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Buying Money Orders at Walmart (2019 - 2022)

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Old Jan 2, 2019, 9:51 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: danpeake
As of Nov 11, 2020, Meta gebits are getting declined when used for MO/BP purchases at MC/SD. New limit appears to be $99 per swipe with some metas at some stores. READ the posts below and add a data point with details. USB and GD gift cards do not seem to be affected.

This is the thread for 2019. The previous discussion can be found here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manu...rt-2018-a.html

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.

Note: The policy for allowing gift cards as payment for money orders can be more restrictive with certain stores or certain clerks. Just because an employee says there's a new restrictive policy "for all Walmarts" means nothing. There are plenty of cases where the employee is incorrect and the new policy is only regional or store specific.

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Tested Gebit (gift debit) cards:
1. DO NOT WORK - Any Vanilla product affiliated with InComm or ITC Financial Services will not work for swipes over $49.99.
2. See above on Visas issued by MetaBank. New limit appears to be $99 per swipe with some metas at some stores. Follow the posts below for the latest information.
3. MC issued by US bank OR Metabank MC (Giftcards.com) can work, but you need to change payment type to debit before they enter the amount in the register. See below for details.
4. Gdot/sun work but take about an hour to activate.(VGC issued by Sunrise also limited to $99/swipe, same as Metabank issued cards, and Sunrise was available immediately).
5. USB work
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________
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 $1 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 $1 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 transactions: 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. Kates are a distant and pleasant memory now.

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.

7. SSN/ID entry - Any MO purchases in one transaction at or over $3K requires you to input your SSN. Any MO at or over $1K requires ID input (and ID requirement can also be forced by cashier at any amount).



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

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Buying Money Orders at Walmart (2019 - 2022)

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Old Feb 20, 2019, 3:29 pm
  #271  
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MCI
Posts: 698
Originally Posted by Steve in Olympia
Your sky may be falling.......but my sky is fully intact. And the sun is shining.
Heh, well... awesome for you I guess.

I haven't touched MS really but am a very amused/curious observer/lurker.

I'm always amazed at people who are MSing 5-figures a month...some people probably can MS the equivalent of the avg US house-hold income...per month! Astonishing. (Maybe this isn't even that impressive given what are probably not even publically posted....)

I can definitely understand that if you know how to play the game and have your own ways that you DEFINITELY want to keep the pie as close to yourself as possible, since wide spread knowledge can get something shutdown very quickly.

The wide range of human ingenuity is definitely impressive.

And my wife thought I was being "clever" with my credit card bonus/churning strategy. I can even imagine how MSing can actually become so valuable as to be almost like a 2nd "income-source" if you can minimize fees and maximize rewards.
ginmqi is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2019, 3:54 pm
  #272  
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: The World!!!
Programs: Some of them not all ...
Posts: 1,532
Originally Posted by ginmqi
Heh, well... awesome for you I guess.
I haven't touched MS really but am a very amused/curious observer/lurker.
I'm always amazed at people who are MSing 5-figures a month...some people probably can MS the equivalent of the avg US house-hold income...per month! Astonishing. (Maybe this isn't even that impressive given what are probably not even publically posted....)
I can definitely understand that if you know how to play the game and have your own ways that you DEFINITELY want to keep the pie as close to yourself as possible, since wide spread knowledge can get something shutdown very quickly.
The wide range of human ingenuity is definitely impressive.
And my wife thought I was being "clever" with my credit card bonus/churning strategy. I can even imagine how MSing can actually become so valuable as to be almost like a 2nd "income-source" if you can minimize fees and maximize rewards.
I totally agree with Steve in Olympia. I happen to live in South Cali, where it is close to impossible to split payment on a regular MO of close to $1,000. I don't even try anymore. I am almost sure all people complaining of Wally World dying are people located in big metro areas, specially in North Cali. I travel for work at least 3 times a month to middle of nowhere Mid West, where even if I told people were it is, they would have it hard getting there just to MS. I still split payment, I still have NEVER given Wally my Driver's License (I have never been asked for it) and I still get my MOs after buying the Simon VGCs here in South Cali. And No, my MS is not my second income source. It is just my hobby and a hobby that gets me and my SO to travel the world for close to nothing via Miles and Points and in style (J or F).
cruisr and Steve in Olympia like this.
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Old Feb 20, 2019, 4:04 pm
  #273  
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MCI
Posts: 698
Originally Posted by carlitos
I totally agree with Steve in Olympia. I happen to live in South Cali, where it is close to impossible to split payment on a regular MO of close to $1,000. I don't even try anymore. I am almost sure all people complaining of Wally World dying are people located in big metro areas, specially in North Cali. I travel for work at least 3 times a month to middle of nowhere Mid West, where even if I told people were it is, they would have it hard getting there just to MS. I still split payment, I still have NEVER given Wally my Driver's License (I have never been asked for it) and I still get my MOs after buying the Simon VGCs here in South Cali. And No, my MS is not my second income source. It is just my hobby and a hobby that gets me and my SO to travel the world for close to nothing via Miles and Points and in style (J or F).
As I said, good for you guys. If I had a method to keep the MS going, I wouldn't divulge it to the world.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to say travel to more rural areas and keep the MS going freely and plentifully.

My "sky" is not falling since I don't do MS. I do fairly basic CC churning/sign-up bonus and I still get to travel at a deep discount also.

