Well hello there, im Ace in Lacey

Card Changes
 

My most recent order arrived with some changes. First, it got here too quickly -- way ahead of the previous orders still in the pipeline. The envelope was also thicker due to 2 substantial legal inserts. Is Blackhawk getting sued?
The cards have a new BIN (4511) and phone number. The old number can't be used with them anymore. It's a bummer b/c it was fast -- i could reset the PIN in 35 sec. The new number works at a glacial pace. Somehow it seems there may be more significance to the changes than these superficial differences.

Tried to log in this AM but got the following message:

"For security reasons, your account has been temporarily locked. Please contact customer service for assistance."

ugh

"Reset PIN" .... why???

Who has time for that? Just use last 4?

This subject has been discussed ad nauseum in other threads on the MS forum. There is no value in inserting same discussion in every single thread.

Has anyone else ever gotten this? This almost seems nicer than letting you get to the order point and saying your card was declined by the credit card company when you can easily see that the card was authorized for the charged amount.

I'm curious how it actually is, but I received the new packaging today as well and the instructions actually seem to indicate there is no PIN unless you set one:

The previous version specifically said last 4 was default.

I used new version today and last 4 were pin just like the old ones

You seemed to think it had value to point out that it was taking you longer to reset the pin for GCM cards in the GCM thread. Despite your assertion to the contrary, and your assertion that it has been discussed sufficiently elsewhere, I disagree.

I have yet to hear of a significant value of changing the pin.



For the newbies and the experienced alike:



GCM cards come with the PIN set as last 4.

Changing the PIN provides no protection against the money being drained for nefarious purposes.

That was not my reason for changing PINs whenever possible. I find it awkward to fumble at a sales terminal trying to figure PINs for each card, and my eyesight is not sharp enough to read them quickly from a distance. In the process I also get to hear the loaded balance, which assures me that the card is properly loaded.
OTOH the argument of saving 35s needed to change the PIN seems ridiculous for anyone involved in MS or spending days and years of our lives on message boards. But to each their own -- it's a personal choice without much consequence one way or another.

why setting my PIN has saved me a couple of times
 

I don't always change/set PIN on GCM/GCC GCs but IME, it has saved me from "trouble" a couple of times from certain cashiers. Most cashiers at my go-to WMs don't ask to see the card but there's one or two, for whatever reasons not just check if my name is on them BUT also decide to swipe on their end. If I didn't set PIN to what I can remember, the transaction would've failed since I don't memorize the last 4 of my VGCs especially if I have several to swipe. The cashier asked for all four cards I was going to swipe and I didn't hesitate to hand it to her and she shuffled them (I *think* they're probably testing if I have a uniform PIN for all?). After she swiped the first one, I entered my PIN and was approved; all went through successfully even if I didn't know the last 4 of each card they swiped.

Whenever I see those cashiers at the register, if I haven't set my PIN, I do so while I'm waiting for my turn and so far, they have not created a new reason to reject my debit cards. It has saved a trip to that WM knowing that if any cashier decides to hold on to my DCs and swipe it on their end, I can enter my PIN with success.

I was getting the above referenced error message the other day and was getting worried but used another card and it worked fine. It turns out it didn't work because Citi closed my account and conveniently never let me know. I love it how these credit card company's want to instill confidence in you to use their card for it's benefits but can cut you off at anytime for any reason and leave you stranded.

You'll probably get a letter in a month. That's how Cit, Barc, and Cap1 all acted with me. You find out when your card gets declined. They won't notify you.

I know this is normally talked about on the fiveback forum - but there doesn't seem to be any options left to convert these puppies (or maybe a very obscure long path to getting the cashback out) - are you just liquidating them like a normal GC?