Hmm, interesting. This sounds a lot like me except the register rejects anything over $500 for me and refunds everything else back to my card. And it started happening to me ~5/1/24. I wonder if CVS is tracking how much each person/DL is purchasing and once you have hit a certain threshold they will start to throttle your purchases? That is about the only explanation I have for why they started throttling you 3 months ago and started throttling me just 2 weeks ago. FWIW, I hadn't really done much CVS VGC purchasing prior to 3/28/24. But on that day, Amex announced their Hilton Biz CC would lose the ($15k & $60k) Free Nights starting 6/30/24, AND that they would be upping their earnings immediately from 3x HH pts per $ spent up to 5HH pts per $ spent. I did some math and realized this card was now improved to a ~3.5% cashback card for the first $60k in spend prior to 6/30/24, and since I have 3 of them, I figured I might as well hit them all hard for 3 months and add CVS into my MS loop to get another ~$60k/month in easy spend in. Perhaps CVS didn't like my quick ramp-up in spend and throttled me? Maybe I'll try to test with another DL to see if those purchases go through fully. Though I do remember during my last CVS visit 2 weeks ago that the clerk said this activation issue has been happening a lot recently, so I figured I would come here to FT and see all sorts of reports of CVS activation problems, but I was surprised that wasn't the case.

I'm still able to purchase 4 X $500 in one transaction without any issues. I buy them daily (every 24 hours).

What card(s) do you use at CVS?

Citi Custom Cash, BOA Customized Cash, and Chase Freedom Unlimited.

Never mind. I forgot that CFU earns 3% CB at drug stores just like CFF does.

Have CVS nixed the pay with paypal option for VGC ?
Tried to buy a vgc with PP and Freedom card to take advantage of the Q4 5%, but did not let me pay for the load (500)

Yes, it appears to be hard coded not to work now. When I tried recently, only the fee got charged to PP.

Any other ideas to use up the 5% CB offer besides paying Estimated Taxes?

I just noticed these new icons under our names. Any idea what the "Countries Visited" icons mean?

I heard before that Safeway take PP, so maybe other Albertsons brand stores do so also?

Incomm/Sutton VGCs likely disco at Walgreens/CVS
 

Yeah, I'm experiencing the same thing. My go-to stores are pretty much out of stock.

I also tried the Paypal scheme and it only deducted the fees on one of my Freedom Flexes. Next time I will be back is for BoA day on 11/7, I assume I can buy 4x500 without too much of a hitch on just a regular credit card at CVS (and now apparently walgreens accepts credit card on the $500 VGC/MCGC?), paying my property taxes where the municipality charges $4 per non bank issued debit card, so trying to finagle net of 5% cash back on my BoA $ rewards card. This may come in handy if Walgreens accepts cards for people with multiple BoA cards as CVS has a velocity of 2k last time I was in the position ?

My CVS/ Walgreens are flooded with Incomms. Can these be purchased with self check out or do they have to go through a Cashier? Are Chase Freedom/ CFU, and BOA rewards cards the only ones that work without being questioned by Chase/ Boa?

In my experience at CVS, any purchase over $250 requires going to a cashier, so I never buy Sutton/Incomms at self checkout. I haven’t tried in the last ~1.5 years so it is possible that it changed.

I have used CCs from Chase, Amex and Citi. It usually takes some seasoning to build up the account to withstand a larger $2023.80 purchase at CVS

I recently got a CC from another bank and they regularly rejected my CVS purchases.