Indeed if you enjoy playing the game then it certainly doesn't hurt since it is basically a side income source (those miles/pts translate to valuable $ equivalents...which many use for travel).
ginmqi is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2019, 5:48 pm
  #274  
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: UA-1K, MM, Hilton-Diamond, Marriott-Titanium
Posts: 4,432
Originally Posted by carlitos
I totally agree with Steve in Olympia. I happen to live in South Cali, where it is close to impossible to split payment on a regular MO of close to $1,000. I don't even try anymore. I am almost sure all people complaining of Wally World dying are people located in big metro areas, specially in North Cali. I travel for work at least 3 times a month to middle of nowhere Mid West, where even if I told people were it is, they would have it hard getting there just to MS. I still split payment, I still have NEVER given Wally my Driver's License (I have never been asked for it) and I still get my MOs after buying the Simon VGCs here in South Cali. And No, my MS is not my second income source. It is just my hobby and a hobby that gets me and my SO to travel the world for close to nothing via Miles and Points and in style (J or F).

Same with me. It is always YMMV depending on location.
cruisr is online now  
Old Feb 20, 2019, 6:29 pm
  #275  
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,832
Originally Posted by ginmqi
As I said, good for you guys. If I had a method to keep the MS going, I wouldn't divulge it to the world.
I do not do anything exotic, unique, or a secret. Everything I do has been discussed openly on this thread thousands of times: I buy VGC's when they are on sale at my local office supply chain, and cash them out at WM.

There! The cat is out of the bag! Shhhhh, don't tell anyone!
pitflyer, cruisr, cajunguy and 1 others like this.
Steve in Olympia is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2019, 6:33 pm
  #276  
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MCI
Posts: 698
Originally Posted by Steve in Olympia
I do not do anything exotic, unique, or a secret. Everything I do has been discussed openly on this thread thousands of times: I buy VGC's when they are on sale at my local office supply chain, and cash them out at WM.

There! The cat is out of the bag! Shhhhh, don't tell anyone!
haha, I see.

But good to know it's still very much alive. Definitely seems like a YMMV/location-dependent thing.

Are you in Olympia, WA? I'm currently in HNL but potentially have my next job in that area!

Cheers
ginmqi is offline  
Old Feb 21, 2019, 11:03 am
  #277  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: LAX
Programs: AA, UA, DL, NSA, CIA, MIB
Posts: 537
Went to pick up a MO at WM first time since they implemented the change to gather all your information. I don't mind handing over my DL, I've got nothing to hide.

The poor clerks having to enter all that with their finger on that touch screen! We laughed about how silly he thought it was and how much he's hoping they get to where they can scan the bar code or mag strip on the back.

The process is longer but I don't do more than $1k at a time. I don't mind it.
cajunguy is offline  
Old Feb 21, 2019, 3:35 pm
  #278  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 122
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Last edited by redarmy; Feb 24, 2019 at 11:56 am
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Old Feb 21, 2019, 5:05 pm
  #279  
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 3
Originally Posted by redarmy
Does anyone of any new per transaction limit being implemented recently? I went for $4000 in one transaction (not intending to split pay and definitely below $8000/day limit). After all the painful entry of my DL info, the screen promoted the cashier to tell me that the transaction can't be processed. It worked fine this time last month.
No issue buying a 4K MO this morning.
ChurnerMcChurnFace is offline  
Old Feb 21, 2019, 5:58 pm
  #280  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 122
deleted

Last edited by redarmy; Feb 24, 2019 at 11:56 am
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Old Feb 22, 2019, 7:37 am
  #281  
 
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 30
Originally Posted by redarmy
Thanks. I may be banned from buying MO with my DL number.
You would be the first person, so highly unlikely.
thedealkiller is offline  
Old Feb 22, 2019, 9:58 pm
  #282  
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 4,477
I've got a DP from one WM Supercenter (south FL) that has apparently implemented a DL requirement for under $1K MO. First time it happened yesterday after I asked for a $999.11 MO. I assumed the cashier must've entered the amount incorrectly. Tried again today with a more alert cashier, and got the same result. The cashier advised that there was some periodic reprogramming of the terminals going on. I decided not to buy both times, and would rather first test other nearby locations.
MaxVO is offline  
Old Feb 23, 2019, 2:06 pm
  #283  
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 190
Originally Posted by MaxVO
I've got a DP from one WM Supercenter (south FL) that has apparently implemented a DL requirement for under $1K MO. First time it happened yesterday after I asked for a $999.11 MO. I assumed the cashier must've entered the amount incorrectly. Tried again today with a more alert cashier, and got the same result. The cashier advised that there was some periodic reprogramming of the terminals going on. I decided not to buy both times, and would rather first test other nearby locations.
I've had that happen in my nearest WM. Was surprised not to hear about it on here first.
LukFilm is offline  
Old Feb 23, 2019, 4:01 pm
  #284  
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 1,727
Originally Posted by LukFilm
I've had that happen in my nearest WM. Was surprised not to hear about it on here first.
variations have been reported here. This happening two times to a single person is hardly confirmation that a terminal has been reprogrammed. CSRs r trained to enter info on regulars.
Chelski is offline  
Old Feb 23, 2019, 6:15 pm
  #285  
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 190
Originally Posted by Chelski

variations have been reported here. This happening two times to a single person is hardly confirmation that a terminal has been reprogrammed. CSRs r trained to enter info on regulars.
I see. That makes more sense.
LukFilm is offline  


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