Old Feb 3, 2017, 6:02 pm
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Last edit by: ValueAdd82
This is the thread about the Five Back Visa card for 2017. The previous discussion can be found here.

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Simon sells $500 5back metabank vgc. Read the Simon thread for more details. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1812413-simon-mall-gift-cards-2017-a.html

Simon- Check balance: https://www.simon.com/giftcard/card_balance.aspx
FB - Check balance: https://www.fivebackgift.com/

Best Participating Stores: See the participating list for more stores
CVS - No longer working
Kmart - No longer working
Staples & Staples.com - No longer working
Lowes - Limited to buying $200 cards - more fees to pay and more to liquidate

CVS exit rumors appear: 1/9/17
CVS removed from program 1/20/17
KMart exit rumors appear: 2/2/17
KMart removed from program 2/7/17
Staples exit rumors appear: 4/26/17
Staples removed from program: 4/30/17
Lowes exit rumors appear: 5/11/17
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Five Back Visa Card(2017)

Old Jan 2, 2017, 6:15 pm
  #16  
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: NY
Posts: 523
Yes, call. Calling is not what will get this shut down any sooner. The phone reps know exactly how to handle it, and like @Chelski said, you'll likely get your FB in less than 24 hours.
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Old Jan 2, 2017, 7:49 pm
  #17  
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 2,242
Originally Posted by fafa123
Nope. I had a batch that went 10 days and no credit. Called in on 12/29, they opened a case, gave me a reference # and said I'd see the credit in 1-2 business days. Not seen it yet but with the holidays, not sure what counts as a business day. Will give it until Wednesday until I call in again.
yeah same boat as you. my CB also havent show up after opening the ticket. i think i called in on 12/30 though, but transactions happened on 12/26.

these 5B cards are very inconsistent in providing the CB. i have cards that were swiped on the same day (let's call it A, B, C, D, within minutes of each other, in the same debit mode, at the same store, and drained of the same amount), and yet, i would have CB in card B and D, but not A and C.

no rhyme nor reason.
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Old Jan 2, 2017, 8:16 pm
  #18  
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I've never had a card take 7 days to get the 5% back so if I wake up tomorrow without getting credit it will be the first time. As I've said, I feel like people should wait a week before calling. That's my opinion. I don't expect that opinion to change, even if I have to call after waiting a week.

I'm doing this specific deal for the cash back. Buying a $500 card with a 2% cash back card covers the $3.95 Simon activation fee and the $4.95 Vanilla at CVS fee, and the MO fee when I've used up all the room on my reloadables. My financial costs are 100% covered at all times so the most I can lose is my time.

If i never see 5% again I've already made a tidy profit and I made it all without the risk losing money. This deal is about as safe as it gets.

Last edited by tbradnc; Jan 2, 2017 at 8:23 pm
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Old Jan 2, 2017, 9:40 pm
  #19  
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Originally Posted by tbradnc
No, it's not the same logic at all. It's a bad analogy.

Listen, you do whatever you need to do but I'm telling you - these deals are fragile and impatient people aren't very helpful.

Why can't someone just wait a week? I said above that I've waited 5 days and no one we know of has never gotten their 5%...
Originally Posted by tbradnc
I'll leave you to your risk management then. I think it's ridiculous.

Since these cards become available I've ran a (very) small fortune through them and have gotten 5% back 100% of the time, almost never within 48 hours.
Originally Posted by fafa123
Nope. I had a batch that went 10 days and no credit. Called in on 12/29, they opened a case, gave me a reference # and said I'd see the credit in 1-2 business days. Not seen it yet but with the holidays, not sure what counts as a business day. Will give it until Wednesday until I call in again.
Originally Posted by tbradnc
I've never had a card take 7 days to get the 5% back so if I wake up tomorrow without getting credit it will be the first time. As I've said, I feel like people should wait a week before calling. That's my opinion. I don't expect that opinion to change, even if I have to call after waiting a week.

I'm doing this specific deal for the cash back. Buying a $500 card with a 2% cash back card covers the $3.95 Simon activation fee and the $4.95 Vanilla at CVS fee, and the MO fee when I've used up all the room on my reloadables. My financial costs are 100% covered at all times so the most I can lose is my time.

If i never see 5% again I've already made a tidy profit and I made it all without the risk losing money. This deal is about as safe as it gets.
Anyone buys these already have earned some type of currency - yours is the cash back, others might be the minimum spend to earn a fat bonus, others may be for certain miles or points which usually beat the cashback by a punch.

