Easy to avoid this. Don't drain the full $500. Even $499 should be no problem.

I've had a slightly more nuanced experience. I can drain 499 of any one card in any one transaction. Second or third InComm in same transaction sometimes causes issues for me too. I have a couple of different debits I can load, and I find that loading 2 or 3 debits from 2 or 3 different InComms seems to work. $499 vs. full $500 depends on where you get them. Bought at a brick-n-mortar store, $499. Bought on-line directly from inComm (their direct site, Simon, etc.) seem to be ok for full $500.

That's just my experience. YMMV

Your experience mirrors what I've experienced exactly. When you say "2 or 3 different Incomms," do you mean different types of Incomm cards (brick and mortar vs online)? I have not bought any of the online ones.

when ever I run into this I ask for and get a check sent to me, never got a replacement card, but it can take a month or 2 till then check arrives

Had 3 cards locked. One of the agents I spoke with must have felt bad for me. He told me he would expedite the replacement card. It came in a fedex envelope in 3 business days. Still waiting on 1 card to arrive by regular mail.

You're saying they will liquidate the GC for you? Wouldn't you just purposely try to break every card then?

You can ask for FedEx shipping every time.

I just say: "Since my card/cards are $500 or more can you expedite the shipping through FedEx."

Don't you ever worry about it getting stolen or lost?
I just saw on the news a woman whose mail was being systematically stolen --- SS check, new debit card, ...

Thanks I'll try that next time.

Liquidate? what they do is CX the card and mail the value of the card thats remaining, if it happens too often they may not work with you on it, so its not something Id especially do

no problem they can check and see if its been cashed and if by you or not, and if not by you its the same as someone stealing the card info and buying stuff with it

No, not different types. I pretty much only buy online cards, since the ones from brick-n-mortar have such aggressive anti-fraud that they lock up too often. However, these days, I find that even the on-line ones are dangerous to run more than a single card in the same transaction. So, say I want to burn 4x500 from the same exact online source. I have 4 different debit cards I can load for free. i got to WM and as long as one of my very friendly regulars is working, I load 1 InComm + 1 BHN on each of the 4 cards. That way, it's one InComm per transaction, 1 BHN per transaction. This works for me. Regarding brick-n-mortar InComms, I follow this same pattern but only drain $499 of the InComm. They still get fraud locked sometimes, but running 2 in the same xact almost always results in a fraud lock.

What BHN $500 card are you using at WM? I have had zero success loading with BHN cards at my WMs for any more than $99 per swipe.

​​​​​​Which credit card gives you a decent amount of points when buying GCs online? I buy mine at 7 Eleven since I get 8 x points on one of my credit cards at gas stations, and 7 Eleven codes as gas, even if there are no pumps.

No good $500 ones. However, there are good options. 200s at office stores, occasionally 250s at giftcards.com. Anything from Giftcards.com needs to be ran in <$100 swipes though. Search around these forums to see the details of different office store cards. InComms are good for 500. I've also found it's ok to run multiple BHNs in a single transaction. So, depending on how friendly the CSR I'm working with is, I might do 3 swipes into my Discover (500 InComm + 2 BHNs). I do 500+200 into my Serve Amex (that's the load limit) and a single 500 into my serve Visa (again, the load limit).

I envy you. No 7-11 will allow me to buy GC with CC anymore. They all say "Cash Only". Same with Speedway since 7-11 bought them out too. Gas stations are completely dried up in my area. No great multipliers for online GCs. 2X is the max I've found, and there are plenty of options for that. The key is I can do a single xact for 19 cards online. At 2X that's 19k points. Not huge, but it's something. Super helpful for SUBs, and minimum spend requirements on CCs that make you hit a limit to get certain bennies (e.g. lounge access, upgraded status, etc.).

A lot of 7 Elevens are cash/debit only. But I've noticed that at the ones that are owned/run by Indians, they don't seem to mind if I use a credit card. I think (some of them at least) may be franchises, and it's up to the owner if they'll take a credit card for GC purchases. I luckily have multiple stores that I can buy them at in my area. So the max gift card amount you can buy online is $200?what are the fees on those (if any)?

You can buy gift card from thegiftcardshop.com. the max is $500 for each with limit of 20 cards. They run the promotion with no fees most of the time. You need to pay shipping fee.

InComm online are usually $500 though many people are able to get $1000 through Simon (I never got them to approve me :-/). giftcards.com is online BHN and you can get $250, but they have to be drained in 3 swipes usually, each <100. Search for posts by me to learn a lot about the office store options, all at $200 (if you want to take advantage of the sales and Chase Ink 5x).

Simon Malls stopped selling gift cards.
Their gc sales redirects to PerfectGift.com
I haven't read too much online about PG.

Ah, I see. I've used PefectGift.com before, though not that much. Their cards drain just fine. They're interesting though, not BHN or InComm. New processor on the scene.

Yeah.
The website says that the parent company also owns GiftCards.com
The gc are issued by Sutton but no mention of the processor.

Shipping by USPS First Class mail is $1.99/card no tracking or by FedEx is $9.95

To follow up. I got a response from CFPB.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...73124c52f7.png
I got all my cards and drained them. Will not touch Pathward product going forward.

Why did you file a complaint?

Do you mean all your cards were drained?

Many years ago I had a $500 VGC drained.
I think it may have been my fault.
I had checked the balance on a rogue website instead of using the website on the back of the VGC.

I called the number on the back.
They opened up a case.
I provided them with photos of the receipt showing purchase of the VGC, front of VGC, back of VGC.
They sent a replacement within 2-3 weeks.
It was my first time getting a replacement, and it worked.
I have had replacements sent since then. All their fault for locking the VGCs.
But each time they did replace.

Because I don't take kindly to having my money taken hostage under the disguise of "security concerns". They blame their algorithm on locking the cards. I did not call to report the card lost or stolen. My hope is either they change the way they service these cards or Pathward not issuing them at all.

You wrote that your cards were drained which implies fraud.
Locking is not the same as draining.
But it seems you meant you used up all the replacement cards.

Lockups are a part of this game unfortunately.

With my most recent lockup, they blamed VISA. LOL.
They told me that because it was VISA's fault, they could not unlock the locked VGC and must issue me a new VGC. :rolleyes:

Assuming you're talking about Wyndham points. Curious what you're spending them on now that Vacasa is gone?

I use them for the timeshare units in Bonnet Creek, Scottsdale, and Vegas. Good redemption for my purposes when available. Especially when the points are super easy to earn buying VGCs at gas stations.

The ex-Citi SYW --- now Citi TY MasterCard --- lets you redeem TY points at 1:1 for statement credit
if you have another Citi credit card such as the Custom Cash or Double Cash.

If you buy 2x $500 VGC at a gas station that will let you buy them with a credit card,
you get ($80 - activation fees + 5% TYP) which works out to about $115 depending on the activation fees.

Thanks for answering, didn't mean to go off topic, but I'm always interested in how people spend their Wyndham points since they tend to get so much hate.

I'm sorry, you lost me, how does this answer my question about how to spend Wyndham points?

The person who answered you was NOT the person you asked about the Wyndham points.

I am not sure why you assumed everybody had Wyndham points.

I realize that. Not sure what difference it makes to you?

I don't assume anyone has Wyndham points. What I can and do assume is that when someone gets 8 points per dollar at gas stations, they're using a Wyndham Biz card.

Still doesn't answer why you were going on about Citi or whatever.

LOL.
Okay. Whatever.
I explained to you how I get 8x with gas and it is NOT with a Wyndham biz.
I actually get 11x altogether.

I was told a long time ago, assume = a$$ out of u and me

I make the exact same assumption as fly2fish, and it's easy to make here because it's the only card with 8x gas. It's very simple. Just like I can assume a thread is going to get totally derailed when a certain name appears.

LOL

You again. May be you should try learning something instead of "assuming".

LOL

I was told never assume, but some people never was taught that lesson, and make themselves look very foolish.

assumption proven. will there be a third edit to correct your grammar?

LOL.

You stalking me or do you have something to contribute.

You're in every single thread muddying up what should be very straightforward and constructive conversation. I pop onto FT like once a month to see if the ODOM sale is on. Maybe check if anyone has had a liquidation failure lately, but it has become exceedingly difficult because every thread has 2-3 pages of bwdyfan bickering with everyone.