Jan 2, 2017, 7:37 pm
Last edit by: Marathon Man
NEW TO MS: Do some serious reading for a month of all the posts and wiki to get an understanding of MS before asking common questions.
Note: the 2016 version of this thread is here: www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1737819-new-manufactured-spending-start-here-2016-a-39.html#post27694986, the 2015 version of the thread is here: www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1642283-new-manufactured-spending-start-here-2015-a.html
Welcome to Manufactured Spending. Marathon Man did not write this message, but he has edited it and anyone can. 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.
3) A glossary wiki for MS located in the thread Glossary, Manufactured Spending Forum
Important Rules
1) MSing is very YMMV. It varies by store, manager, and right down to the cashier working at the moment. Some might argue that MS is like card counting in a casino. It is not illegal but casinos don’t like it. Orhers have said it’s like having a fake ID in college to use just to get into bars where all the fun is. Just because it worked here yesterday doesn’t mean it will get you in today. MS is like being a wood worker constantly using a table saw. Always watch what you are doing—always! Or you will lose something. 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).
6) MSing can be used for a variety of purposes, ranging from smallish amounts to meet minimum spend requirements to get a credit card signup bonus, to accumulating huge numbers of points for travel/cashback/etc. Remember too that you will often have expenses such as purchase fees, liquidation fees, and gas.
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 MSers can also read all these threads:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending-719/
Note: the 2016 version of this thread is here: www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1737819-new-manufactured-spending-start-here-2016-a-39.html#post27694986, the 2015 version of the thread is here: www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1642283-new-manufactured-spending-start-here-2015-a.html
Welcome to Manufactured Spending. Marathon Man did not write this message, but he has edited it and anyone can. 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.
3) A glossary wiki for MS located in the thread Glossary, Manufactured Spending Forum
Important Rules
1) MSing is very YMMV. It varies by store, manager, and right down to the cashier working at the moment. Some might argue that MS is like card counting in a casino. It is not illegal but casinos don’t like it. Orhers have said it’s like having a fake ID in college to use just to get into bars where all the fun is. Just because it worked here yesterday doesn’t mean it will get you in today. MS is like being a wood worker constantly using a table saw. Always watch what you are doing—always! Or you will lose something. 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).
6) MSing can be used for a variety of purposes, ranging from smallish amounts to meet minimum spend requirements to get a credit card signup bonus, to accumulating huge numbers of points for travel/cashback/etc. Remember too that you will often have expenses such as purchase fees, liquidation fees, and gas.
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 MSers can also read all these threads:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending-719/
New to Manufactured Spending? Start here(2017-2018)
Mar 27, 2018, 7:32 pm
#436
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 24
Turns out there's a thread that talks about gas stations that sell $500 gift cards and take credit cards as payment.
Gas Stations that offer $500 VGCs?
The Wiki for that thread only mentions 3 gas stations, but at least one of them is in Phoenix. Though as usual, YMMV.
Edit: for some reason, the link isn't colored blue for me. But the 2nd line is a link to the thread.
Gas Stations that offer $500 VGCs?
The Wiki for that thread only mentions 3 gas stations, but at least one of them is in Phoenix. Though as usual, YMMV.
Edit: for some reason, the link isn't colored blue for me. But the 2nd line is a link to the thread.
GC do not work for WM MO.
Mar 27, 2018, 7:59 pm
#437
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 3
Chase Sapphire Reserve
First time poster, just joined. Please don't scold me if I am wrong.
Can either Venmo or GC/MO Walmart be used to receive my rewards from the Chase Sapphire Reserve? Besides AMEX what other type of cards do not allow GCs to be purchased.
First time poster, just joined. Please don't scold me if I am wrong.
Can either Venmo or GC/MO Walmart be used to receive my rewards from the Chase Sapphire Reserve? Besides AMEX what other type of cards do not allow GCs to be purchased.
Last edited by ChrisFlyer66; Mar 27, 2018 at 9:36 pm
Mar 27, 2018, 8:38 pm
#438
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 463
I use Family Dollar to load One Vanilla to my Amex Serve One VIP card. Amex stopped taking applications for the One VIP card at the end of last year, but there are other Serve cards that might work
Kroger will also take OV and turn them into money orders, but I don't know if Kroger is in your area. If it is, it's probably under a different name.
Mar 27, 2018, 10:18 pm
#439
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 92
.
