Jan 3, 2019, 1:46 pm
Last edit by: randomperson24
NEW TO MS? It's suggested that new arrivals should do some serious reading for a month of all the posts and wiki to get an understanding of MS before asking common questions.
Note: the 2017 - 2018 version of this thread is here, 2016 version of this thread is here, the 2015 version of the thread is here
Welcome to Manufactured Spending. Marathon Man did not write this message, but he has edited it and anyone can. If you are new here, please spend some time reading before posting. Most likely your questions have already been answered multiple times. Consider deals that you share. These threads are searchable by Google. A volatile deal may be worth holding close to the vest.
Hints
1) On FT, topics are heavily consolidated. Sometimes the title of the thread and first few posts may not properly reflect the broad range of discussion inside the thread. Be sure to visit any thread relating to the product or service you want to learn more about because you might be surprised by how in depth the discussion really is. High "View Count" and "Replies" are good indicators of active "master threads" on a specific topic.
2) Use Google to search FT. It works a lot better than the built-in search.
3) A glossary wiki for MS located in the thread Glossary, Manufactured Spending Forum
Important Rules
1) MSing is very YMMV. It varies by store, manager, and right down to the cashier working at the moment. Some might argue that MS is like card counting in a casino. It is not illegal but casinos don’t like it. Orhers have said it’s like having a fake ID in college to use just to get into bars where all the fun is. Just because it worked here yesterday doesn’t mean it will get you in today. MS is like being a wood worker constantly using a table saw. Always watch what you are doing—always! Or you will lose something. That being said, always be nice and courteous in the face of rejection. The biggest secret for success is to lay low so you can try again.
2) DO NOT spend more than you can afford. START WITH SMALL AMOUNTS TO TEST THE WATER! As an example.. don't start with a $5000 purchase of VGCs if you can't afford to float that much! Instead, buy one and try it, and scale up once you are comfortable with a new method. It's easy to lose track, or get robbed, when you are handling so much money. Getting a refund is NOT always possible.
3) DO NOT ask employees, cashiers, customer service representatives, etc... about how to MS, or about things you read on this forum. The information you read here are very specific, unknown, legal uses of products or services. Most employees, cashiers, and even managers do not know about them. At best you'll get bad information. At worst you'll create a lot of unnecessary misunderstanding.
4) It bears repeating that there are no guarantees. you could easily buy $10,000 in gift cards or some other instrument, only to discover that your method for liquidating them vanishes the very next day. MS is not "normal" financial activity ("normal" being defined by the banks), and thus is often perceived as "suspicious" even if it is legal.
5) never underestimate the risk of criminal activity. gift cards can easily be stolen, loaded onto a compromised account, loaded in a debit card skimmer, or even fraudulent (e.g., an already used card put back on the rack).
6) MSing can be used for a variety of purposes, ranging from smallish amounts to meet minimum spend requirements to get a credit card signup bonus, to accumulating huge numbers of points for travel/cashback/etc. Remember too that you will often have expenses such as purchase fees, liquidation fees, and gas.
If you have a question that does not seem to fit anywhere, or you have not found an appropriate place for it, post it here.
- A helpful note from seat17D about some of the inherent risks of MS
New MSers can also read all these threads:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manuf...-spending-719/
Note: the 2017 - 2018 version of this thread is here, 2016 version of this thread is here, the 2015 version of the thread is here
Welcome to Manufactured Spending. Marathon Man did not write this message, but he has edited it and anyone can. If you are new here, please spend some time reading before posting. Most likely your questions have already been answered multiple times. Consider deals that you share. These threads are searchable by Google. A volatile deal may be worth holding close to the vest.
Hints
1) On FT, topics are heavily consolidated. Sometimes the title of the thread and first few posts may not properly reflect the broad range of discussion inside the thread. Be sure to visit any thread relating to the product or service you want to learn more about because you might be surprised by how in depth the discussion really is. High "View Count" and "Replies" are good indicators of active "master threads" on a specific topic.
2) Use Google to search FT. It works a lot better than the built-in search.
3) A glossary wiki for MS located in the thread Glossary, Manufactured Spending Forum
Important Rules
1) MSing is very YMMV. It varies by store, manager, and right down to the cashier working at the moment. Some might argue that MS is like card counting in a casino. It is not illegal but casinos don’t like it. Orhers have said it’s like having a fake ID in college to use just to get into bars where all the fun is. Just because it worked here yesterday doesn’t mean it will get you in today. MS is like being a wood worker constantly using a table saw. Always watch what you are doing—always! Or you will lose something. That being said, always be nice and courteous in the face of rejection. The biggest secret for success is to lay low so you can try again.
