Jan 31, 2017, 9:50 pm
Last edit by: shdflyer
11/3/17: The vast majority of popular prepaid debit cards are now blocked via a register hardcode at most locations.
This is the thread for 2017. The previous discussion can be found here.
Newbies: READ for days and learn before trying. It is best to know what you are doing, so start slow. Refer to cards as "Debit" not gc.
"Money orders can be purchased at any Post Office™ location.
Pay for your money order with cash, debit card, or traveler’s checks."
Fees:
$0.01 to $500.00: $1.20
$500.01 to $1,000.00: $1.60
Most post offices allow split payment (multiple debit cards) for one money order up to a max of $1000.
Example of how to split payment:
1. "One MO please for $998.40. Id like to pay with 2 debit cards, $500 on each."
2. Swipe first card and enter pin.
3. Remind teller that its "$500 on that card". They will change the amount on their screen to $500. Transaction goes through and a small receipt prints.
4. Swipe 2nd card, enter pin.
5. Done.
Note: If you encounter a problem with the second card and have to cancel the transaction, it can be very difficult to recover your funds on the first card. Always have a back-up payment method available (bank debit card or cash).
GC Information: The fine print on the back of the package shows the bank issuer. Don't buy GCs with tampered packaging and always use cards ASAP.
Visa OneVanilla and Vanilla GC issued by Bancorp work at PO.
Visa/MC Gift Cards issued by MetaBank have not had any success at MOST USPS anywhere in the country since around September 2016.
These will NOT work if the clerk uses a touchscreen
These MAY work, and often do, at small, rural post offices where clerks do not have touch screens.
Visa Gift Cards from Walmart issued by Green Dot have stopped working for MO purchases for some.
GAME MOSTLY OVER, MOST USPO are HARD CODED to NOT ACCEPT NON BANK DEBIT CARDS
Exception seems to be small, rural post offices where clerks do not use touch screens.
This is the thread for 2017. The previous discussion can be found here.
Newbies: READ for days and learn before trying. It is best to know what you are doing, so start slow. Refer to cards as "Debit" not gc.
"Money orders can be purchased at any Post Office™ location.
Pay for your money order with cash, debit card, or traveler’s checks."
Fees:
$0.01 to $500.00: $1.20
$500.01 to $1,000.00: $1.60
Most post offices allow split payment (multiple debit cards) for one money order up to a max of $1000.
Example of how to split payment:
1. "One MO please for $998.40. Id like to pay with 2 debit cards, $500 on each."
2. Swipe first card and enter pin.
3. Remind teller that its "$500 on that card". They will change the amount on their screen to $500. Transaction goes through and a small receipt prints.
4. Swipe 2nd card, enter pin.
5. Done.
Note: If you encounter a problem with the second card and have to cancel the transaction, it can be very difficult to recover your funds on the first card. Always have a back-up payment method available (bank debit card or cash).
GC Information: The fine print on the back of the package shows the bank issuer. Don't buy GCs with tampered packaging and always use cards ASAP.
Visa OneVanilla and Vanilla GC issued by Bancorp work at PO.
Visa/MC Gift Cards issued by MetaBank have not had any success at MOST USPS anywhere in the country since around September 2016.
These will NOT work if the clerk uses a touchscreen
These MAY work, and often do, at small, rural post offices where clerks do not have touch screens.
Visa Gift Cards from Walmart issued by Green Dot have stopped working for MO purchases for some.
GAME MOSTLY OVER, MOST USPO are HARD CODED to NOT ACCEPT NON BANK DEBIT CARDS
Exception seems to be small, rural post offices where clerks do not use touch screens.
Buy MO's at Post Office(2017-2018)[Gift Cards no Longer Allowed]
Apr 22, 2017, 2:36 pm
#586
Join Date: May 2011
Programs: Spg Gold, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 1,578
Woah i dont think that kind of volume would fly at all in NYC. If the clerk openly said he's going to file a report, I guess that means pretty douche. So should I stop and look irregular, or keep going with my schedule of 1k a week? I think the even split payments really is what triggered this whole thing, its probably a highly unusual request by the subset of the population that legitimately uses debit to by MOs. And paying the fees in cash was the icing on his suspicion cake. The teller didn't ask to see my card until I said split payment, YMMV of course, but in a city where the MS opportunities are razor thin, word of caution.
and I did $2k at one time,split tender and paid the fees in cash , and she did not say anything.
Apr 22, 2017, 4:10 pm
#587
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 527
Sooner or later, there will be a new manager or some memo or whatever, and to those folks that were sayin' oh they know what I'm doing and they're cool with it, guess who now knows just who is using GCs ?
As long as I've been doing MS, no clerk has ever seen the front of my card. So if something goes down, I'm known as the long-time reliable customer using his bank debit card.
And don't even get me started on the clerks who think it's money laundering, or a federal crime, or you somehow must be stealing money.
Apr 22, 2017, 7:26 pm
#588
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 41
This is why I've advocated for as long as I've been posting here, NEVER show a clerk a GC.
Sooner or later, there will be a new manager or some memo or whatever, and to those folks that were sayin' oh they know what I'm doing and they're cool with it, guess who now knows just who is using GCs ?
