Posts: 523
Please excuse me being a newb at MS; hopefully this is the right place to ask a question.
I would love to pay down my BoA mortgage and earn Amex or Chase points, but they won't take a credit card
.
I tried to follow some strategies I read here, such as ordering Simon mall GC online in order to buy a MO at Walmart, but they arrived without a name - guessing that won't work? Is there a better way?
Thank you in advance!
I would love to pay down my BoA mortgage and earn Amex or Chase points, but they won't take a credit card
. I tried to follow some strategies I read here, such as ordering Simon mall GC online in order to buy a MO at Walmart, but they arrived without a name - guessing that won't work? Is there a better way?
Thank you in advance!
Dec 13, 2016, 1:54 am
#558
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 910
Please excuse me being a newb at MS; hopefully this is the right place to ask a question.
I would love to pay down my BoA mortgage and earn Amex or Chase points, but they won't take a credit card.
I tried to follow some strategies I read here, such as ordering Simon mall GC online in order to buy a MO at Walmart, but they arrived without a name - guessing that won't work? Is there a better way?
Thank you in advance!
I would love to pay down my BoA mortgage and earn Amex or Chase points, but they won't take a credit card
. I tried to follow some strategies I read here, such as ordering Simon mall GC online in order to buy a MO at Walmart, but they arrived without a name - guessing that won't work? Is there a better way?
Thank you in advance!
Dec 13, 2016, 3:59 pm
#559
Join Date: Dec 2016
Posts: 7
Hi not really sure if this is the right place to ask but does anyone have any advice for selling gift cards online? I'm trying to sell american airlines gift cards that I don't need. Thanks!
Dec 21, 2016, 8:51 am
#561
formerly oyalkut
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: New York
Programs: Delta SM
Posts: 89
Tried last night, but failed due to (I'm guessing) a rookie mistake. No one asked for my card, it was just a swipe system.....which asked me for a PIN! I didn't realize I needed it.
The CS ladies were trying to help me, so I gave them my card in hopes of a solution. The response was "you cant pay with a credit card". I was thinking to point out that it says DEBIT right on the front, but decided not to get into it with them. Went home and called the bank to set up a pin. I guess I will try again, unless there is something else I'm missing?
Dec 21, 2016, 9:00 am
#562
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 3,688
Tried last night, but failed due to (I'm guessing) a rookie mistake. No one asked for my card, it was just a swipe system.....which asked me for a PIN! I didn't realize I needed it.
The CS ladies were trying to help me, so I gave them my card in hopes of a solution. The response was "you cant pay with a credit card". I was thinking to point out that it says DEBIT right on the front, but decided not to get into it with them. Went home and called the bank to set up a pin. I guess I will try again, unless there is something else I'm missing?
The CS ladies were trying to help me, so I gave them my card in hopes of a solution. The response was "you cant pay with a credit card". I was thinking to point out that it says DEBIT right on the front, but decided not to get into it with them. Went home and called the bank to set up a pin. I guess I will try again, unless there is something else I'm missing?
Good luck on your next try, you'll get better at it as you go along
Dec 21, 2016, 9:08 am
#563
formerly oyalkut
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: New York
Programs: Delta SM
Posts: 89
keep in mind that when you're processing the card as debit, the PIN screen will come up. If card is issued by metabank (you'll find the issuer at the back of the card/or packaging), it's usually the last 4 numbers of the card; do NOT make the mistake of buying MO at WM with a VANILLA debit card since it won't go through for amounts >49.99. You can use the Vanilla debit at USPS but I have no experience with it, I just read it's still working there.
Good luck on your next try, you'll get better at it as you go along
Good luck on your next try, you'll get better at it as you go along
Thanks! I bought the Simon Mall gift cards, which are issued by MetaBank. Purchasing MO at WM. Does that mean I should use the last 4 digit of the card as a PIN, or use the PIN I called in to set up yesterday over the phone?
Dec 21, 2016, 10:32 am
#564
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, MLife Gold, Marriott Gold, HHonors Gold, Caesars Diamond, Amex Plat
Posts: 5,940
If you set up a PIN, then use that. The default PIN if you do not set up one is the last four digits of card.