2) DO NOT spend more than you can afford. START WITH SMALL AMOUNTS TO TEST THE WATER! As an example.. don't start with a $5000 purchase of VGCs if you can't afford to float that much! Instead, buy one and try it, and scale up once you are comfortable with a new method. It's easy to lose track, or get robbed, when you are handling so much money. Getting a refund is NOT always possible.
3) DO NOT ask employees, cashiers, customer service representatives, etc... about how to MS, or about things you read on this forum. The information you read here are very specific, unknown, legal uses of products or services. Most employees, cashiers, and even managers do not know about them. At best you'll get bad information. At worst you'll create a lot of unnecessary misunderstanding.
4) It bears repeating that there are no guarantees. you could easily buy $10,000 in gift cards or some other instrument, only to discover that your method for liquidating them vanishes the very next day. MS is not "normal" financial activity ("normal" being defined by the banks), and thus is often perceived as "suspicious" even if it is legal.
5) never underestimate the risk of criminal activity. gift cards can easily be stolen, loaded onto a compromised account, loaded in a debit card skimmer, or even fraudulent (e.g., an already used card put back on the rack).
6) MSing can be used for a variety of purposes, ranging from smallish amounts to meet minimum spend requirements to get a credit card signup bonus, to accumulating huge numbers of points for travel/cashback/etc. Remember too that you will often have expenses such as purchase fees, liquidation fees, and gas.
If you have a question that does not seem to fit anywhere, or you have not found an appropriate place for it, post it here.
- A helpful note from seat17D about some of the inherent risks of MS
New MSers can also read all these threads:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manuf...-spending-719/
New to Manufactured Spending? Start here (2019-2024)
Feb 25, 2019, 4:39 pm
#78
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: SAN
Programs: Delta Gold. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Explorist.
Posts: 1,674
This might be a silly question, but is there any reason I can't buy a OneVanilla card from Walgreens/CVS loaded with $500 (paid for with Chase Freedom to get 5% this quarter), pay the 5.95 fee, and then just use the OneVanilla card as my payment card for everything until it's empty? I've heard using credit cards to buy these is hit or miss. Is that the only limitation? Can I use the OneVanilla card as a credit card for everything like online shopping, buying meals at restaurants, random purchases? Or is the OneVanilla card limited in what you can actually use it for? I guess I always thought of those cards as gift cards you can you use anywhere, as long as you're cool with the 5.95 fee.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Feb 26, 2019, 1:36 pm
#80
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 92
Maybe, but nothing special about US Bank. I've never heard of a non-reloadable prepaid debit/gift card that specifically says you can't purchase with a cc. It is always up to the store policy and cashier's whim. Varies a lot by geography.
Feb 26, 2019, 5:35 pm
#81
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 463
Feb 26, 2019, 10:31 pm
#82
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 21
What about online for the "employee" US bank rewards card, I'm wondering because i want to do $2000 or more. But worry that chase or amex might post as gift card or something weird and don't want to get shut down. It will be pretty awesome if this was possible but I can't find any DP's on it. It seems like everyone does the US bank route with gift cards in store, not the online site.
Feb 26, 2019, 11:26 pm
#83
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 92
If anyone has figured out how to do this at scale they are wisely keeping it close. You would have to convince USB you have a business, they would need to accept online cc payment (without classifying it as a cash advance), and you would need to avoid USB's well known distaste for all things MS. It doesn't help that their T&Cs mention no buying of MOs. Considering all the hurdles it's not likely to work, but good on you if you give it a go anyway.
Feb 27, 2019, 12:13 am
#84
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 21
If anyone has figured out how to do this at scale they are wisely keeping it close. You would have to convince USB you have a business, they would need to accept online cc payment (without classifying it as a cash advance), and you would need to avoid USB's well known distaste for all things MS. It doesn't help that their T&Cs mention no buying of MOs. Considering all the hurdles it's not likely to work, but good on you if you give it a go anyway.
Feb 28, 2019, 11:04 pm
#85
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 6
Anyone knows what is the most efficient way to liquidate OVGC and VVGC, other than using them as a regular credit card. My local CVS allows buying these gift cards with credit, but I dont know how to liquidate them. I understand that they cant be used to buy MO or load BB at WM.Any other way??
