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)
Dec 3, 2018, 8:05 am
#556
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: WAS
Programs: Virtuoso TA, UA 1MM, Hilton Diamond, Marriott LT Platinum
Posts: 445
What’s the current state of buying VGC at Office Depot with Ink cards? I haven’t done it in years but wondering still available. I remember something like variable ones of up to $500 are cash only, but $200 fixed is ok with card? Is there a limit on how many can be bought in one transaction? What about buying things like Amazon gift cards at Office Depot - ok with credit card?
not concerned about liquidating them
not concerned about liquidating them
Dec 3, 2018, 3:51 pm
#557
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,837
What’s the current state of buying VGC at Office Depot with Ink cards? I haven’t done it in years but wondering still available. I remember something like variable ones of up to $500 are cash only, but $200 fixed is ok with card? Is there a limit on how many can be bought in one transaction? What about buying things like Amazon gift cards at Office Depot - ok with credit card?
not concerned about liquidating them
not concerned about liquidating them
most, if not all, dont have the variable 500
Dec 3, 2018, 7:19 pm
#558
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 463
hi everyone,
I am new to the manufactured spending game and trying to come up with MS ideas applicable in my country.
just wondering if it’s good to pay 2-3% in fees to get the MS done? My idea is to churn transactions while incurring 3% fees each time. But I feel that I am not maximising MS enough since I am still paying a fair bit of cash.
appreciate any inputs
thanks
I am new to the manufactured spending game and trying to come up with MS ideas applicable in my country.
just wondering if it’s good to pay 2-3% in fees to get the MS done? My idea is to churn transactions while incurring 3% fees each time. But I feel that I am not maximising MS enough since I am still paying a fair bit of cash.
appreciate any inputs
thanks
Deciding if 3% fees is worth it is simply a matter of math and putting a value on your time. How much will you earn, and how long will it take to earn it? Sometimes it's not worth it until they have a sale on the fees.
Good luck!
Dec 6, 2018, 6:53 am
#559
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: LAS, SMF
Programs: Marriott Plat, Global Entry
Posts: 184
SG is Singapore. Singapore credit card bonus rules are more complicated than American ones with bigger bonuses but monthly/quarterly/annual bonus caps and minimum monthly spends to trigger the bonuses. Sadly, Singapore cards all seem to have high foreign transaction fees. Singapore credit cards seem like too much work for me but maybe Lyk93 is more organized than me.
Dec 19, 2018, 7:22 pm
#560
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 2
Can't you pay CC bill with Gift cards/Billpay?
Hey guys, sorry if this has already been asked, i've been reading on this forum for the past 2 days and i've got most of my questions answered regarding MS. The one question that puzzles me is cant we pay our credit card bills or use Billpay with a Gift card? ive searched this on google and seems like it is possible instead of going theough the hassle of dealing with Walmart and getting MO. Why hasn't this been mentioned?
Dec 19, 2018, 8:53 pm
#561
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,837
Hey guys, sorry if this has already been asked, i've been reading on this forum for the past 2 days and i've got most of my questions answered regarding MS. The one question that puzzles me is cant we pay our credit card bills or use Billpay with a Gift card? ive searched this on google and seems like it is possible instead of going theough the hassle of dealing with Walmart and getting MO. Why hasn't this been mentioned?
Dec 20, 2018, 3:35 am
#562
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 34
There is a Billpay at walmart thread that you might be missing.
Dec 20, 2018, 7:01 am
#563
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 3,688
Yes, you can pay your CC bills with VGCs over the phone if you have lots of patience and persistence to try different GCs and get a cooperative CSR; just know you may have to do a lot of trial n error. For B/P, try grocery stores near you that offer the service and ask if they accept debit cards as payment and if they do, keep it to yourself so it doesn't get abused quickly.
Dec 20, 2018, 7:44 am
#564
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 2
Yes, you can pay your CC bills with VGCs over the phone if you have lots of patience and persistence to try different GCs and get a cooperative CSR; just know you may have to do a lot of trial n error. For B/P, try grocery stores near you that offer the service and ask if they accept debit cards as payment and if they do, keep it to yourself so it doesn't get abused quickly.
Dec 23, 2018, 10:48 am
#565
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 35
Noob
Hey all,
Bought my first VGC today! Issued by Greendot, $500 with a $5.88 load fee.
I'll be attempting an MO conversion later today at the same location. I appreciate all the info here!
Thanks.
Bought my first VGC today! Issued by Greendot, $500 with a $5.88 load fee.
I'll be attempting an MO conversion later today at the same location. I appreciate all the info here!
Thanks.
Dec 23, 2018, 5:44 pm
#567
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 35
After reading a bit more on here, I finished the MSR on my card by getting $2500 worth of VGC from GCM. I don't have an issue floating it, and am comfortable trying to cash them out the various ways discussed here over time. Do you think just doing multiple $500 MOs is good enough? Im kind of hesitant to try these 4x swipe transactions.
Dec 24, 2018, 2:36 pm
#568
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 35
Great first experience liquidating my first VGC. Basically just asked to load BB for $500, swiped the VGC, entered PIN, and that was it.
Dec 28, 2018, 1:38 am
#569
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: PDX
Programs: Don't think it matters...
Posts: 5,240