Reloadable Prepaid Card

Activate A Permanent Target Prepaid REDcard

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A permanent Target Prepaid REDcard (AKA Redbird) has arrived today. It took less time than I had expected. There are more than five days left in this month. So, I was happy because I could online-reload $1000 ($200 x 5) with a debit card in December, but there was a problem.

After linking my bank account, I linked my PayPal Business Debit MasterCard (PPBDMC). The link was successful, but I couldn’t add money. It shows the following message,

We’re sorry, your card issuer declined this transaction. Please call the number on the back of your MasterCard for additional information.

I assumed that $200 is too much for the first transaction. So, I changed the amount to $20, but it was the same result. I don’t know what else to do. So, I called the number on the back of PPBDMC.

They told that the transaction was declined by the line of PayPal Extras MasterCard credit card, which I set for backup funding source when there is not enough money in PayPal account. The rep also told me that if I changed backup funding source to my bank account, it should go through. The rep was trying to connect my call to credit card department for me, but I told him I was going to change backup source to my bank account and hanged up. Because I didn’t want to talk with them about the details of this transaction.

I set backup funding source to my bank account and then tried reload $200. But it was still all the same result. The last option was to use PayPal Balance. However, I keep the balance of this PayPal account zero all the time so I can use linked credit or prepaid gift cards for purchases through PayPal, such as eBay.

I transferred only $50 from my other PayPal account. Then I tried to reload $20. Finally, it went through. I guess I will need to reload from PayPal account for a couple of times, and then they may allow to use backup funding source for Redbird reloads.

Loading A Temporary Target Prepaid REDcard

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a permanent redbird is on the wayI registered Target Prepaid REDcard (AKA Redbird) yesterday. A permanent card is now on the way. Until the permanent card arrives, I can use a temporary card for reloads, purchases, ATM use. A balance of my temp card is $1. The person who bought the temp card loaded $1 when activated at his or her local Target store. (I bought the temp card on eBay. Click here to see details.)

Now, I can load money up to $1500. I took AmEx GC and Visa GC to Target and planned to make two reloads with them. First, I went to the customer service. I told the clerk that I wanted to load $500 to the temp card. She swiped my temp card on a register that is facing to them. Then a PIN pad that is facing to customers says, “Slide your card.” I did it with AmEx GC. After I had signed on a PIN pad, the clerk asked me to hand her the AmEx GC. Then she typed something on the register (probably the last four digits of the card.) Nothing else can check, anyway. There is no name on AmEx GC, and there is no name on the temp card, either.

She gave me back both cards with a receipt of reload. My first reload to Redbird was done successfully. It was very smooth. I was worried if they don’t know how to load or refuse to load. Because in the state I live (NY), Redbird hasn’t been available for purchase yet.

After that, I bought some groceries with the temp card in the same store. And then I tried to reload at a cash register which I just bought groceries. However, the cashier told me that I had to go to the customer service for reload. I didn’t want to go to the customer service again. So, I left the store without the second reload.

This was what I had never expected. I assumed that I could have it loaded at any cash registers as well as the customer service just like at Walmart for Serve reload. I thought back a little while and tried to remember what blog posts and forums said. None of them mentioned about such a thing. So, I guessed that the cashier didn’t know how to reload or that the store instructed cashiers to send customers to the customer service for reload. To make sure of it, I went to the next Target store which was only a mile away.

At the next store, I went to the customer service first because I wanted to make sure that I could use Visa GCs for reload. I brought two $200 Visa GCs which I had bought at Best Buy. This time, I asked a store clerk to load $400 and make a payment split into two. The process was the same as the previous one until I swiped the first card (Visa GC.) A display of PIN pad prompted to enter PIN, but the clerk told me to press “Cancel”, which is a red button at the bottom left corner of PIN pad. And then a display (touch screen) showed “Debit” and “Credit.” I was told to press “Credit” and signed. I did the same for the next card.

It’s very impressive. These two reloads were made with GCs, and they were used like credit cards. But, Target’s POS system recognizes the cards as prepaid GCs and even shows the remaining balance of GCs on the receipts. It is very useful when you have Visa, MasterCard, or AmEx GCs that have a small amount. I receive a lot of GCs as forms of rebate from Staples, Newegg, TigerDirect, etc. They usually have small amounts, and many of them are not whole numbers. (often, $7.99, $86, etc.)

In that store, I made a small purchase with the temp card and then asked to load at the cash register. This time, I successfully had it reloaded. I used one $200 Visa GC and entered PIN (used as debit card.) Here is the receipt (on the left.) As you see, it doesn’t show the balance of GC.

receipt of redbird reload

When you use Visa or MasterCard GCs like credit card for reload by split payment, Target’s POS knows the amount of GCs. So, maybe I don’t have to tell the cashier the remaining balance of GCs. I wonder if it automatically drains the remaining balance and up to how many cards Target allows in a single transaction. I will find out later.

Say Goodbye to Serve, Hello to Prepaid REDcard

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A final transaction of American Express Serve has been completed. Now, it’s time to close Serve and register Target Prepaid REDcard (AKA Redbird.) The transaction was a withdrawal of a remaining balance from Serve account to my bank account. In Serve, it was completed within 24 hours. However, in my bank account, it was pending for a few days. It might have been OK to close Serve account in this period, but I took precaution of waiting for the transaction to complete in both accounts.

After I chose a reason for closing an account from a drop-down list and wrote about Redbird in a box below, I successfully closed Serve account. They gave me a sad (crying) face.

Serve closed

Let’s move on to Redbird’s registration. I typed temporary card number and security code and my date of birth. And then my name, address, SSN, email address, etc. I did it within minutes after closing Serve account, but I was able to register Redbird. No information of a person who bought a temp card was necessary. (I bought the temp card on eBay. Click here to see details.) After verifying the email, the registration was completed.

redbird registration complete

Now, I can add money to the temp card, up to $1500 and use it at Target stores. Everything was done as I learned from FrequentMiler’s Blog. However, I overlooked one thing. It’s that I can’t link a debit card or a bank account until I receive and activate a permanent card. It’s 19th of December today, and it will take 7 to 10 business days for the permanent card to arrive. So, I can’t reload online with a debit card this month. I might be able to do a few reloads, but not full of 5 times (5 days.)

loading temp redbird

Tomorrow, I will go to Target store and reload with credit, debit, and Visa GCs.

 

 

$50 PayPal Business Debit MasterCard Promotional Credit Received

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Today, I received an confirmation email that I earned $50 PayPal credit of this promotion. The terms of the promotion was simple. Use PayPal Business Debit MasterCard (PPBD) for purchases of more than $5000 between around end of September and November 15th. Only signature purchases are eligible for the promotion.

I’ve spent at least $5000 during the promo period, but an amount I actually spent for *normal* purchases is $1500 or so. For the rest of it, I used for online reloads to American Express Serve and Chime Prepaid Card. I’ve reloaded Serve for $1000 each in Oct and Nov. And for 15 days from the beginning of this promo, I load Chime Prepaid card  for $100 each day. Back then, Chime didn’t charge a fee for reloading the card with PPBD. But after Oct 8th, they charge 3% fee. I haven’t been using PPBD for Chime reloads since then.

By only online reloads to Serve and Chime, I would earn $30 credit by online reloads. So, $1500 is a spending to get extra $20 credit. It is like 1.3333% cash back. It doesn’t sound great, but you can also earn 1% of PPBD’s regular cash back.

And, since I set PayPal Extras MasterCard credit card as funding source of PPBD, I also earned 1500 points (worth $12.50 for cash back=0.83%, $15 for gift card on sale=1%.)

What’s more? What I bought was $2000 American Express Gift Card. Topcashback offered 3% cash back for AmEx GCs at that time.

Considering all cash back, this was a very good offer. But I haven’t seen any other offers from PPBD. Unlike PPBD, PayPal Extras MasterCard credit card often sends me special offers, such as “Get $10 free GC for $50 or more purchase on eBay” and “Earn 3 x $10 statement credit for $50 or more purchase on eBay.” You can easily redeem these offers by purchasing GCs from the sellers “giftcardmall” or “paypal_digital_gifts.”

MoneyPak and Vanilla Reload Pack will end

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I received an email today. It is from American Express Serve.

Hello,

We are writing to inform you of a change to the terms and conditions of your American Express Serve® Account. Please review the change below:

Beginning February 1, 2015, MoneyPak® will no longer be available for purchase. Beginning April 1, 2015, Vanilla® Reload PIN will no longer be available to purchase. However, you can still easily add cash* to your Serve® Account directly at the register using Vanilla® Reload Swipe Load.

You can still add money to your account in many other convenient ways including Direct Deposit and free cash reloads at the register at 27,000 CVS/pharmacy®, Family Dollar®, Walmart® and participating 7-ELEVEN® locations. Click here to learn more.

You can review this change in the Consumer User Agreement here.
Thank You,

The American Express Serve Team

MoneyPak and Vanilla Reload PIN are reload packs. You purchase and add money to them at stores. And then you can reload your prepaid cards online. These products have existed for a long time, and they are also well-known that they are used for frauds and scams by crooks, especially MoneyPak. I believe they will stop selling their products due to such activities by crooks, not manufactured spending.

These changes won’t be any impact on me because I simply don’t buy them. Since they charge lower fees than Visa/MasterCard/AmEx GCs do, they are better items for MS. But I just can’t find stores that allow to use credit cards for purchases. Besides, I will close Serve account in a few days in order to register Redbird.

As the email says, it seems that you can still add money by using Vanilla Reload Swipe Load even after April 1, 2015. As far as I know, a store that currently use VR Swipe Load is Family Dollar. They don’t sell VR PIN since they started using VR Swipe Load. The question is “Will the stores currently selling VR PIN be using VR Swipe Load after or by April 1, 2015?”

And the point is that whether stores will allow to use debit cards for reloads or not. I have visited 8 Family Dollar stores in my neighborhood and tried to use Visa GCs for reloading Serve. Half of them allowed, and the other half refused and said “Cash Only.” From this example, when other stores start using VR Swipe Load, you will need to make sure if your local stores allow to swipe not only cards to be loaded, but also cards to pay.

However, I don’t really care now. Again, I will close Serve and open Redbird soon. Redbird can be reloaded only at Target stores. My last transaction of Serve (withdrawing the remaining balance to my bank account) was completed. But I don’t see the same transaction in my bank account yet. Just in case, I will wait until this transaction shows up in my bank account.

Temporary Prepaid REDcard arrived, Closing Serve Account

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temporary prepaid redcard packageI received my eBay order today. It is a temporary version of Target Prepaid REDcard (AKA Redbird.) In the package, there is a temp card and folded paper written of cardholder agreement. A card number and a security code of temp card are covered with tape. With the numbers, you can register for a permanent card.

temporary prepaid redcard

But first, I have to close Serve account because AmEx doesn’t allow to have both cards at the same time.

Before closing the account, take advantage of Serve for the last time. Redbird can’t connect to Amex Offer. Redeem all offers you are interested while you have Serve. And, remember you have to make sure that statement credit is posted.

Use another advantage of Serve, $200 x 5 online reloads with credit card. It will be the last online-reload with credit card, which is very easy and comfortable MS that AmEx officially allows. Reload online $1000 with debit card as well. I think I will be able to reload another $1000 to Redbird in the same month. So, it may be the total $2000 reload online with debit card only this month.

When you close an account, you need to make the balance down to zero. It will be easily done by paying bills and withdrawing to bank account. But, remember it takes days for these transactions to complete.

When I order a temp card on eBay, I had already done 0nline-reloads and Amex Offers, but there was one pending transaction that I canceled the order at Newegg.com. It took more than a week to be cleared. After it had been cleared, I withdrew the remaining balance to my bank account. Now, I am waiting for that transaction to complete.

Check and double-check all of these. Close an account by clicking “Close Account” located at the all the way bottom in Profile page when everything is good. Otherwise, you can’t close. You will see this page.

closing serve

Target Prepaid REDcard through eBay

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I have been waiting so long for Target Prepaid REDcard (AKA Redbird) to show up at Target stores in the state (NY) where I live. However, there have been no sign of it. I asked store clerks several times, but they don’t even know its existence.

Since I don’t have family or friends in states where Redbird is available for purchase, I was just waiting, but I can’t wait anymore. I ordered a temporary card on eBay.

I’ve read and re-read all posts related to Redbird in Frequentmiler’s blog. According to the posts, it doesn’t matter if the information of the purchaser and a person who register don’t match so you can ask someone to buy a temp card for you. When you active (buy) a temporary card, you give your name, address, BOD, and SSN to Target. They check your ID. So, name, address, and BOD are supposed to be real, but SSN isn’t. I guess all eBay sellers use made-up SSNs when they activate temporary cards.

There are some different types of listings. Some sellers sell non-activated temp cards. The prices of non-activated cards are around $10 less than activated ones. If you order these cards, you will need to activate at Target store for yourself. And reportedly, there are some cases where temp cards may not be activated in states where Redbird is not available. Besides, I wonder how they got those cards. I don’t think they got them in the right way. You’d better avoid dealing with them. And also, there are sellers who lists temp cards that have been activated and loaded only a penny! I just don’t want to deal with such people.

