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]
Jan 10, 2017, 12:50 pm
#61
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 998
Thanks!
I'm excited! I just need my Chase Sapphire Reserve card to hurry up and show up! I'm glad I got in JUST under the 100,000 bonus window, now to make sure I earn that! I'm also excited to start using that card and the perks, I'm astonished on some of the hotel perks! I know most the hotels are expensive, but one of the hotels in Seattle (I think the W) has a $100 food and beverage credit per stay (among other things) and looks like it applies to a one night stay.... that one night is like $235! That's insane if I really get to burn $100 for just staying one night... especially if it works on alcohol, which it didn't specifically say it didn't, but I haven't spoke with the hotel yet to confirm. Between that, Priority Pass, my TSA/Global Entry credit alone will make it worth while this year, the $300 travel credit and bonus points seriously just make me smile!
Plus... metal card.... I'm a little ashamed to admit I want to use it all the time just to hand over a metal card and see the person on the other end get surprised, lol
I'm excited! I just need my Chase Sapphire Reserve card to hurry up and show up! I'm glad I got in JUST under the 100,000 bonus window, now to make sure I earn that! I'm also excited to start using that card and the perks, I'm astonished on some of the hotel perks! I know most the hotels are expensive, but one of the hotels in Seattle (I think the W) has a $100 food and beverage credit per stay (among other things) and looks like it applies to a one night stay.... that one night is like $235! That's insane if I really get to burn $100 for just staying one night... especially if it works on alcohol, which it didn't specifically say it didn't, but I haven't spoke with the hotel yet to confirm. Between that, Priority Pass, my TSA/Global Entry credit alone will make it worth while this year, the $300 travel credit and bonus points seriously just make me smile!
Plus... metal card.... I'm a little ashamed to admit I want to use it all the time just to hand over a metal card and see the person on the other end get surprised, lol
Jan 10, 2017, 2:15 pm
#62
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 6
Thanks!
I'm excited! I just need my Chase Sapphire Reserve card to hurry up and show up! I'm glad I got in JUST under the 100,000 bonus window, now to make sure I earn that! I'm also excited to start using that card and the perks, I'm astonished on some of the hotel perks! I know most the hotels are expensive, but one of the hotels in Seattle (I think the W) has a $100 food and beverage credit per stay (among other things) and looks like it applies to a one night stay.... that one night is like $235! That's insane if I really get to burn $100 for just staying one night... especially if it works on alcohol, which it didn't specifically say it didn't, but I haven't spoke with the hotel yet to confirm. Between that, Priority Pass, my TSA/Global Entry credit alone will make it worth while this year, the $300 travel credit and bonus points seriously just make me smile!
Plus... metal card.... I'm a little ashamed to admit I want to use it all the time just to hand over a metal card and see the person on the other end get surprised, lol
I'm excited! I just need my Chase Sapphire Reserve card to hurry up and show up! I'm glad I got in JUST under the 100,000 bonus window, now to make sure I earn that! I'm also excited to start using that card and the perks, I'm astonished on some of the hotel perks! I know most the hotels are expensive, but one of the hotels in Seattle (I think the W) has a $100 food and beverage credit per stay (among other things) and looks like it applies to a one night stay.... that one night is like $235! That's insane if I really get to burn $100 for just staying one night... especially if it works on alcohol, which it didn't specifically say it didn't, but I haven't spoke with the hotel yet to confirm. Between that, Priority Pass, my TSA/Global Entry credit alone will make it worth while this year, the $300 travel credit and bonus points seriously just make me smile!
Plus... metal card.... I'm a little ashamed to admit I want to use it all the time just to hand over a metal card and see the person on the other end get surprised, lol
Jan 10, 2017, 2:29 pm
#63
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 998
I'm also been too lazy to do Global Entry/TSA PreCheck so I'm glad I finally now am doing it in the right order. Most my luck would mean I would have signed up for PreCheck two months ago or something and THEN found this card and decided to get it, lol
(Thus my need to hit that min spend requirement with these tricks, I just burned about 6 grand in the last two months on a trip and holidays... should have looked for a new card BEFORE that, not now >.<)
Jan 10, 2017, 2:50 pm
#64
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 2,257
I've been trying to read off and on over the last year and keep giving up. I have to be honest, coming from outside this "system", the data here, while HUGE, isn't the easiest to get into, the learning curve seems steep, partly because of how much archived info is here. I kept burning out because I would spend hours trying to track back to a "step by step" process to start and would run across hundreds of posts that didn't apply any more because of how old they were and the system had evolved. I think I just need to jump in and test the waters with $100 and then scale up to a size I feel isn't extreme and I'm ok with. Once I buy my One Vanilla Visa card, I reload that at Walgreens right? Or is everyone buying NEW One Vanilla cards each time they need to make a "run" ?
Also, anyone able to confirm, as of today, these steps SHOULD work for me?
