Techgirl, a quick question for you: I'm well aware that our formal credit record reflects info from our credit cards, loans etc BUT are saying that info on accounts like c2it (and along the same vein perhaps even online payment services like PayPal, PayDirect, Billpoint etc) are also reflected on our credit records? I have been using my c2it account to in effect get cash advances (plus the miles of course) with the attitude of "so the c2it people will probably eventually catch on and cancel my account but who cares - I'll probably be 20,000 miles richer!" BUT if info about c2it is reflected on my credit report then I certainly DO care. Please clarify. Thanks!

GeorgeBurdell, I'm sorry to keep asking you questions, but since you have the experience on webcertificate, you are my best source for information.

I created an account, but have not been able to figure out how to add money to my account. When clicking on the "Add Funds/Money" link, that does not appear to work, however, I can easily create a email gift card. Could you tell me what I'm doing wrong? Thanks!

No, I'm not aware of whether or not a c2it account will reflect on a credit report. If there is no credit line involved, then no.

I picked this thread (although there have been many like it in the past) because I am always seeing threads about cash transfers in various programs. I do know that the practice of doing "cash transfers" on a credit card will reflect in the manner I described above.

I would imagine that a C2it account could be reported to a credit bureau if somehow it wound up in collections.

To answer the previous question about Webcert, I sent a $200 gift certificate to myself to start the account out. Then I redeemed the gift cert to the account I sent it from. Hope this helps.

BTW, I got my DC statement yesterday. There were a boatload of transactions to the webcert merchant name and I didn't notice any sort of negative impact to my CR points.

GeorgeBurdell, thanks for the tips on webcertificate.com, the service will come in handy, not to mention the bonus DC points I'll earn using this service!

Anybody have more recent experiences with C2it? Especially in transferring from a CC to a c2it account and then to a checking account?

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Ms.DtG

If you are hesitant to publicly display your experiences, please e-mail me. I don't want my husband's account to get shut down, so any experiences will be greatly appreciated.

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Ms.DtG

They finally shut me down. I believe it was the volume of dollars I was moving around.
They weren't particularly nice about it either, even though I explained to them that I wasn't violating any of their agreements, they basically assumed I was lying.

Some here. They closed my account, and when I called them they said that they wouldn't re-open it for me no matter what I did. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

How many miles had you accumulated before they shut you down? Approximate number is fine (to protect the innocent).

what did you do that you believe got you shut down. My account and my father's account were shut down, and yes they are nasty about it and there is not second chance. You are treated like a criminal even though there is nothing that is actually violated. I don't want this to happen to my husband's account. So details would be helpful as to what you were doing. Since there is only one existing account, obviously there is no transferring back and forth or transferring anywhere. He is transferring from a cc to a c2it account and then to his checking account. Has anyone been shut down doing this?

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Ms.DtG

That was exactly what I was doing. They apparently have algorithms to watch for a combination of total funds run through the account and the sources. If you are adding funds from multiple sources or outside sources, you're probably fine. One credit card to one checking account, look out!

They want this service to be like PayPal, auction payments, etc. Think about it...

I did the same thing too. I used a citibank credit card to add cash to C2it and then transfer to my bank account. Most amounts were pretty small. just a couple of grands or hundreds and not excessive.

I got an email from them about 2 or 3 weeks ago for both of my account and said they shut down my accounts already without any warnings in advance at all. There were reasons in the emails.

I don't even want to deal with them and just let go. You can read their message if you wish... ;-)

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Your transaction activity indicates that you are using c2it service outside of its intended purpose. This includes sending or receiving funds to or from yourself or any other c2it/AOL QuickCash membership for the purpose of earning mileage, points or any other bonus on any of your or other c2it/AOL QuickCash member's linked Card Accounts or Bank Account. As a result, we are terminating your c2it account. This closure is effective immediately. If you have a c2it Debit Card, please destroy it. It is no longer active.

Any funds that you have sent but have not been picked up will be refunded to you via paper check and sent to you at the address on our records via U.S. mail in approximately 7-10 days from the date of this e-mail.

Any funds that have been sent to you but you have not picked up will be returned to the sender after the transaction expires or when the sender calls customer service to cancel the transaction.

If you have a balance due on your c2it account you can continue to
view the details in your History. Although you will not be able to make payments online, you are responsible for the full balance due on your account. You can mail your payment to Citibank, PO Box 6825, The
Lakes,
NV 88901-6825.

FEDERAL REGULATIONS REQUIRE THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT
The federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits creditors from discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age (provided that the applicant has the capacity to enter into a binding contract); because all or part of the applicant's income derives form any public assistance program; or because the applicant has in good faith exercised any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. The federal agency that administers compliance with this law concerning Citibank F.S.B. is the
Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), Consumer Affairs, 1475 Peachtree
St., N.E., Atlanta, GA 30309.

The name and address of the creditor is Citibank F.S.B.; One Sansome
St., San Francisco, CA 94104.

PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL. This e-mail address is not equipped to handle incoming messages and you will not receive a
reply.

If you wish to contact us please go to www.c2it.com



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- I am a Freqnt Miles Maniac and a Ballroom Dance Miniac :-) -

Better they close down the accounts of those abusing it than let the whole business shut down when it gets too expensive. That happened to me with a dozen other internet products that were being abused. Eventually the abusers sent the businesses into the ground.

I don't want to start a flame war, emaij, but I don't think the "abusers" have anything to feel bad about.

I did the described transactions for a long time on emoneymail, exchangepath, and then C2it. I noticed a definitive trend.

At first there were no restrictions on effectively sending money to yourself. Any idiot could see what we were doing.

I think there was a need for the managers at the new company or division to show their superiors or investors that the business had a significant number of transactions and that this volume was increasing. There was no incentive to curtail abuse. Not only was there no restriction on sending money to yourself, they emphasized that everything was treated as a purchase, not a cash advance. Emoneymail even listed the transfer of funds between accounts as a benefit of the service.

The restrictions were generally put in place several months after the inception of the service. I believe three things happened to cause the restrictions to be put in place and to be enforced:

1. The "abusers" immediately retrieved the cash they sent to themselves (or relatives immediately retrieved their cash). The service did not earn the "float" interest they desired on our transactions.

2. The credit card companies complained about the cash advance abuse. Even though the CC companies earned transaction fees, as the general public learned about this technique the CC companies worried their business in lucrative cash advance fees would decline.

3. The volume from "non-abusive" transactions might have increased to a level to make the service sustainable (although I doubt it).

Let's not kid ourselves. They knew what we were doing from the start and plenty of those managers were happy to have those paper transactions in the early days.

Just my thoughts. They may not be accurate.