I am doing min spend and MS at GCM on:

1) Citi cards
2) Citi cards
3) citi cards ;-)


Also on Amex cobrand cards (hilton surpass).

After hearing a few of the amex shut down stories, I have intentionally not done GCM on Amex cards that earn MR. Since we are sitting 6 digits of MR points in each of our accounts I don't want to endanger those.


In fact, I think it is better to have GCM be the first transaction to hit your card. I have over the recent years had way too many times where I take the card in my pocket to work, buy lunch or something, then go to by a VGC and it is denied due to fraud alert. Consistently I hear the fraud reps say that the computer recognizes the small charge followed by a large charge as a pattern of fraudulent use that happens as someone tests to see if a card works and then hits it hard.

After that multiple time, I NEVER charge something small to begin with. ALWAYS a large charge (over 500) and haven't ever had an issue.

3k order for Citi plat select aa and boom, min spend done.

Unfortunately, a recent round of apps yielded a citi busines plat select with a credit line of 2k. So I did a 1998-1999 order, pushed payment, and a week later submitted next order of 1999 to finish off min spend.

I haven't had any new Chase cards in awhile and have never ordered from GCM with a chase card. We have two Chase British Airways Avios 100k offer cards coming with 20k spend needed per card. I intend to do the first 3k (yields 50k avios) order per card, have statement close and post to avios (so can't be denied or revoked) and then begin doing 4k orders at a time until I reach 20k for the full 100k avios.

What are you doing that the rest of us aren't? My May 1 and May 3 orders both tracked at 1%, like everyone else (aside from you).

Are you pure of heart like me? :D

Well that explains it, then...

Nah, I don't think there is any secret: I use MS Edge* exclusively to buy customized VGCs at GCM through TCBs.

*This post is not sponsored, endorsed or affiliated with Microsoft.

Is it a certain card?

JCD, what specific card are you ordering?

Custom

Java Dude, In the screenshot from March 23, 2017 you have a few "declined" orders from Neiman Marcus. The screenshot from yesterday shows that you haven't had any declined orders. It looks like you've edited the screenshots.

I don't believe that you're getting a different rate than anyone else.

LOL!!!

Are you serious or just being a troll? It is obvious the recent screenshot is cropped to only show the last few rows and the declined neiman marcus items were from jan 19 ... o.0

Get it?

https://static1.squarespace.com/stat...7/baby-cry.jpg

http://i64.tinypic.com/118hoqo.png

Calendars, how do they work?

You just edited the screenshot again to add the Neiman Marcus. Also, I don't believe that the baby in the picture is really you.

You got me there! :D

Thanks for the details.

Def a valid point to start with a large transaction to avoid fraud freezing, but GCM and GC at several $K/pop is obvious MS-type activity with gift cards due to repeat such transactions. My thought is that new accounts are more likely to be looked at by a human even if you've had accounts with that bank before. Not to say that if they look it will be the end, but I'd think it ups the risk of someone digging further on your activity and taking action or reporting it elsewhere within.

Having said that, I don't recall seeing many data points showing bank-wide shutdowns simply for buying gift cards without other factors involved like cycling credit, multiple payment sources or doing walmart billpay.

You must have hit Citi pretty card to get such low CL. Was it the first business card with them?