The 5B opportunity helps to cover the cost which most would incur anyway for the chosen currency to earn, but it would ONLY cover the cost when the 5% ACTUALLY POSTS. If it does not post, you lose more than your time, your 2% cash back is eaten up by the extra CVS cost... Such simple math.
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Old Jan 3, 2017, 5:30 am
  #20  
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Originally Posted by Happy
Such simple math.
We've made some progress.

Yes, working this angle for cash back works like so:

Buy $500 card at Simon with 2% cash back and earn just over $10 cash.

$500 card at Simon = $3.95 activation fee
$500 card at CVS = $4.95 activation fee

Load to prepaid = $0
Money Order = $0.46

Total costs if money order is involved is $9.36, which correct me if I'm wrong, is less than $10.00.

I happen to believe that I'll make $25 per card on the Cash Back card, but if I don't I didn't lose anything but my time. I've cleared $30k in 5Bs and am working through another $10k as we speak. I've already made quite a bit of money for the time I've put into it.

I don't have an axe to grind, I don't care what you think, I know what I'm doing and I do it with as little stress as possible.

edited: And I see that the 5% hasn't posted on my cards that are 7 days out. I'm debating whether to wait or call considering there was a holiday in middle but I wouldn't think anything about someone calling after a week. It's the 48 hours and 1 second people who call that I think are making a mistake.

Last edited by tbradnc; Jan 3, 2017 at 6:50 am Reason: typos and grammar
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Old Jan 3, 2017, 6:35 am
  #21  
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I just want to make another comment about these cards, and MS in general, that speaks to the larger point I'm trying to make.

These 5% CB cards are not like buying a CD from a bank.

These 5% CB cards are a gimmick, cooked up by by a gift card company.

I get the sense that some people overexpose themselves buying these cards thinking they've found a guaranteed way to make $25 doing what amounts to a trick. It's not a problem for someone to clearly game the system by shuffling gift cards but it is a problem if the gaming doesn't pay off as expected. I have a problem with that thought process. MS has a lot in common with cat-and-mouse. Sometimes you're the cat and sometimes you're the mouse. Thinking you get to always be the cat is a real setup for disappointment.

This deal, where the use of a 2% cash back card covers all your upfront costs is as riskless as it gets. Worse case, the deal ends suddenly for any number of reasons and you're stuck breaking even so I'm willing to play it indefinitely since the likelihood of losing working capital is very low.

Reading some posts I get the feeling that there are at least a few people who if they do not get their 5% think it's the same as if someone stole $25 out of their bank account. It's not.

If this deal, and getting or not getting 5% is a major contributor to stress then it's good to learn it now.

....and I think the 5% will be paid -eventually- or I wouldn't bother.

Last edited by tbradnc; Jan 3, 2017 at 6:49 am Reason: typos and grammar
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Old Jan 3, 2017, 6:53 am
  #22  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
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Originally Posted by tbradnc
Reading some posts I get the feeling that there are at least a few people who if they do not get their 5% think it's the same as if someone stole $25 out of their bank account. It's not.
I mean, technically, you entered into a contract with the company (Blackhawk) when you purchases the 5back that you would get that 5% if used at a participating store. It is an enforceable contract. So it is similar to not getting a paycheck until a couple days after payday because your company screwed up payroll. Not necessarily money out of your wallet, but it prevents money from going into your wallet. I understand the point you are trying to make, but thats not the best analogy since they legally owe you the money.

Originally Posted by tbradnc
If this deal, and getting or not getting 5% is a major contributor to stress then it's good to learn it now.

....and I think the 5% will be paid -eventually- or I wouldn't bother.
Same. I usually wait until 10 calendar days have passed, then open tickets for those that have not posted by then.
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Old Jan 3, 2017, 6:59 am
  #23  
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
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I am all in favor of doing what is reasonable to maximize the mileage/points game, but visiting a Simon Mall, going to a CVS, and then heading to a store to cash out the Vanilla's is not worth my time. This is far too much work for a $25 gain. Even if you can scale up the process, what is being described would consume more than an hour based on my locations.

I suppose based on your proximity to Simon, CVS, and your money order vendor, it may be worth it.
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Old Jan 3, 2017, 7:06 am
  #24  
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Originally Posted by shitrus
I mean, technically, you entered into a contract with the company (Blackhawk) when you purchases the 5back that you would get that 5% if used at a participating store. It is an enforceable contract. So it is similar to not getting a paycheck until a couple days after payday because your company screwed up payroll. Not necessarily money out of your wallet, but it prevents money from going into your wallet. I understand the point you are trying to make, but thats not the best analogy since they legally owe you the money.
Yeah, I agree. Easier to talk about specifics in person than on a forum.