As long as I've been doing MS, no clerk has ever seen the front of my card. So if something goes down, I'm known as the long-time reliable customer using his bank debit card.
And don't even get me started on the clerks who think it's money laundering, or a federal crime, or you somehow must be stealing money.
Sooner or later, there will be a new manager or some memo or whatever, and to those folks that were sayin' oh they know what I'm doing and they're cool with it, guess who now knows just who is using GCs ?
As long as I've been doing MS, no clerk has ever seen the front of my card. So if something goes down, I'm known as the long-time reliable customer using his bank debit card.
And don't even get me started on the clerks who think it's money laundering, or a federal crime, or you somehow must be stealing money.
Apr 22, 2017, 10:39 pm
#589
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 4
Sorry if these questions have been answered, I've searched and cannot find them... 1) how many 1k MO can you buy in one transaction at usps without having to fill out a form or whatever other actions they take when you meet whatever threshold? 2) how many swipes will usps allow for single MO purchases? I have an abundance of 200 vgc's and I'm wondering if i could do 5 swipes for a 1k or (probably not) 10 swiped for 2 1k's?
Apr 23, 2017, 12:15 am
#590
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: IAH
Programs: DL DM, Hyatt Ist-iest, Stariott Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 12,795
No issues this morning in Houston. Hopefully this memo and resulting issue is limited to Kalifornia 
Since you have all of 2 posts, you're fortunate I'm in a good 1am-ish mood. I'm guessing that if you have lots of $200 VGC's, they're from Staples. If so, they're metabank and won't work at the post office to begin with. PS: read the WIKI at the top of this page.
Sorry if these questions have been answered, I've searched and cannot find them... 1) how many 1k MO can you buy in one transaction at usps without having to fill out a form or whatever other actions they take when you meet whatever threshold? 2) how many swipes will usps allow for single MO purchases? I have an abundance of 200 vgc's and I'm wondering if i could do 5 swipes for a 1k or (probably not) 10 swiped for 2 1k's?
Last edited by krazykanuck; Apr 23, 2017 at 8:34 am
Apr 23, 2017, 3:58 am
#591
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: PHX & AGP
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Gold
Posts: 11,463
1k a week? Man....it will take forever. I had to complete about 40k worth for all my credit cards, it would have taken forever.
A yr ago or so, when I went to the Hacienda Heights, CA main location (depot), some cashiers didn't ask quesiton when I did 500-1k. Then there was this one douche cashier. Asked for my id, went to the back office, then sold me the MO. After that, I don't bother coming back.
A yr ago or so, when I went to the Hacienda Heights, CA main location (depot), some cashiers didn't ask quesiton when I did 500-1k. Then there was this one douche cashier. Asked for my id, went to the back office, then sold me the MO. After that, I don't bother coming back.
Apr 23, 2017, 6:04 am
#592
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: NY
Posts: 523
Sorry if these questions have been answered, I've searched and cannot find them... 1) how many 1k MO can you buy in one transaction at usps without having to fill out a form or whatever other actions they take when you meet whatever threshold? 2) how many swipes will usps allow for single MO purchases? I have an abundance of 200 vgc's and I'm wondering if i could do 5 swipes for a 1k or (probably not) 10 swiped for 2 1k's?
If there's a swipe limit at the PO, I haven't found it yet.
Apr 23, 2017, 9:33 am
#594
Join Date: May 2011
Programs: Spg Gold, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 1,578
The USPS I normally hit up just got spooked by some newbie. I do regular 1k MOs once a week along with mailing textbooks. My usual teller just told me there's been a guy who started doing transactions just like me, except a bunch this past week. Dude is doing 5+ 1000 MOs a week, split payments, with "the same exact looking gift cards" Teller says he's gunna file a report. W..t..f. Do I lay off for a while or continue my regular habit? What's less suss? (Located in NYC)
I have PMd you .
Apr 23, 2017, 5:37 pm
#596
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: NY
Posts: 523
If excessive swipes gets a PO shut down, mine would've been shut down long ago. Just use common sense and be sure to have a good rapport with the clerk before you ramp it up.
Apr 23, 2017, 8:11 pm
#597
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: SFO
Programs: United Gold (frmer. 1k and GS), AAdvantage Platinum, Alaska MVP Gold, HHonors Gold
Posts: 200
"He who is not contented with what he has [5 swipes/visit], would not be contented with what he would like to have [no PO at all]." -Socrates, 2017
Apr 23, 2017, 11:39 pm
#598
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 527
I recall hearing the same kind of things right before every massacre.
Just use common sense and be sure to have a good rapport with the clerk before you ramp it up.
Apr 24, 2017, 5:09 am
#599
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 90
Lots of indian references...
Apr 24, 2017, 9:02 am
#600
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 132
I've read the wiki, and it states which GC's do NOT work. I've also tried perusing this somewhat large section, and I'm trying to see which cards DO work with some regularity, and where's the best place to buy them(grocery, pharmacy, convenience, etc.). Could someone help answer that question? Thank you.
I live in Baltimore, MD area.
I live in Baltimore, MD area.