Aug 21, 2019, 12:38 pm
Last edit by: Klemhuzzah
Signing up to buy $1000 visa/mc gift cards
You can buy the $1000 cards on Simon's volume site. Their regular site only sells $500 cards.
If you're new, or haven't bought anything in a year, you need to register at https://www.simon.com/volume/register-consumer
As part of the registration process, you will have to go to a brick and mortar mall and buy at least $3000 in cards in person, as well as filling out some paperwork while there. After that, you can do everything online.
As of Nov 2020, Simon Mall Gift cards will only work for $99/swipe for money services at Walmart and many grocery chains.
$1000 gift cards are available indefinitely.
2020 Promotions
Ongoing: FREEGROUND - Free Ground Shipping on any order size. Limited to 5 orders per customer. Expires December 31, 2020 (subject to change).
5/15-6/17: MDHOL20 - 20% off Visa Giftcard Purchase Fees + Free Ground Shipping on orders of 9 more cards
5/15/5/31: MAYGROUND - Free UPS Ground shipping on orders of 7 or more cards
5/15-6/31: MAY20VG10 - 10% off purchase fees on Visa Giftcards
6/29-7/20: JUL4HOL20 - 20% off Visa Giftcard Purchase Fees + Free Ground Shipping on orders of 5 or more cards. If you select a shipping other than Ground - the code will still take 20% off the purchase fees. Limited to 10 orders per customer.
8/11-8/31: AUG20PR - 15% off ALL fees (excl. shipping fees) on orders of 5 or more cards. Limited to 10 orders per customer (Originally expired on 8/23; on 8/24 promo was extended through 8/31)
10/12-10/14: FSOCT20 - 30% off all purchase fees on Visas and Mastercards.
10/26-10/31 - FS20SCARY - 35% off all purchase fees
11/1-11/30 - HOL20MC25 - 25% off all purchase fees on MasterCard / HOL20VG25 - 25% off all purchase fees on Visa / HOL20AG50 50% off all purchase fees on American Express
11/6-11/8 - FS20THANKS - 35% off all purchase fees
11/16-11/18 - FS20SAVINGS - 35% off all purchase fees
You can buy the $1000 cards on Simon's volume site. Their regular site only sells $500 cards.
If you're new, or haven't bought anything in a year, you need to register at https://www.simon.com/volume/register-consumer
As part of the registration process, you will have to go to a brick and mortar mall and buy at least $3000 in cards in person, as well as filling out some paperwork while there. After that, you can do everything online.
As of Nov 2020, Simon Mall Gift cards will only work for $99/swipe for money services at Walmart and many grocery chains.
$1000 gift cards are available indefinitely.
2020 Promotions
Ongoing: FREEGROUND - Free Ground Shipping on any order size. Limited to 5 orders per customer. Expires December 31, 2020 (subject to change).
5/15-6/17: MDHOL20 - 20% off Visa Giftcard Purchase Fees + Free Ground Shipping on orders of 9 more cards
5/15/5/31: MAYGROUND - Free UPS Ground shipping on orders of 7 or more cards
5/15-6/31: MAY20VG10 - 10% off purchase fees on Visa Giftcards
6/29-7/20: JUL4HOL20 - 20% off Visa Giftcard Purchase Fees + Free Ground Shipping on orders of 5 or more cards. If you select a shipping other than Ground - the code will still take 20% off the purchase fees. Limited to 10 orders per customer.
8/11-8/31: AUG20PR - 15% off ALL fees (excl. shipping fees) on orders of 5 or more cards. Limited to 10 orders per customer (Originally expired on 8/23; on 8/24 promo was extended through 8/31)
10/12-10/14: FSOCT20 - 30% off all purchase fees on Visas and Mastercards.
10/26-10/31 - FS20SCARY - 35% off all purchase fees
11/1-11/30 - HOL20MC25 - 25% off all purchase fees on MasterCard / HOL20VG25 - 25% off all purchase fees on Visa / HOL20AG50 50% off all purchase fees on American Express
11/6-11/8 - FS20THANKS - 35% off all purchase fees
11/16-11/18 - FS20SAVINGS - 35% off all purchase fees
Simon Mall Gift Cards (2019-2023)
Dec 31, 2019, 11:42 am
#721
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 30
Chase (usually Freedom/Ink Unlimited) and Fidelity Visa. I'm careful not to cycle. Several months ago I did 100k+ on Barclay Miles and More, which might not have been so smart as those miles will probably devalue shortly... but because LH business seats from Europe to West Coast are usually available far in advance, I justified it based on the flexibility it provides me.
I've also used payment splitting on cobrand cards at Simon in the past to round off Aeroplan, United, AA, M&M accounts to the nearest 1000 points ahead of points transfers to optimize draining down accounts to zero for awards. Thinking of trying that with Delta Business Amex to see what happens.