Mar 4, 2019, 10:11 pm
#87
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 2
I have a couple temporary Serve cards that have an initial funding of $500. I was hoping to use one or both of these to load a registered Serve at WM.
I went to the MC tonight and they didn’t seem familiar with Serve, but offered to try to load it. I swiped my activated Serve, told them I wanted to load $500 on it, and then when prompted, slid one of my temporary Serves. I didn’t see any errors, but the MC employee said that this card could not be used, and I needed to enter a PIN. I didn’t see a prompt to enter a PIN, so I was confused by this. The cashier said I’d need to cancel out the transaction, and the moment I hit Cancel, I saw an option for Debit.
I thought about pressing Debit to see what would happen, but I didn’t want to do anything that seemed like I was being non-compliant, so we ended up cancelling the transaction and I thanked the employee and left.
This reminded me of some things I’ve read previously about quickly hitting Cancel and then selecting Debit, but I wasn’t sure if that only applied to certain gift cards or if that also applies to loading from a Serve card.
Am I on the right track here? What am I missing?
I currently only have 1 activated card, so if this method does not end up working out, I plan to activate my temporary Serves slowly to avoid hitting the velocity limit.
Thanks!
I went to the MC tonight and they didn’t seem familiar with Serve, but offered to try to load it. I swiped my activated Serve, told them I wanted to load $500 on it, and then when prompted, slid one of my temporary Serves. I didn’t see any errors, but the MC employee said that this card could not be used, and I needed to enter a PIN. I didn’t see a prompt to enter a PIN, so I was confused by this. The cashier said I’d need to cancel out the transaction, and the moment I hit Cancel, I saw an option for Debit.
I thought about pressing Debit to see what would happen, but I didn’t want to do anything that seemed like I was being non-compliant, so we ended up cancelling the transaction and I thanked the employee and left.
This reminded me of some things I’ve read previously about quickly hitting Cancel and then selecting Debit, but I wasn’t sure if that only applied to certain gift cards or if that also applies to loading from a Serve card.
Am I on the right track here? What am I missing?
I currently only have 1 activated card, so if this method does not end up working out, I plan to activate my temporary Serves slowly to avoid hitting the velocity limit.
Thanks!
Mar 4, 2019, 10:22 pm
#88
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,837
I have a couple temporary Serve cards that have an initial funding of $500. I was hoping to use one or both of these to load a registered Serve at WM.
I went to the MC tonight and they didn’t seem familiar with Serve, but offered to try to load it. I swiped my activated Serve, told them I wanted to load $500 on it, and then when prompted, slid one of my temporary Serves. I didn’t see any errors, but the MC employee said that this card could not be used, and I needed to enter a PIN. I didn’t see a prompt to enter a PIN, so I was confused by this. The cashier said I’d need to cancel out the transaction, and the moment I hit Cancel, I saw an option for Debit.
I thought about pressing Debit to see what would happen, but I didn’t want to do anything that seemed like I was being non-compliant, so we ended up cancelling the transaction and I thanked the employee and left.
This reminded me of some things I’ve read previously about quickly hitting Cancel and then selecting Debit, but I wasn’t sure if that only applied to certain gift cards or if that also applies to loading from a Serve card.
Am I on the right track here? What am I missing?
I currently only have 1 activated card, so if this method does not end up working out, I plan to activate my temporary Serves slowly to avoid hitting the velocity limit.
Thanks!
I went to the MC tonight and they didn’t seem familiar with Serve, but offered to try to load it. I swiped my activated Serve, told them I wanted to load $500 on it, and then when prompted, slid one of my temporary Serves. I didn’t see any errors, but the MC employee said that this card could not be used, and I needed to enter a PIN. I didn’t see a prompt to enter a PIN, so I was confused by this. The cashier said I’d need to cancel out the transaction, and the moment I hit Cancel, I saw an option for Debit.
I thought about pressing Debit to see what would happen, but I didn’t want to do anything that seemed like I was being non-compliant, so we ended up cancelling the transaction and I thanked the employee and left.
This reminded me of some things I’ve read previously about quickly hitting Cancel and then selecting Debit, but I wasn’t sure if that only applied to certain gift cards or if that also applies to loading from a Serve card.
Am I on the right track here? What am I missing?
I currently only have 1 activated card, so if this method does not end up working out, I plan to activate my temporary Serves slowly to avoid hitting the velocity limit.
Thanks!
The pin is for cash withdrawals.
Mar 5, 2019, 1:49 am
#90
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 463
Good luck!