The Terms and Conditions (T&C) vary for each credit card and may or may not be enforced. Usually they say you can't get rewards by buying GC's. I have not seen a case where a credit card, including AMEX, actually blocks purchase of a GC. Amex does seem to have cracked down on counting purchase of GC's when calculating the minimum spend requirement (MSR) for new card bonuses. But people have reported good or bad results with AMEX, except for Simon GC's which don't count for sure. In any case AMEX still gives you the usual points, miles, or cash back rewards, just not credit for MSR.
Last edited by noassumptions; Apr 19, 2018 at 12:29 pm
Mar 27, 2018, 11:28 pm
#440
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 24
I found it by accident. Instead of running from gas station to gas station, I decided to try Google first, and that was the first to show up.
I use Family Dollar to load One Vanilla to my Amex Serve One VIP card. Amex stopped taking applications for the One VIP card at the end of last year, but there are other Serve cards that might work
Kroger will also take OV and turn them into money orders, but I don't know if Kroger is in your area. If it is, it's probably under a different name.
I use Family Dollar to load One Vanilla to my Amex Serve One VIP card. Amex stopped taking applications for the One VIP card at the end of last year, but there are other Serve cards that might work
Kroger will also take OV and turn them into money orders, but I don't know if Kroger is in your area. If it is, it's probably under a different name.
Mar 28, 2018, 12:04 pm
#441
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 7
Is it confirmed that buying GC with AMEX will not count towards your MSR? I know its in their legal terms, but I'd love to hear people's results.
Mar 28, 2018, 12:05 pm
#442
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 7
Would you say that Vanillas work at more places than Metabank cards? I'm in LA, and have a ton of Kroger's, Vons, CVS's and Safeways around me, so I'm trying to figure out which type of card to buy.
Mar 28, 2018, 9:27 pm
#443
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 463
I've used OV for loading Serve at Family Dollar. These OV were issued by Bancorp and serviced by Metabank. Also used an OV at Kroger, but I forget who issued it.
Apr 1, 2018, 10:18 pm
#444
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: SAN
Programs: Delta Gold. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Explorist.
Posts: 1,674
There are many data points of people being denied the signup bonus for buying visa GC at simon mall. Some people are having success if they buy gift cards elsewhere, but I wouldn't guarantee that will always work.
Apr 4, 2018, 12:53 pm
#445
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 615
I've been doing reading on Serve and I have a few questions:
1) I plan to load VGCs at DG. Besides the 7K limit per month limit and 2.5k per day limit at DG, I'm thinking of loading ~ 4-5k per month. Any danger in getting shut down?
2) I plan to only billpay direct from serve rather than transfer to bank before paying CCs.
3) I see folks getting multiple serve accounts to disguise their activity. Does Amex not look at accounts in totality or are they evaluated on a one on one basis?
Thanks.
1) I plan to load VGCs at DG. Besides the 7K limit per month limit and 2.5k per day limit at DG, I'm thinking of loading ~ 4-5k per month. Any danger in getting shut down?
2) I plan to only billpay direct from serve rather than transfer to bank before paying CCs.
3) I see folks getting multiple serve accounts to disguise their activity. Does Amex not look at accounts in totality or are they evaluated on a one on one basis?
Thanks.
Apr 4, 2018, 1:44 pm
#446
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 463
I think the risk of shutdown comes more from how you spend and not so much how you load. If you use Serve to pay Amex or Chase it seems the risk is high. If you use it to pay rent and utilities the risk is low. No one knows the exact algorithm though.
Edit: Lots of ATM cash withdrawals or ACH transfers to your bank account are also high risk factors.
Edit: Lots of ATM cash withdrawals or ACH transfers to your bank account are also high risk factors.
Last edited by Klemhuzzah; Apr 4, 2018 at 2:13 pm
Apr 5, 2018, 11:10 am
#447
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: PHX & AGP
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Gold
Posts: 11,453
I think the risk of shutdown comes more from how you spend and not so much how you load. If you use Serve to pay Amex or Chase it seems the risk is high. If you use it to pay rent and utilities the risk is low. No one knows the exact algorithm though.
Edit: Lots of ATM cash withdrawals or ACH transfers to your bank account are also high risk factors.
Edit: Lots of ATM cash withdrawals or ACH transfers to your bank account are also high risk factors.
Apr 5, 2018, 1:02 pm
#448
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 615
Yep, that's what I gather as well based on the /r/churning serve shutdown thread. Commonality seems to be loading method rather than liquidation method. But, even still, AMEX does not appear to be consistent,
Apr 6, 2018, 12:05 am
#449
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: PHX & AGP
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Gold
Posts: 11,453
I knew others who were shut down also with multi cards and the common denominator was loading with VGC.
Apr 10, 2018, 7:32 am
#450
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 45
How are you guys filling out MO’s? It is a MG.