using CC to buy postal money order and get miles??
 

I guess everyone knows we can buy postal money orders from any postal office in US. But do you think we can use credit card to pay for it and then get the miles? And how much we have to PAY?

AFAIK you can't buy money with credit cards, that includes postal money orders.

I used to be able to a long time ago when the post office first started using cc but that changed very quickly once they caught on.

You can AFAIK use cards with places like Travelex for buy Traveller Cheques. Travelex often offers double points for oz residents anyway. Buy $10,000 of TC and get 20,000 miles etc. And no fees when you cash them back at Travelex either. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif

The way the American dollar is going downhill, you may will make money on the deal if you buy a strong currency like Euros. Or Australian Dollars. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Bit of a gamble please realise this, but as an example if you had bought $OZ TC a few months back you'd have your card miles and about a 20% $US PROFIT as well if you cashed them in now. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Or buy USA mint stamps. This is my business, and HERE I can buy for instance a sheet of 100 ($1000) of $10 stamps using a credit card, and a week later take the receipt back to a large PO and say I no longer need the stamps, and they will refund in CASH if they are in a good mood and I ask nicely. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif


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~ Glen ~

Come visit HERE the most ** FRIENDLY FORUM ** on FlyerTalk. No flame wars, no personal abuse, no substance abuse. Not much of anything really!

I believe you can use a CREDIT card for anything at the post office with the exception of money orders. You can, I believe, purchase them with a DEBIT card.

You need to beware that many places that do alloe you to fund something or purchase something like TC's or fund money into an online account treat the transaction as a cash advance, not a purchase, and you won't get miles for it.

I use my Chase / Continental Debit
Card all the time at the post office to
purchase money orders getting 1 mile
for every $2 purchase. I use the money orders to pay off other credit cards.
If you buy a $1000 money order you get 500 miles for $1.25

I never knew of ANY business that would refund a CC purchase to cash. That would in effect make them take a 2-4% loss on the amount in question.

The business is going to take the loss anyways, if I purchase something for $100 and return it I get a credit for the $100, the store doesn't get a credit for their service charge.

Most, if not all, merchant account agreements prohibit you from refunding in cash for a credit card sale, but to the store they are still out the service charge, the cost to them is the same.

It only works out if you HAVE to pay by money order. Let's say you need to buy a $20 money order. The post office wants $20 for the value of the money order and then something like $3.50 more (depends which kind of money order, tho) for the cost of the money order itself. They'll let you charge that $3.50 or whatever service charge to a credit card, but they'll only accept cash or a cashier's check for the value of the money order itself. Not just because it costs them 2 to 3% to take a credit card (and thus why in the world would they want to take one on something they don't make a single bit of profit on? -- the only profit is in the service charge), but because if you paid them with a stolen credit card then the minute you walked out of the post office you could cash the money order and they'd be out the whole value. So two great reasons (from THEIR persepective) why it'd be insane for them to take credit cards.

(I notice else in this thread claims at his post office they do. Either that poster is fibbing or confused, or they've stumbled onto a post office where the postal worker doesn't know the rules or else is knowingly violating them.)

That, to the best of my knowledge, is false. The store pays 2-4% on net charges: purchases minus refunds. So in a given day if a merchant has $10000 in purchases and $1000 in refunds, they pay the credit card company 2-4% of the net $9000. If the merchant has a day where there are only credits, the credit card company refunds them the 2-4%.

Others: isn't this the case?

[This message has been edited by CanuckFlyer (edited 06-15-2003).]

Yes, absolutely correct.

In addition BofA made a amendment removing the ability to earn FF miles on MO's. So that would include the Alaska, USAir and Am West Debit cards. Found out the hard way after purchases that were NOT credited at the The Post Office.

Ummmm .. and we might wonder why all Post Offices lose money each year? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

And as to the other point -- I have accepted all Credit cards from Diners Club down for 25 years, and YES, the merchant loses nothing on a voided credit card transaction.

It just becomes a zero sum game - goods bought for $1000 and goods credited to same person for $1000 = NO merchant fee.

To this day this works for me as a cheap way to transfer money to someone overseas. Say I need to get someone $US500 on this board. all I need do is bank a CREDIT slip to your account along with my regular banking. I bank $3000 less a $500 credit slip so I bank nett $2500 - and pay merchant fees on that sum.

Not only do I not pay merchant fees on that, I in fact am REBATED 3% on $US500. The alternative is a telegraphic transfer to your account which should cost ME $25. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

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~ Glen ~

Come visit HERE the most ** FRIENDLY FORUM ** on FlyerTalk. No flame wars, no personal abuse, no substance abuse. Not much of anything really!

[This message has been edited by ozstamps (edited 06-16-2003).]

USPS policy will not refund cash for stamps. I have never tried to exchange stamps for stamps.

The policy is in place to reduce theft.

That is not the case on our merchant account. We pay a service charge with each transaction, and credits go through without a negative service charge.

We don't do anywhere enough credits to make an issue of it (maybe five or six a year), so it's not like it's a deal breaker or not, but we don't get a break on the credits (though we don't pay for them either)

In my 25 years of accepting Diners, Amex, Visa and MC that is indeed the case as I outlined above. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif