Old Jan 1, 2018, 10:53 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: wyogold
This is the thread for 2018. The previous discussion can be found here.

The 2019 thread can be found here

New to MO: Read this entire Wiki (Click to open) and all posts for some tips before asking common questions. It is best to know what you are doing before you try.
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Tested Gebit cards:
1. DO NOT WORK - Any Vanilla product affiliated with InComm or ITC Financial Services will not work for swipes over $49.99.
2. Visas issued by MetaBank work great.
3. MC issued by US bank work good, but you need to change payment type to debit before they enter the amount in the register. See below for details.
5. Gdot/sun work but take about an hour to activate.

NEW Limits as of 11/18 - 8K with ID every 24 hours. ID required for MO over 1K.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________

Some tips for starting out:

All WM registers allow 4 debit swipes per transaction, but YMMV per store and cashier. Refer to cards as Debit cards.

Start slow and buy one MO with one Gebit to see how it works. Refer to cards as Debit, only this community calls them Gebits. Your store or cashier may have rules that other stores do not have, only allowing one swipe per trans or up to 4 swipes per trans. Read all the tips below and all the posts below before trying more advanced transactions. NO variety or design of VISA or MC Gebit's will ever auto-drain at Walmart so always tell them the amount you want to pay per card. Fee: 1K MO or less is usually 88 cents each, but ask or check the wall. Subtract the fee from the total or pay in cash. If a store says "no", thank them and try again another day with a different clerk.


Helpful details and tips for advanced transactions:

1. Cost:
1K MO fee is usually 88 cents each(Some states limit MO total to 750 or 950 and may have a different fee). Subtract fee from your total or pay in cash. Can buy two 1K MO in one transaction with 4 swipes for 88 cents x 2 in most states. NO variety or design of VISA or MC Gebit's will ever auto-drain at Walmart so always tell them the amount you want to pay per card.

2. Split payment transcations: You cannot successfully swipe more than 4 cards in a single transaction. If the cashier screws up and enters $50.00 instead of $500.00 (thus making it impossible for 4 swipes to complete the transaction), the transaction will need to be canceled. The funds should return to your cards right away but may take 24 hours, so note the time and person helping you. When a transaction is canceled during the trans, the money returns to the cards. If canceled after, the cash reg drawer opens and they pay you back in cash.

3. Split payment: The amount of each swipe needs to be entered by the cashier. Ask to "split the payment by $$$". The Gebit must have current balance of that amount or more otherwise slip with Error 51 will print out. Warning: (YMMV) It appears (my experience on 3 occasions during prepaid card load and buying MO in 2 different WMs) that after the debit card was charged no cash could be credited back to the card. Cashier should issue cash back. Keep the slip and contact manager if in doubt. Remember date, time and register if no slip.

4. Bad Printer: IF, by chance, you've swiped your GCs successfully, a receipt prints but the MO doesn't, make sure to ask to see the receipt and check near the bottom IF it says CHANGE/REFUND with a negative sign before the amount of GCs you swiped, that means the cashier must give you cash refund. Cashier may have to call for the cash dept manager to verify the refund. Some stores may outright give your cash refund immediately while there are others that will ask you to come back. Think twice before you buy MOs while on vacation or when you're in unknown to you territories for issues like this.

5. Kiosk: Very few Kate's can sell money orders anymore.>>>>Sometime 2016, a lot of WM supercenters have done away with Kate (kiosks that allows loading of prepaids/sell $500 MOs). As of today, MOST, if not ALL WMs, have replaced this with the regular slim ATM to check balance/withdraw money.

6. MCGC liquidation- The cashier should
not enter the amount first. Technically they just can't hit enter after entering the amount. Let the CSR know you need to swipe first and switch the payment type to debit, then swipe and hit "Cancel" or "Change Payment" to select "Debit" on the screen, enter the pin and have them enter the amount.

Debit codes PDF
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/attac...0&d=1461170080
Print Wikipost

Buying Money Orders at Walmart (2018)

Old Apr 11, 2018, 5:24 pm
  #601  
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,837
  • Originally Posted by dealhunter32
    I have noted that some Neighborhood Markets have different payment terminals where you must slide the card in a vertical rather than horizontal position. For these, the change payment option is not selectable for MasterCards, even if the cashier doesn't key the partial tender. The MasterCards are rejected here due to being run as credit.
Originally Posted by dealhunter32
The stores with payment terminals (Verifone) where the card is swiped in a horizontal position that have the three blue arrow lights will work for split tender of MasterCards as long as you can hit the yellow change payment button before the cashier keys the partial tender amount, but at many locations the cashiers believe that the partial tender amount must be keyed BEFORE the card is swiped and will get upset and demand you cancel if you swiped the MasterCard before they keyed the amount. Although their belief is completely wrong, it is not possible to buy MOs with MCs as it will default to credit and print an error message. It is much easier just to use Visa GCs at Walmart.
Ingenico ones are ok like below.