Go to local Walgreens, buy a One Vanilla Visa card for up to $500 (whatever I feel safe testing the first time) and pay using my new credit card.
Log on to check the balance after 24 hours and set a pin
Go to local post office and walk up to window and ask for a money order for whatever amount I loaded my One Vanilla Visa card for MINUS the post office fee, or less if I don't want a weird looking exact number. Example. Loaded for $100, ask for a $90 money order. Loaded for $500, ask for a $475 money order.
Swipe the card and enter my pin. They hand me a money order for the amount I asked for that is blank. I can then take this home or anywhere else to fill out. I can then fill out the money order to make a payment on my balance and mail it in.
I think I've got that down... right?
Also, anyone able to confirm, as of today, these steps SHOULD work for me?
Go to local Walgreens, buy a One Vanilla Visa card for up to $500 (whatever I feel safe testing the first time) and pay using my new credit card.
Log on to check the balance after 24 hours and set a pin
Go to local post office and walk up to window and ask for a money order for whatever amount I loaded my One Vanilla Visa card for MINUS the post office fee, or less if I don't want a weird looking exact number. Example. Loaded for $100, ask for a $90 money order. Loaded for $500, ask for a $475 money order.
Swipe the card and enter my pin. They hand me a money order for the amount I asked for that is blank. I can then take this home or anywhere else to fill out. I can then fill out the money order to make a payment on my balance and mail it in.
I think I've got that down... right?
for me, i started back then by reading the blogs/articles out there, some of which will explain the baby steps
for OV Visa, just set PIN at the time of first purchase. and yeah, like the other poster, usually i can just purchase the MO a few min thereafter. it is supposed to be activated the moment you pay anyway.
also, if you are ever asked what card you are using when trying to buy MO, say "DEBIT". never ever say "GIFT CARD".
Jan 10, 2017, 7:05 pm
#66
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 7
I think you missed the point. The fees are $4.80 on 3 Money Orders, so that makes it even $3,000 purchase for 6 $500 swipes. Yes, you can get an extra $4.79 and swipe on another card too.
Jan 10, 2017, 9:28 pm
#67
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 227
On the other hand, if you are looking forward to reactions, I suggest you get the Ritz-Carlton card. Extremely thick, hard to bend to any appreciable angle, and the mag stripe looks to be placed into the metal when viewing edge-on. I hate using it at POS since you get a reaction around half the time or more, even in NY/SF/LA. The Sapphire Preferred and Reserve are both plastic-laminated thin metal, and after heavy usage a plastic corner may start peeling from the metal. But the RC... if you accidentally drop it in a hotel lobby, it will bounce and clang like a metal pipe.
Jan 10, 2017, 11:59 pm
#70
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 998
I mean that I'm actually using them in the intended way. Not making themselves out to myself or something so the money goes in a circle from my card, to giftcard, to money order, to my bank to pay off my card.
Jan 11, 2017, 8:29 am
#71
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Easy is as easy does. Every paint by numbers (aka circles and arrows) tip is watched by both the MS folk and the goblins of Gringotts. Obscurity is not necessarily bad.
I've been trying to read off and on over the last year and keep giving up. I have to be honest, coming from outside this "system", the data here, while HUGE, isn't the easiest to get into, the learning curve seems steep, partly because of how much archived info is here. I kept burning out because I would spend hours trying to track back to a "step by step" process to start and would run across hundreds of posts that didn't apply any more because of how old they were and the system had evolved.
Jan 11, 2017, 11:04 am
#72
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: SF
Programs: Elite status at local McDonalds, Carwash, and Post Office
Posts: 51
+1 here, just bought a OV at CVS yesterday and drained it this morning at USPS, testing the waters around my house, I live within proximity of 5 USPS spots. I didn't do any split transactions though, only $500, I look forward to seeing their face when I ask for $2500, maybe nothing will happen, at least they are nice. I'll do a few $500 MO's and get them seasoned to seeing me on a regular basis before I turn up the heat.
Jan 11, 2017, 11:25 am
#74
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 284
+1 here, just bought a OV at CVS yesterday and drained it this morning at USPS, testing the waters around my house, I live within proximity of 5 USPS spots. I didn't do any split transactions though, only $500, I look forward to seeing their face when I ask for $2500, maybe nothing will happen, at least they are nice. I'll do a few $500 MO's and get them seasoned to seeing me on a regular basis before I turn up the heat.
Jan 11, 2017, 1:22 pm
#75
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: SF
Programs: Elite status at local McDonalds, Carwash, and Post Office
Posts: 51
I'm honestly not even mad at doing $2500 in individual transactions to make things smooth. Even with individual transactions, my total cost per $2500 including OV fees is 1.23% total. $4.95 fee x 5 Ov's + $1.20 x 5 MO fee = $30.75 = 1.23%. If I wanted to go throught the hassle of the 5 back cards I would be making a profit. Throughout the year places have a discount on certain cards that work, so in the end it all evens out. 1.23% fee aint bad for this at all. As always YMMV.