Just in terms of ethics this drives me a bit nuts. People found a way to game $25 out of Blackhawk (or CVS, whatever) doing a gift card sleight of hand and cry like a baby when it doesn't work exactly like they want it to. I know we all have different ethical edges and not everyone will agree with me but that's how I see it.

All of MS lives in a nebulous, gray area but we tend to want those we exploit to live in a world of black and white - so our tricks work.

Last edited by tbradnc; Jan 3, 2017 at 7:13 am
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Old Jan 3, 2017, 7:07 am
  #25  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 3,688
Originally Posted by tbradnc
I get the sense that some people overexpose themselves buying these cards thinking they've found a guaranteed way to make $25 doing what amounts to a trick.
I realized that not all who MS also keep track of their purchases of GCs. Without a good tracking system and/or opportunities to drain their 5Bs in full, it is easy to 'lose' money. This isn't counting those who lose/misplace their cards thus, they can't swipe them at the store to drain their balance plus their CBs. I don't know the percentage of such MSers/regular shoppers but they are the main reason that deals like this will continue, IMO.

Bottomline here is people will do what they have to, in order to get their CBs; those who preach to others what they think they should do are ignored. Best to focus on one's strategies rather than worry about others.
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Old Jan 3, 2017, 7:29 am
  #26  
 
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Originally Posted by Happy
Anyone buys these already have earned some type of currency - yours is the cash back, others might be the minimum spend to earn a fat bonus, others may be for certain miles or points which usually beat the cashback by a punch.

The 5B opportunity helps to cover the cost which most would incur anyway for the chosen currency to earn, but it would ONLY cover the cost when the 5% ACTUALLY POSTS. If it does not post, you lose more than your time, your 2% cash back is eaten up by the extra CVS cost... Such simple math.
I'm at a loss to understand why you waste your time posting cr@p like this. Do you enjoy restating the obvious and then throwing out minor digs?

"The 5B opportunity helps to cover the cost which most would incur anyway for the chosen currency to earn..."

That doesn't even make any sense.
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Old Jan 3, 2017, 8:19 am
  #27  
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 821
Originally Posted by Chelski
Remember momma said 'there will be haters'
I believe you, I'm sure you've heard that a lot.
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Old Jan 3, 2017, 8:36 am
  #28  
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Deleted... Never mind... I was wrong.
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Old Jan 3, 2017, 8:43 am
  #29  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
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Originally Posted by tbradnc
The most obvious solution for Blackhawk would be to exclude gift cards from the 5% cash back. By now they thave to have noticed that there are a lot of people spending 20 and $30,000 a month at CVS in $500 transactions and going w t f .
They could probably do that at the drop of a hat . Sure people would scream but how many of us are going to court to explain the specifics of why we didn't get our cash back and the techniques required to get it. I know I'm not interested in that much exposure.
while this may be a good scare tactic to 'non dedicated' MSers, this won't work for the persistent ones.

the whiners/complainers will always be there, but it's THEIR time, effort at stake in filing claims so why should it bother the rest? there's always KM (if they're not part of another round of closures in YOUR area) to turn to. I won't spoonfeed via PMs, it's easy to connect the dots just by checking the qualified participants.

It's a given that none of these gigs lasts forever but those who know what they're doing get the most out of them while the rest are just starting to ask "what/where/how?" when the game is over.
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Old Jan 3, 2017, 8:59 am
  #30  
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I've said all I have to say on the topic. I'm not on a crusade or trying to score points - i was just stating my opinion on a public forum. Of course people are going to do what they're going to do. I do think there is a place for stating alternate points of views and that's what I was doing. I'm a low key, fly under the radar type - I don't like to attract attention to myself, especially when I'm essentially gaming a hole in a system that clearly wasn't intended to be there. I truly believe if more
people were like this MS opportunities would last a little longer. I'm aware that people disagree with that.

I absolutely believe calling Blackhawk in 49 hours and putting a set of human eyes on a series of cards that were activated at the same time and showing I'm spending $2k per day at CVS in single, $500 transactions isn't exactly what I would call a smooth move.

Good luck to everyone.

Last edited by tbradnc; Jan 3, 2017 at 9:07 am
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