Dec 22, 2016, 12:15 am
#565
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: SF
Programs: Elite status at local McDonalds, Carwash, and Post Office
Posts: 51
So once I have the MO in my DCU account, how fast do you move the money out? I'm guessing immediately, as in bill pay. How many times can you pay the same credit card per month, or do you just wait for the statement and pay the statement balance?
Dec 22, 2016, 5:01 am
#566
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 483
You can bill pay right away and there isn't a limit from your own account that I know of.
Dec 22, 2016, 10:23 am
#567
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: SF
Programs: Elite status at local McDonalds, Carwash, and Post Office
Posts: 51
I understand this is a slow paced thing, at what point can you start buying more VGC's from GC.com so that your CC company doesn't raise an eyebrow? I would also do some regular spend on my cards as well just to blend things in, but I hear people spending 100k a month on gift cards and I just can't fathom these CC companies allowing that.
Dec 22, 2016, 11:32 am
#568
Join Date: Dec 2016
Posts: 1
Cards that ALLOW / prohibit MS ???
Hey fellow credit addicts - newbie here. So I have been reading a TON about MS lately and how some issuers freak out and close your card.. Thing is, I want to get my end of year Reward deals on a few cards and just maximize rewards in general on some other cards but am worried about AA. The issuers in question are: Barclays (Lol, probably most risky?), Capital One (read a couple account closures here lately although the OPs were not very informative as to what they did to cause it), and Discover. My CL on Barclay and CO are quite large, Discover under $5k.
So any info on what issuers tend to be the most lenient with this especially as a one timer? To be specific I am looking to send money using PayPal to my partner, because from what I've read those two issuers code that as spend (I know Barclay does as my friend did this exactly to hit his 50,000 points on Arrival and boom, worked fine). I'm not sure how Cap1 Quicksilver codes this. another alternative is the whole gift card buying but I dont like doing that. Most important which lenders are known to take AA for this? Is sending money via PayPal even considered MS? Is there a better way to do it?
Any info would be appreciated -- as well as any additional suggestions to hit spends and/or maximize rewards! Thanks all
So any info on what issuers tend to be the most lenient with this especially as a one timer? To be specific I am looking to send money using PayPal to my partner, because from what I've read those two issuers code that as spend (I know Barclay does as my friend did this exactly to hit his 50,000 points on Arrival and boom, worked fine). I'm not sure how Cap1 Quicksilver codes this. another alternative is the whole gift card buying but I dont like doing that. Most important which lenders are known to take AA for this? Is sending money via PayPal even considered MS? Is there a better way to do it?
Any info would be appreciated -- as well as any additional suggestions to hit spends and/or maximize rewards! Thanks all
Dec 23, 2016, 8:21 am
#569
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 77
Hi All,
In So Cal here.
I've been MS'ing for awhile. But my local WMT in Duarte, CA no longer takes GC for MOs. I wonder if other WMTs do.
I know the local supermarket does, but one time, the manager came out all freaking out that I was purchasing MO with GCs.
I heard Kmart does it. Does anyone know in So. Cal.?
Let me know, if anyone in the So. Cal. area knows how to liquidate GCs. Would be really helpful for me.
Thanks.
PM me too.
In So Cal here.
I've been MS'ing for awhile. But my local WMT in Duarte, CA no longer takes GC for MOs. I wonder if other WMTs do.
I know the local supermarket does, but one time, the manager came out all freaking out that I was purchasing MO with GCs.
I heard Kmart does it. Does anyone know in So. Cal.?
Let me know, if anyone in the So. Cal. area knows how to liquidate GCs. Would be really helpful for me.
Thanks.
PM me too.
Dec 26, 2016, 2:51 pm
#570
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 483
I have tried many liquidation methods and I always end up with MO, which I want to avoid. My S3rve, BB & gw are shutdown. Can anyone give me a tip by pm?
BB,S3rve,bPay,mo,gw
BB,S3rve,bPay,mo,gw