I have no problem with multiple MCGCs as long as I swipe before the CSR enters amount.
lumangoy is offline  
Old Apr 11, 2018, 6:36 pm
  #602  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 127
Originally Posted by wyogold
I've noticed the double beep since a few days. Was wondering what's up with it .. so there's no double beep with a regular debit card?
I haven't tried it with a regular debit card. I may try it tomorrow and see if there's no double beep.
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Old Apr 11, 2018, 6:57 pm
  #603  
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: NY
Posts: 523
Originally Posted by wyogold
I've noticed the double beep since a few days. Was wondering what's up with it .. so there's no double beep with a regular debit card?
All my WM's went double beep last week, but nothing else has changed.
FrankMS is offline  
Old Apr 11, 2018, 7:09 pm
  #604  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: SoCal
Posts: 2,164
I haven't done any MOs for two months in SoCal,LA/ventura area, are we still good? anything new i need to keep an eye for?
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Old Apr 11, 2018, 7:42 pm
  #605  
 
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I did 2k today and no double beep.
cruisr is offline  
Old Apr 12, 2018, 12:30 pm
  #606  
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Originally Posted by cruisr
I did 2k today and no double beep.
I did 1K each at 2 Wallys and YES double beep today. Not that my CSR friends care at all about the double beep, but sound is annoying.

UpDate: I went to a third Wally and they were using the old system, which only prints one receipt. Under the old system, there was NO double beep

Last edited by carlitos; Apr 12, 2018 at 8:38 pm
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Old Apr 12, 2018, 8:51 pm
  #607  
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 4
No double beep in my wally either. Did a serve load and an MO. SoCal area.
Amenite is offline  
Old Apr 12, 2018, 8:54 pm
  #608  
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There's a good deal on VGCs at Office Depot this week (buy at least $300, get $15 back instantly), but the connoisseurs at my local store have cleaned out everything except the Visa Everywhere cards. I recall that there can be difficulty liquidating some of these cards, but I also recall folks having success with the "Style Everywhere" cards at Walmart. Is that still true, and does it matter what kind of Walmart you visit (supercenter, regular, neighborhood, etc.)?

BTW, if Style "works," it's a good card to buy at OD because the fee is only $4.95 instead of $6.95.

And can I assume Style cards would be problematic to liquidate at grocery stores, because they'd be limited to stores that sell clothing?

Thanks.
iahphx is offline  
Old Apr 12, 2018, 9:25 pm
  #609  
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 4
Originally Posted by iahphx
There's a good deal on VGCs at Office Depot this week (buy at least $300, get $15 back instantly), but the connoisseurs at my local store have cleaned out everything except the Visa Everywhere cards. I recall that there can be difficulty liquidating some of these cards, but I also recall folks having success with the "Style Everywhere" cards at Walmart. Is that still true, and does it matter what kind of Walmart you visit (supercenter, regular, neighborhood, etc.)?

BTW, if Style "works," it's a good card to buy at OD because the fee is only $4.95 instead of $6.95.

And can I assume Style cards would be problematic to liquidate at grocery stores, because they'd be limited to stores that sell clothing?

Thanks.
Acc. to giftcardmalls site, they dont mention any restrictions on the style cards about where you cant use them...
I remember last year I used a dining everywhere visa to get an MO at Wally so same logic should apply to style too I feel like.

Amenite is offline  
Old Apr 12, 2018, 10:08 pm
  #610  
 
Join Date: May 2008
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Originally Posted by wyogold
I've noticed the double beep since a few days. Was wondering what's up with it .. so there's no double beep with a regular debit card?
I've noticed the double-beep also. I'll be more aware tomorrow as I have to buy MO's but also do a BP using a regular debit card.
redtop43 is offline  
Old Apr 13, 2018, 9:47 am
  #611  
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: SF Bay Area
Posts: 656
Do all neighborhood markets have MCs?
Is there a way for me to check without physically visiting or calling in?

edit: answered my own question, answer is no, website should say "Money Services"
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Old Apr 13, 2018, 10:03 am
  #612  
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: IND
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Posts: 144
Thanks guys, and Lumangoy as well. I do swipe vertically at my WM, so I will stay away from MCGCs for now.
Haven't noticed any loud beeps, BTW. My last MO was at the beginning of this week.
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Old Apr 13, 2018, 11:17 am
  #613  
soy
 
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Originally Posted by iahphx
There's a good deal on VGCs at Office Depot this week (buy at least $300, get $15 back instantly), but the connoisseurs at my local store have cleaned out everything except the Visa Everywhere cards. I recall that there can be difficulty liquidating some of these cards, but I also recall folks having success with the "Style Everywhere" cards at Walmart. Is that still true, and does it matter what kind of Walmart you visit (supercenter, regular, neighborhood, etc.)?

BTW, if Style "works," it's a good card to buy at OD because the fee is only $4.95 instead of $6.95.

And can I assume Style cards would be problematic to liquidate at grocery stores, because they'd be limited to stores that sell clothing?

Thanks.
Its a case of YMMV. I believe that Fuel and Movies are the hardest to get rid of, though I wonder would fuel work at supermarkets that have an associated gas station?
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Old Apr 13, 2018, 1:42 pm
  #614  
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Didn't notice anything out of the ordinary at the WMNM I usually head to. Vertical swipe, sounded normal, printed nice and clean. Biz as usual!
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Old Apr 13, 2018, 6:22 pm
  #615  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,322
The extra beep isn't nearly as concerning as the pictures and voices I've started to hear , coming from the card terminal ...
tuphat is offline  

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