. .

Ken,

Isn't the earned mileage limit for the BofA Plat card 100K miles/year? Seems your purchases would have netted you 150K otherwise.

As for the paperwork, YOU don't fill out a thing. THEY do. Like other Suspicious Activity reports, they're not allowed to tell you when or why they're doing it.

But if i was paying cash, we wouldnt be posting it as a mile earning adventure.

While I generally agree with the above post, I was asked to complete the form in question when I purchased 3 $1,000 money orders in Boston last month. The form asked for quite a bit of personal information, drivers licence, social security number etc. When I objected, the Post Office clerk told me that all I needed to do was to purchase no more than 2 $1,000 money orders at a time, simple enough. So, even with a line of people behind me, I was asked to fill out one of these forms.

It doesn't. I bet it's a Money Services Activity Report...

Since you're not doing anything illegal, why do you care if they're filling out a report?

After a very successful Vegas weekend a couple of years ago, I deposited over $14K in cash at my bank. I then asked for a copy of the CTR so that I could prove to my friends that I that I won it...

A Libertarian Party press release on this very topic:

http://www.lp.org/press/archive.php?...iew&record=212

Thanks, Flying Dutchman! Excellent article.

If they're unhappy about postal employees spying on us, I'm sure they won't be thrilled with the deputizing of WalMart spies. :-)

"Although officials decline to reveal how many "suspicious" customers have been reported to law enforcement, the Post Office sells about $27 billion in money orders a year. This means that tens or hundreds of thousands of Americans may have been identified as potential drug dealers or money-launderers by postal employees."

Imagine the miles on $27 billion ...

A CTR, or Currency Transaction Report, is very different from the "suspicious activity" forms, like SARC or MSAR. The CTR dates back to Reagan times, 1984. The government has virtually admitted that the form is useless, especially in casino transactions where they are so common that they have developed a spinoff called a CTR-CASINO.

The suspicious activity forms were developed because, supposedly, reporting every $10,000 transaction was not enough. Originally, winnings were exempt from CTR's, as the government claimed they were only interested in tracking the source of moneys brought _in_ to a casino. Then suddenly, ALL transactions over 10K -- even non-cash jackpot disbursements -- suddenly required a form. Then that wasn't enough: they needed to track transactions of $3000 or more. Then that wasn't enough -- any transaction of ANY size could be reported if deemed "suspicious" (by a duly authorzied WalMart employee).

The point is, there will never be enough forms to satisfy the government.

Where are they gathering info from ? Are they following me home ? Are they hiding in the parking lot shopping carts waiting for me to pull up ? LOL...this is the silliest topic I have ever been a part of. It still begs the question....If you arent committing an illegal act smuggling drugs, laundering money, smurfing, or engaging in terrorist activities.......THEN WHY WOULD YOU CARE WHAT HAPPENS....I am already oon the biggest government watchdog list...And I make my first payment of the year every April 15. THEY ALREADY KNOW ALL MY BUSINESS...TOTAL SALARY, EXPENSES, CHILD CARE ETC....What the big deal if they put me on another list ?? LOL

Do you mail your personal letters in envelopes? (Why, if you've got nothing to hide?)
Would you mind abolishing the secret ballot? (Why, if you're a loyal American?)
Would you submit to random drug tests on the streets?
(Why, if you're not using any?)

Personally, I value my right to privacy, but I suppose in America that's an 'un-patriotic' sentiment these days since Bush has declared that you're either with him or the terrorists.

Is the Bank of America debit card you are talking about the one with an annual fee of $30 and gives you one mile for every two dollars you spend? I am new to this and wand to make sure I get the right card. Thank you.

deleted, entered twice in error

[This message has been edited by skiner (edited 01-02-2003).]

Don't listen to Ken. He's a terrorist... on all sorts of lists and stuff, I heard