The card I ordered is a temporary card that has been activated and loaded $1. The seller offers an option to send pictures of front and back of temp card via email so I could register online right after a check-out. I asked a physical card in the package to be sent by mail, though. One of the reasons for that is I have never seen the package other than ones in pictures. I just want to see it and touch it and open it. The other reason is that I can’t close Serve account right now. Recently, there are many good Amex Offers. I rushed to redeem all good offers, but statement credit from some offers hasn’t been posted yet. Even if I get information of temp card via email, I won’t be able to register right now.

Advantages of Serve

Both Serve and Redbird can reload in-store up to $5000 per month and online reload with debit cards up to $1000 per month. However, Serve has an advantage over Redbird by $1000 online reloads with credit card. And Serve can sync up with Amex Offers, but Redbird can’t.

Advantages of Redbird

Conversely, the advantage of Redbird over Serve is you can receive instant 5% discount for purchases at Target. And Target currently allows any types of payment for in-store reloads. 5%-discount alone isn’t great because I already have REDcard debit. But you can add money with reward credit cards and then use the card for 5% discount. That means you can get more than 5% discount for Target purchases.

When I compare each advantage, Redbird is more beneficial to me than Serve. There are several Target stores in my neighborhood, and I shop there very often. As for Walmart, it is not far away but further than Target, and I buy something there only when I visit for reloading Serve.

There is a couple of other reasons that I chose Redbird over Serve. I don’t buy less Visa GCs than I used to. The source of Visa GCs was mainly staples.com. I used Chase ink Cash credit card for those purchases to maximize the rewards. Chase ink Cash offers 5% cash back for purchases at office supply stores up to $25000 annually. It is unlikely for me to use that much for merchandises. So, I used to buy Visa GCs from time to time. However, I don’t need anymore since Staples started selling eBay GCs. eBay is a great place to buy discounted GCs. I spend a lot for discounted GCs on eBay.

Here is another reason. Before eBay GCs showed up at retail stores, I had been using AmEx GCs for eBay purchases. When I buy AmEx GC, I earn credit card reward and cashback from shopping portal. But AmEx GCs spending slowdown now because of eBay GCs. Redbird would recover the spending speed of AmEx GCs or rather boost up by reloading Redbird with AmEx GCs.

Summery

There are two types of listing of Redbird on eBay.

  • Non-activated: Sellers will send you an unopened package, which is exactly in the same condition hanged on GC racks in Target stores. You will need to take it to Target store and have it activated. As some sellers say in listing pages, you may have trouble activating it at the store where Redbird isn’t for sale.
  • Activated & Loaded: Sellers purchased at their local Target stores and had them activated. Temp cards are loaded at least $0.01. Shipping options vary from one seller to another. Some sellers send the whole package to you, and some sellers send you photos of temp cards. There are also sellers who let you choose one between these two options.

25 Days, 25 Chime Offers! in December

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Every day from December 1st to 25th, you will receive new offers. Each offer expires within 24 hours. You can check all offers in advance at www.chimecard.com/users/holiday. If you don’t have Chime card yet, please read “Chime Card Reviews.”

25 days 25 chime offers

There are many great offers. I plan to redeem ten offers out of 25. In the website, you can set up a reminder by clicking “Remind Me” on each offer. You will receive an email on the day the offers of your favorite stores are available so you won’t miss them.

Starting with amazon.com, “Free $5 Store Credit.” Free $x Store Credit means there is no minimum spending requirement. $5 will be back instantly to your Chime account after a check-out. We had the same offer just a few weeks ago. I redeemed it by purchasing $5 amazon E-gift card.

free 5 dollar for amazon

There are many other offers of the same type, as well as “Spend $XX Get $X” type of offers for major and popular stores. Check for yourself.

 

Payback Rewards of PayPal Prepaid MasterCard

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rewards of paypal prepaid mastercardI applied PayPal Prepaid MasterCard a few months ago. The primary purpose of having this card is to earn interest from its savings account (see details here), but I have been making purchase with the card to see what kind of reward they offer. Their reward program is “targeted.” They review how you use the card and give you offers that are relevant to your spending. Thus, when I just received the card, there was no offers. I searched online to see some examples of offers so that I could use the card efficiently. However, I couldn’t find any examples.

