sollavec

Bought MGC at two different locations in my area over the past two days. Might just be your store/area.

MaxVO

On the sibject of $500 AXGC -- can they be used online / for mail order? I understand with other prepaids, online use requires registration. Is there such registration option for AXGC as well?

Klemhuzzah

Just like the others, you can register your axgc and use it online. Website/phone number to register should be on the back of the axgc. Or you can use it in-store without registration. The big difference is that an axgc is not a debit card.

MaxVO

I bought a couple of those $500's, and can provide a few more details taken from the insert and by phone. The AXGC's from Sam's are completely anonymous -- can be used online with any name/address and do not require registration. As Klemhuzzah stated above, they can only work in the CC mode. However, the insert is very explicit that these prepaids have no CC protections. Transactions can not be disputed or reversed through the card issuer. As with cash purchases, claims can be made only to the merchant. Thus they have more disadvantages vs MC/V besides not having the Debit mode.
There is still limited protection against loss or theft, but only for the funds that have not yet been drained.

royallyflushed

I haven’t tried to buy these, but I’ve seen DPs saying the max is $250 despite the $500 label. Good to know that’s not the case with all locations.

MaxVO

In my area, the cost of AXGC is $4.94 per $500 load. They will require an extra step (charge) to unload. The total should be similar to 2x($250 MC). But I found the current MC's to be a nightmare to unload. They did not autodrain, and there was that "Not Authorized" issue in the debit mode. So on balance, the AXGC might be a better route. I just want folks to be aware of the potential risks -- it's hard to gauge w/o much experience with them.

Klemhuzzah

Yeah, I had come to the same conclusion when I started Sam's Club. Eventually, I found a couple of places that would take the SC mcgc. I also liked that doing the axgc route required fewer split payments. But eventually the extra step sent me back to just buying the mcgc.

doggiefizzle

I still haven’t found a place that accepts the Wal-Mart/Sam’s flavor of Vanilla MCGCs. I have this promo on my Gold card and it’s a bummer to sit out, but it’s also so much more convenient to just buy GCs at regular grocery with a slightly lower bonus that are easier to liquidate.

iahphx

So thanks to that free Sam's Club membership with the Discover card offer (which also netted me a free $20 SC gift card), I joined SC. And I've been targeted on one of my AMEX biz cards for 6 Membership Rewards points for every dollar spent at Sam's. Add the $15 daily Dosh cashback, and it SEEMED like Sam's was a good place to buy GCs.

My wife this week bought a couple $200 "Just for You" Vanilla MC GCs issued by Bancorp, and I bought a couple $250 OneVanilla MCs issued by MetaBank. My wife just tried to liquidate her $200 Vanillas at Safeway -- a place where EVERY MC always works -- and they were rejected. I see in this thread that others have had similar problems (I wish the DoctorofCredit, where I found this offer, had noted this). It sounds like I could have similar problems with my $250 OneVanillas. Is there any store where these cards can be turned into MOs? I don't really want to go around town and keep getting rejected, as It makes me look sketchy for normal GC liquidations. Is there any other reasonable way to get rid of these things, other than regular spend? Thanks.

EDIT: I see this week that Staples has fee-free MCGCs, and Safeway will give me 10 bucks back if I buy a $200 GC. Would these Sam's GCs work as PAYMENT for a gift card at Safeway and/or Staples, such that I can "swap" them for something that would be easy to liquidate?

radonc1

In general, the answer is you will get is that you cannot buy GCs with GCs.

However, as with all things MS, YMMV depending on the supermarket you try this at. You may find a unicorn out there that doesn't care how you pay for your GCs. I have yet to find one in my area.

iahphx

Is that because they "check" your card? No one at my Safeway has ever checked my card or ID on a $200 gift card purchase. If they don't, will it just go through?

Klemhuzzah

It should work. When I buy Am3x gc at Sam's, I've had no problem buying a vgc at the grocery store. It's not like you're trying to use a Staple's or Safeway's gc to buy a vgc. Good luck!

jotakami

I've been successful liquidating the $250 variable Vanilla MCGCs buying MOs at my local grocery store (Publix), however they do not autodrain so I have to make sure I use it as the last swipe.
However, I also got a $250 variable OneVanilla MC and it cannot be used for MOs at Publix, even when the value is less than the card balance. This seems odd since I can autodrain the $500 OneVanilla Visas no problem. I'll probably just have to spend it the old fashioned way.
Anyway, lesson learned. Sam's Club probably isn't worth the trouble anymore since it got nerfed by Dosh.

iahphx

Thanks. Was Dosh giving more than $15 in daily cashback at Sam's? Right now, that deal is still very good if you have an AMEX card paying 6% and getting $15 from Dosh, but you have to be in a situation where you (and preferably also your spouse) can keep buying cards 1 at a time. Of course, with the GCs being hard to get rid of, it kind of makes this deal undesirable, unless you have the magic liquidation source.

iahphx

I was able to unload a $200 Sam's Vanilla at Safeway by buying another (discounted) MCGC. It ran as debit, and I entered my pin. Interesting that it's the same store where I couldn't use it to buy a MO. Are their registers somehow coded differently for MOs? Seems weird to me.

EDIT: Oddly, a $250 variable Sam's OneVanilla was declined (payment terminal said "not authorized") at Safeway when I tried to buy another gift card with it. I took it to Staples where I was successful in buying a $200 MCGC (fee free this week). You do have to read the last 4 digits of the card to the cashier, which feels awkward, but I had no problems. I'll just organically spend the remaining $50 on the 2 variables I have. I won't be buying any more MC gift cards at Sam's -- which is a shame, because they'd be extremely lucrative for me now if I could get rid of them in the "normal" manner.