photonsea

MODERATOR NOTE: This thread is a continuation of the previous thread found at Bluebird master thread (2016 onwards)

I got my first amex bluebird load today with sutton VGC successfully, but when I tried to load with OD everywhere VGC, it's declined: invalid merchant.
Is it known that Office depot VGC (everywhere) not working for BB?

Also I heard from the cashier that I cannot reload same account back to back, I checked the https://www.bluebird.com/legal/membe...ement#anchor19, I don't see such rules, wondering if it's true.

radonc1

Where did you try to load that EW card, and which type of EW card was it...style, grocery etc.
You have to load EW cards at stores where the card could be used for a routine purchase. IOW, a DE card will not work at a clothing store and a SE card may not work at a grocery store.
I have had DE cards declined at a WM that had no dining facilities in it.

As far as rules go, the cashier rules
So, if she says that you can't do back to back loading, no amount of arguing is going to make a difference, other than to potentially get you banned from the store. Let it go and just avoid that person in the future.

photonsea

thanks. I see your point.
I load my first BB at FD. I tried grocery everywhere VGC.

DubbyZel

Anyone able to setup billpay on bluebird for a chase credit card?

pointnfly

I don't think that is a good idea, Do you want to connect the 2?

DubbyZel

I don't want to connect the credit card just pay it monthly, I read that people said its better to bill pay than to withdraw cash to a bank account, no?

pointnfly

I agree with paying bills, But not that one.

DubbyZel

Do you mind elaborating a little? Like is there downsides to bill-paying a chase credit card as opposed to a citi credit card.

pointnfly

I would not pay any CC with Serve or BB. I know paying Citi used to be done a lot. Maybe A more experienced player can state why it's not risky but I think it is an unnecessary risk.

OssianBlue

ACH to bank account.

In fact, I ACH to one bank account and then ACH from there to my hub (Schwab) because I don't want BB/Serve ever tainting it.

radonc1

Really depends.
If you are depositing $10K/mo and then BPing to 2 or 3 CCs $10K/mo, the rats are going to start twitching their whiskers and the results may not please you, either with BB/Serve or Chase/ other CCs.
OTOH, if you are doing normal levels of deposits, say $500-2000/mo and making CC payments of several hundred dollars, along with other payments out of the account, then there will be no issue.
I have been using my Serve and BB accounts in the latter manner over the past several years without any issues from anybody. But, as always YMMV

OssianBlue

I have many, many years of loading 10K per account and ACHing out each month.

radonc1

As always, we have those who have been successful as you. Congrats
Unfortunately, we also have those who were shut down....like me
The difference is that most who are like me don't advertise our failures. The old saw still stands...success has many fathers but failure is an orphan

fly2fish

Yes.

Saturn

I tried Everywheres at FD once or twice years ago. They were rejected. It's good to experiment to see if anything has changed. Apparently that is not the case. If you have Serve you can liquidate DE/GE/SE at WM Money Center, including split loads that follow their swipe limit. An experienced and cooperative cashier will also be able to do that at regular check-out.

If a cashier says "can't", it's not clear what they mean in the first place. They could talk about a store policy. They might refer to a system limitation. You could ask them to specify - or simply walk.

I have not had issues in the past when loading the same card at the same location more than once, respecting the velocity limit which seemed to be 20 minutes. However, starting in Nov. 2023 I began getting "Invalid Merchant" declines at FD for the second load, with both BB and Serve, even after a longer cool-off (about 2 hours), and even at separate locations.

That cashier may know more than we do. Perhaps there is a new velocity limit in place. I have adjusted my liquidation routine for BB/FD after having 4-5 failures of repeat loads.