spencenaz

CVS allows you to use CC to buy GC?

AZDbacks17

Yes..they sell many Bancorp Cards ( one vanilla too) but limit your purchases to $2k/ 24 hrs..at least my store does...there is a cvs thread on FT.. .but since the 5back deal is dead now...no benefit to buying cvs over WG.

kingrat

Is this posted in the correct place?

sdsearch

A thread about MS in the MS forum? Where else should it be?

cheaptom

I deposit 3 or 4 MOs at a time into my bank account, and have never had a problem. What sort of challenges do you guys face?

cpnyc

into one account? i had to spread it across 3 diff ones. after awhile, people question why you deposit so many mo's made out to yourself.

markr33

If the MO was not made out to yourself, how would you deposit it into your account? I suppose if it was endorsed to you on the back. But do banks generally accept endorsed checks?

cpnyc

should've been more clear...by made out to yourself, i meant putting yourself down as both sender and receiver of the mo.

markr33

I've always left "sender" blank (on the types of MO that even have "sender"). Just write your name ("To the order of:") and sign it and that's it.

cpnyc

no questioning from the banks for depositing mo's with an anonymous sender? what volume are you depositing, if you don't mind answering?

TyroneSchulase

What? I think he said it. I MSed almost my entire 110k in 4 months. Of course there has been about 1-3k/mo biz use on this card for years, so maybe that makes my usage less suspicious.

I agree with the person who said that many shutdowns may be reported with less than the whole story. I know a guy who got shut down by Am3x for only 10k/mo. He was floored and dumbfounded. After a detailed discussion, it turns out he was depositing MO's in 8-10 banks and CU's and paying the card with 8-10 billpays from different institutions. Now, that's suspicious.

Addressing the OP, maybe it's the type of card. WF was touchy about their 5B grocery because it was their cash. Same with BB&T's 4.05% everything card. I got shutdowns on both of those, cycling. But I can cycle a points card as often as I want. Consider the biz model. More usage gets them a better deal on buying the points from whomever. Imagine Am3x at a Hilton or Starwood meeting. "We bought umpteen billion points last year. Give us a better deal this year..." As long as they're making money on every transaction, I imagine they don't care. But if they're losing money... Same goes for casinos. My first time in Vegas, I was obviously counting cards and they knew it. But they didn't throw me out when they were making money from me. Only when they were losing.

cheaptom

I usually get mine blank at the PO for $495. I go to bank immediately after. Scribble my own name as the recipient, sign it, deposit it. Sometimes 3 or 4 at a time for a total deposit of $1,980. Personally, I always deposit and never cash them.

To the bank, it's the same scenario as depositing a check. That is why I am baffled by Flyertalkers who mention they are leery to deposit money orders or their bank gives them a hard time.

If they ask "Why are you the buyer and the recipient?," then you should be able to say "none of your business" but probably better to say "It's like writing myself a check for business purposes."

TyroneSchulase

For Chase, when I'm training a new card, I always call and notify them of an upcoming large purchase. Their automated system is great for that, and it works every time. I start small, maybe 3k first purchase, then 6, then 10. After the third purchase, I don't need to call anymore. And I'm careful not to mix in too many small purchases. I suspect it throws their model off. (i.e. Are you a big spender or not?) What they find suspicious is 100's of $4 purchases for months, then $500. I would definitely warn them on that, just like you tell them when you're leaving the state.

cpnyc

thanks for the feedback. from my experience, mo's are treated as checks at the atm, but i read that the irs considers it to be cash. maybe that's why some consider it a little suspicious in high volume?

i think this is the case as well...they're looking for spending patterns. my first purchase on the spg was for a $500 gc at wg. so far no issues with in-store purchases, but i did get a fraud alert for purchasing a $1k agc through their own website.

NoonRadar

I don't have much experience with cycling CL, have hardly done it, but theoretically I'd say they do care, they give you X$ as CL b/c their evaluation of you as risk to them extends to that much $/month. So if you end up spending 2x+/month of your CL for several months, I'd imagine it represents an increased risk for the bank. Depending on the bank's risk models and their overall assessment of you (based on other factors of your credit profile and activity with that bank) that alone might not be a reason for someone to look and curb your account, but what if something else raises a flag and draws eyes, they then look and find you've also been cycling credit?

We largely all play by ear I'd imagine and when a review and or shutdown happens we ourselves might not be aware of all the deciding factors, or how far back an analyst decided to look to make a decision. But, I wouldn't venture to say that just because one of us has done X activity with no blow-back so far, that X activity doesn't result in a shutdown. My guess is that that most shutdowns happen for a combination of risks factors, and/or repeat of activities that the bank sees as risky or suspicious, not just doing one of these things once.