So, I carried out an experiment. I exclusively used the card at supermarkets. To boost up the process (from my guess), I also asked cash back as much amount as each store allowed. About a month later, I received three offers for the first time.

1. Walmart

Shop at Walmart.com and receive 5% Cash Back on every purchase until a maximum of $500 in combined total spend is reached! Offer valid on purchases through 12/8/2014! Purchases must be made through this link. Offer not valid toward shipping and handling, taxes and other surcharges. Offer applied after all discounts and coupons. Offer not valid toward purchases from Sam’s Club and Samsclub.com, pharmacy, travel, financial services, tires, optical, Wal-Mart Connect Internet Service, gift cards, and online gift cards. Walmart.com – Save Money. Live Better

I wonder why I received an offer for the store I have never used the card. It is a very common offer. You can find the same one in many cash back portal sites. I was expecting offers that are similar to Amex Offer so I can use the card in stores and redeem the offer. But this offer is online only, and purchases must be made through the link. This is just typical cash back offer you can find in portal sites any time.

2. Peapod by Stop and Shop

Online Grocery Delivery: Shop with Peapod by Stop & Shop in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New York, and New Jersey to earn 15% Cash Back on a purchase amount up to $100. Shop at Peapod by Stop & Shop to find some of your favorite national brands, plus money-saving store brands! View the Peapod by Stop & Shop website to learn more. Peapod by Stop & Shop – Grocery shop anytime, anywhere!

Offer expires 12/13/2014. Payment must be made on or before offer expiration date. Payment must be made with your eligible debit or credit card. Offer valid online only. Offer valid one time only.

Another offer for online shopping. The terms don’t mention about the link. So, if I click the link of cash back portal site and use the card, I may earn both rewards. For example, BeFrugal offers $10 cash back for new customers. If I can earn both rewards, I will get $25 cash back in total. The problem is that Peapod charges $11.95 for each delivery and $2.95 for each pick-up. Besides, all my neighbor Stop&Shop stores are somehow excluded for pick-up locations. The closest store is 12 miles away. However, this will be an interesting experiment.

3. Verizon FiOS

Switch your TV, Internet and home phone services to Verizon FiOS & earn $75! Verizon FiOS gives you the ultimate in home entertainment. Plus, redefine what TV can be by upgrading to FiOS Quantum℠ TV and get more storage, more control and more access.

Verizon FiOS order must be placed online through this link. Account must be active for 60 days to receive reward. Reward can take up to 90 days to post to account. New customers with 2 year term only. Offer valid one time only. Other conditions apply. Offer expires 12/16/2014.

Like the offer for Walmart, I have no idea why I got this offer. And I’m not interested at all. So, I don’t check anything further. Probably, you can find the same offer in cash back portal sites any time.

Summery

These are three offers from PayPal Prepaid MasterCard for the first time. They are a lot different from ones I expected. I found an offer for Peapod interesting. Cashback portal sites pay only new customers. If I continue to receive an offer, it’s worth keep using the card at supermarkets.

Target MasterCard Gift Card is similar to Vanilla Visa Gift Card, But….

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My order at Target.com arrived. It’s Target MasterCard gift card. When I placed the order, there were no purchase fee, and somehow REDcard 5% discount was applied (see detail here.) The back of the package says almost the same as one from Target Visa gift card.

Select any 4 digit PIN at first use………………………………………..Card issued by the Bancorp Bank…………………………..For card information, the Cardholder Agreement, refunds, or to request a replacement card, call 1-800-698-4952 or visit www.mybalancenow.com…………………………………

The only difference is that “pursuant to license by MasterCard International.” instead of “pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc.” I can check the balance, reset PIN, and assign ZIP code in the same website, mybalancenow.com.

You can do the same things in the websites, vanillavisa.com and onevanilla.com, for Target Visa or MasterCard GCs, and vice verse. It means that all those cards, Vanilla, One Vanilla, Target Visa and MasterCard GCs, have all the same features.

So, I thought I could reload American Express Serve with these gift cards at Family Dollar. But, it failed. After I swiped the card and entered PIN, a PIN pad said, “invalid card number.” I tried another card, but it was the same result. Only a week ago, I loaded with Target Visa GCs at Family Dollar. So, unless POS system has changed since them, the problem is it’s MasterCard.

target mastercard gift card at family dollar

Well, now I need to spend all GCs by purchasing. When I visit Walmart, I will try to use the card at Walmart ATM. I don’t think it will accept it, but it is worth a try.