At once point back in 2018 my Simon Mall would not accept Citi cards (or rather, Citi would not authorize purchases at this mall). Haven't tried Citi since then.
I've also used payment splitting on cobrand cards at Simon in the past to round off Aeroplan, United, AA, M&M accounts to the nearest 1000 points ahead of points transfers to optimize draining down accounts to zero for awards. Thinking of trying that with Delta Business Amex to see what happens.
At once point back in 2018 my Simon Mall would not accept Citi cards (or rather, Citi would not authorize purchases at this mall). Haven't tried Citi since then.
Last edited by rcw70; Dec 31, 2019 at 11:44 am Reason: Adding quote
Dec 31, 2019, 12:20 pm
#722
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: Hilton Diamond, Marriott/SPG Platinum
Posts: 496
Chase (usually Freedom/Ink Unlimited) and Fidelity Visa. I'm careful not to cycle. Several months ago I did 100k+ on Barclay Miles and More, which might not have been so smart as those miles will probably devalue shortly... but because LH business seats from Europe to West Coast are usually available far in advance, I justified it based on the flexibility it provides me.
I've also used payment splitting on cobrand cards at Simon in the past to round off Aeroplan, United, AA, M&M accounts to the nearest 1000 points ahead of points transfers to optimize draining down accounts to zero for awards. Thinking of trying that with Delta Business Amex to see what happens.
At once point back in 2018 my Simon Mall would not accept Citi cards (or rather, Citi would not authorize purchases at this mall). Haven't tried Citi since then.
I've also used payment splitting on cobrand cards at Simon in the past to round off Aeroplan, United, AA, M&M accounts to the nearest 1000 points ahead of points transfers to optimize draining down accounts to zero for awards. Thinking of trying that with Delta Business Amex to see what happens.
At once point back in 2018 my Simon Mall would not accept Citi cards (or rather, Citi would not authorize purchases at this mall). Haven't tried Citi since then.
Dec 31, 2019, 4:12 pm
#724
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 317
Some pre-paid debit cards ARE subject to the inerchange fee cap. It's true that Simon cards from Metabank are not regulated and thus have no fee cap--but how does that translate into a loss for Wal-Mart? A cap is just that--Wal-Mart most likely has negotiated rates far below the standard merchant processing rates for small businesss. A fee cap is the maximum amount that can be charged; there is no minimum amount. It's all negotiable.
Jan 1, 2020, 10:58 am
#726
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: Continental Onepass, Hilton, Marriott, USAir and now UA
Posts: 6,442
While I have not been using SMGCs presently, I am intrigued to see if my Citi World Elite MC will work, since it has not in the past.
Therefore, I will give it a go this week and see if I can get 1 $1K GC there without forewarning Citi that I am using their card.
If I can, it will be a first and I will be happy to report back my success.
Therefore, I will give it a go this week and see if I can get 1 $1K GC there without forewarning Citi that I am using their card.
If I can, it will be a first and I will be happy to report back my success.
Jan 1, 2020, 11:40 am
#727
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,528
Some pre-paid debit cards ARE subject to the inerchange fee cap. It's true that Simon cards from Metabank are not regulated and thus have no fee cap--but how does that translate into a loss for Wal-Mart? A cap is just that--Wal-Mart most likely has negotiated rates far below the standard merchant processing rates for small businesss. A fee cap is the maximum amount that can be charged; there is no minimum amount. It's all negotiable.
Jan 1, 2020, 12:43 pm
#728
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 317
What makes you think that WM is paying a 1.5% interchange fee? We have no idea what WM';s expenses are for such transactions. WM could be paying a few pennies per transaction, or nothing at all. WM might even be getting a fee to allow such cards to be used in its stores. Look at Costco--it only allows Visa cards to be used in its warehouses now. Visa must be giving Costco a really good deal for that right.
Jan 1, 2020, 12:53 pm
#729
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 317
I got curious and did some checking.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...citigroup-deal
says Costco's deal with Visa has it paying "almost zero" for processing Visa cards. It pays a bit for ordinary Visa cards, but it collects money from Citibank for issuing the Citi Costco Visa, with the overall cost being about zero to handle a charge. Could WM be very different?
And for debit cards, regulated or unregulated, the fees are much less.
https://www.federalreserve.gov/payme...change-fee.htm
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...citigroup-deal
says Costco's deal with Visa has it paying "almost zero" for processing Visa cards. It pays a bit for ordinary Visa cards, but it collects money from Citibank for issuing the Citi Costco Visa, with the overall cost being about zero to handle a charge. Could WM be very different?
And for debit cards, regulated or unregulated, the fees are much less.
https://www.federalreserve.gov/payme...change-fee.htm
Highlights for 2018 Data
- The average interchange fee per covered transaction was slightly lower in 2018 for transactions processed over dual-message networks than for those processed over single-message networks: $0.22 and $0.24, respectively.
- By contrast, the average interchange fee per exempt transaction was considerably higher in 2018 for transactions processed over dual-message networks than for those processed over single-message networks: $0.54 and $0.25, respectively.
- Since Regulation II took effect on October 1, 2011, neither the average interchange fee per covered transaction nor the average interchange fee per exempt transaction have changed significantly.
- By contrast, the average interchange fee per exempt transaction increased slightly for dual-message networks in 2018 compared to previous years, while the average interchange fee per exempt transactions remained largely unchanged from 2017 to 2018 for single-message networks after declining in previous years.
- Exempt transactions constituted 37.2 percent of total volume and 36.0 percent of total value for debit card transactions in 2018, with the proportions slightly higher for transactions processed over dual-message networks than for those processed over single-message networks. These proportions have changed little since Regulation II took effect.
- The vast majority of prepaid card transactions were exempt from the interchange fee standard in 2018: 92.9 percent by volume and 94.1 percent by value. Overall, prepaid card transactions constituted 6.3 percent of total volume and 5.8 percent of total value for debit card transactions in 2018.
Last edited by ogg; Jan 1, 2020 at 1:02 pm Reason: added info from federal reserve
Jan 1, 2020, 1:55 pm
#730
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,528
Those interchange fees are based on significantly smaller transactions than the ones most people in these threads are performing. In any case, if you take a look further down, for exempt issuers, the average transaction fee is 1.16%
Jan 1, 2020, 2:22 pm
#731
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 317
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/visa-walmart-1.3923039
I'd love to know what the real numbers are for WM--but those aren't released. My opinion is that WM is making a profit accepting debit cards for money orders and bill payments. There's no way to be sure--but why assume WM is not?
Jan 1, 2020, 7:10 pm
#732
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,528
Nah. Maybe for the average Joe buying smaller denomination MOs that don't get cashed immediately, but for 88 cents to cover the interchange fee on 1000.88, the rate would have to be less than 0.09%. While they may get a lower rate on exempt cards than your average Mom and Pop retailer, I highly doubt it's that low.
Jan 1, 2020, 7:46 pm
#733
Join Date: May 2008
Location: PHL (kinda, no airport is really close)
Programs: AA Exp, but not sure for how long. Enterprise Platinum woo-hoo!
Posts: 4,551
I spoke to Kalya Wicker at SM a few years ago, we had a short but nice conversation and I asked her "I'm curious how the economics of this work" and she laughed and said "That's a challenge." That's as far as I got. I've always wondered who's losing money, since we're making money.
Jan 1, 2020, 9:09 pm
#734
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 317
Nah. Maybe for the average Joe buying smaller denomination MOs that don't get cashed immediately, but for 88 cents to cover the interchange fee on 1000.88, the rate would have to be less than 0.09%. While they may get a lower rate on exempt cards than your average Mom and Pop retailer, I highly doubt it's that low.
I already linked to info about Costco's costs. How about the US Postal Service? Look here:
https://www.uspsoig.gov/sites/defaul...-WP-16-007.pdf
The paper is a few years old and says that "money orders are one of the Postal Service's more profitable products, with an average profit margin of 35%." USPS charges more than WM for money orders, but still if your percentage thinking is correct there's no way the USPS could have those profits on money orders. Much more information is in the paper, BTW, including a discussion of negotiating rates for handling prepaid debit cards on page 19.
And if WM is losing what you think on money orders, isn't it losing much more on CheckFree bill payments, which can be used for $10K payments for a $1.50 fee (using a bank debit card if you have $10K in your account). (Some billers don't allow payments that large, but some do. Or did, anyway, before recent limits were put in.)
Jan 1, 2020, 11:03 pm
#735
Join Date: Oct 2004
Programs: Amtrak Guest Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest, Marriott Rewards, Hilton Honors
Posts: 255
Use of general-purpose reloadable prepaid cards grew by more than 50 percent between 2012 and 2014, with some 23 million adults regularly using them.84 Many of these cards effectively serve as a replacement for a checking account, but without checks. When prepaid users need to make a paper-based payment, many turn to money orders. The Postal Service could negotiate discount agreements on money orders with prepaid card companies that encourage their customers to use postal money orders — similar to the postage discounts regularly negotiated with high-volume shippers.85 These agreements may require approval by the Postal Service Board of Governors and the Postal Regulatory Commission. The prepaid provider would benefit by being able to offer their customers a new service and by ensuring that their customers use their prepaid card to purchase money orders; prepaid users would benefit by paying less for their money orders; and the Postal Service would benefit by becoming the paper-based payment provider of choice for many users of prepaid cards.
What a game changer that would be if they followed through with that.....