Yet there are some banks that take Matthew 6:3 to heart. They close bank checking accounts with their right hand yet their left hand never knows to close credit cards accounts. Ah, gimme that old time religion! :p

I wouldn't necessarily say a lot, but I used it regularly. However, numerous people were shut down this month without ever using WMBP, so it's fair to say the shutdowns were based on purchase history. Barclays apparently doesn't like awarding its own currency (A+ miles) for purchases it may not consider appropriate. I haven't heard any shutdown stories of other Barclaycard products unless they also had the A+.

I've been increasingly worrying about WMBP. I use a Suntrust debit (earns skypesos) and pay chase accounts in full each month (anywhere from $500 -$3500 per account). Been doing this for a couple of years. No MS on these cards and only occasional payments prior to statement closing (but not b/c cycling...I'm just there and so get the payment over with). My only other payment source is ACH from Suntrust checking via Chase website.

This hobby can really become an addiction. I think I need someone to just tell me to stop. Be firm.

I've been digging through the shutdown threads and haven't really found a definitive answer, so I want your input.

I've never MS'd, as I've always met my min. spend organically. However, I will have to fly out a lot soon for interviews, and I want to save some dough. I've been recently approved for Ink+ with a CL of $7k. I've put internet, cellphone, and other stuff on it which will be ~$250/month. Gas will also be ~$100/month. In all, probably anywhere from $500-1k in organic spend/month. I want to MS ~$3k/month by buying and converting VGCs into MOs, and using $1500 for rent and the other $1500 to deposit into a credit union checking account to pay off my balances. I also put my stated income for this tutoring business as $10k/year.

I'm planning on staying away from depositing MOs directly to my Chase checking, as well as from using the WM billpay. I guess my only concern is whether the relatively high utilization (esp in the 5X category) compared to my stated income will lead to any red flags, although it's not like i'll be cycling through my CL. Sticking to $1500 deposits/month into the CU will also seem less sketchy than hitting $10k+/month and getting shut down. Thoughts?

It sounds like you have done your homework and figured out an acceptable level for yourself. I think your plan is very solid. :)

I got the shutdown notice from capone and it didn't hurt a bit. I guess they close it due to inactivity but I'll find out when they send me the official letter. I'm sure my 360 c/a is next on the chopping block so I zeroed it out so they don't have to send me a check for less than $1 :D

When a card closes, several opportunities open ;)

CaesarsCasino
 

Shut-down on CaesarsCasino after two loads/unloads. Have yet to get money back. They have a prepaid debit card, but I didn't receive it. It appears you can't do any billpay with their debit card though.

You will never find a definitive answer because there isn't one. Shutdowns can seem arbitrary sometimes. But I can say, based on what others have posted, and my own experience, that your plan will probably be okay. I MS well over my stated business income on my Ink cards and it hasn't been an issue.

I've only recently started to use WMBP but aft reading this thread will probably go back to MO only and do the extra steps of ACH-ing the money from churnable checking accounts to permanent ones so I can billpay the CCs.

Those of you who have followed the shutdown thread longer, does there seem to be a bank & volume of WMBP that seems safe to do, or is it not worth toying with it?

Refreshing to see this being your first post here and you having actually done the research :) I've been moderate with my Ink+ usage for VGCs/MS and 5x in general, but I see comments here of people going pedal to the metal with 5x for years in a row and are still fine. Cha$e has some of the best CCs so it's a good idea to steer clear of other things that might trigger suspicion and shutdown, like depositing MO to their accounts, which you say you won't do. I think I've only deposited a couple of MOs to my Cha$e accounts altogether and have only paid their cc bills from checking accounts.

I've been reading a lot of shutdown reports related to WMBP not just here but even private groups. I will heed the warnings. I also know MSers IRL whose accounts got shutdown from doing WMBP so I have decided I will not venture into it since Chase and Amex are too valuable for me to lose. It's working well for others, I may be in the minority that stays away from WMBP.

Not sure if you'd even need to do the final step. I've never had issues in doing a single BP a month from my MS checking account, plus a second one from my main account for legit charges I've made. I prefer to keep my normal checking account as far away from MS as possible. Granted, I don't cycle CLs, so if you do, take my advice with a grain of salt.

Fair point. I do this to minimize the nr of different payment accounts for the same credit card. I don't know based on data points whether there's a need to do this even with actual checking accounts, I do it trying not to trip any algorithm programmed for this which might invite a human to review the account, at which point they might find other things worth scrutinizing.

I used to do a mix of WMBP and MOs and was fortunate not to have any issues. For the last year or so I've gone strictly MO after hearing about so many WMBP related shutdowns. Not worth toying with in my opinion. Find a good credit union or two. I've been depositing north of 100k in MOs to a single CU for the past 8 months or so. My recipe for avoiding CC shutdowns is to avoid WMBP and cycling my credit limits. So far so good.

*North of 100k per month just to clarify