Redbird

Amex Serve card arrived, enough time to load fully this month

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I received Amex Serve card yesterday. This is my second card. It has a new design (see picture below.) I closed Serve account at the end of last year and opened Redbird. Redbird had been a great tool for MS until May 6th. But now, I can’t use it for MS at any Target stores in my neighborhood. So, I closed early this month and re-opened Serve.

amex serve card

I activated the card and linked my bank account and debit card. For a bank account, I need to wait for probably a few days to see a small deposit that Serve will make to my bank account. And then I will need to verify it. For a debit card, I linked PayPal Business Debit card. The debit card is linked to my PayPal account in which its balance is always zero. I set PayPal Extras MasterCard credit card as a backup funding source. When I use the debit card, an amount is automatically charged to PP Extras credit card. However, it didn’t work with Redbird, I think that’s because a type of transaction is not a regular purchase, rather like a cash advance. So, PayPal declined transactions, I guess. If you have enough money in your PayPal account, it goes through.

I thought I would be the same result for Serve, but I just wanted to try adding $200 with PP debit card that is linked zero-balance PayPal account. As I thought, the website showed the same error message as Redbird. And soon after, I received an email that told me to upload copies of my ID and the debit for a security reason.

link debit card with serve account

When I have money in your PayPal account, there was no problem to online-load both Serve and Redbird. Although the transaction is only a transfer of your money from PayPal account to Serve account, you can earn 1% cash back from PP debit card.

Serve sent an email that I need to upload photocopy of ID and debit card. During the investigation, some features can’t be used. Whenever you change linked cards, they always request photocopies. Usually, the investigation will be done next day.

I see some changes on the website from last year. Amex Offers are visible on the website. You can see a list, details of offers and add them without leaving for Twitter or Facebook. However, you’d better check all of them because numbers of offers are different in websites. Currently, I see 35 offers at Serve.com, but there are 49 offers at Facebook. So, check all of them not to miss good offers.

amex offer at serve dot com

My Amex Serve card is on its way!

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amex serve card is on its way

I received an email that told me that Amex Serve card is shipped out. A few days ago, I closed Redbird and re-applied Serve. Here are the posts about the background of this event.

Probably, I will be able to receive the card next week. If it arrived before 26th, I will be able to do five online reloads. As for in-store reloads, I’m not worried because I need at least 2 days for $5000 reloads. Currently, there are five $200VGC and three $500VGC waiting for being swiped at Walmart ATM. And one $400VanillaVGC is to load at Family Dollar. Two more $200VGCs will be added through Staples Easy Rebate next week. I also need to buy two more $200VGC at Bed Bath and Beyond to redeem fully 2nd category bonus of Chase freedom. It’s $3700 in total. For the rest ($1300), I will buy VGCs at BBY or supermarket and use PayPal Business debit card directly.

Goodbye to Redbird, Say Hello to Serve again

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Closing Redbird

The last transaction of Redbird just completed. It was a withdrawal of remaining balance to my bank account. It appeared in my bank account history. So, I logged in Redbird account for the last time to close the account.

Background: Reasons for closing

My local Target stores have their own rules to restrict types of payment for reloads. Some stores had the rules before the change on May 7th, some stores had ones after the change. In most stores in NYC, you can’t load Redbird with prepaid debit cards. (I have never loaded at stores in Manhattan and Bronx. So, I don’t know their rules before and after the change. Click here to see more details of my local stores)

Procedures for closing

I used to have Serve. I closed last year to open Redbird. The way of closing Redbird is the same as Serve. You can find a button for closing all the way down in Profile page.

closing redbird

 

Choose a reason for closing and left some note.

reason for closing

Just like Serve, Redbird showed this crying face.

goodbye to redbird

Registration of Serve

Soon, I went to Serve.com and finished a registration. They sent an email with a link for verification. After the verification, I can log in my Serve account. I tried to do some things, but nothing is possible until activating the card. They give this message in all pages.

must activate the card before doing anything

According to the email, the card will arrive in 7 to 10 business days. There are a lot of things to do after the card arrives.

  • Activate the card
  • Link PayPal Business Debit card – I have two cards. One is linked to my PayPal account that balance is always zero and set PP Extras credit card as a backup funding source. I couldn’t use this one for online-reload of Redbird. I was able to link, but the transaction never went through. So, I have been using the other one that is linked to another PayPal account in which always have some balance. It may be the same result, but first I try to use the first one for Serve because I could get a reward from not only PP debit card but also PP credit card.
  • Load VGCs from Staples, BBY, BBB, and supermarket – All these are issued by MetaBank. You can register your name, address and set PIN as you like. There is no worry of decline when you load at Walmart ATM.
  • Load VGC from Target – It has the same features as Vanilla VGC. It charges $6 purchase fee per $400 denomination card. The fee is a little more expensive than $500VGCs, but you can buy it online with any payment methods except for TargetGCs. Since it is a Vanilla VGC, you can’t use for reloads at Walmart. But you may be able to use at Family Dollar. When I had Serve (first one before opening Redbird), I had loaded with Vanilla VGCs sometimes. I need to check if it still works.
  • Check Amex Offers – Currently, I can’t see any offers. The message is here, too. I need to activate the card first of all.

That’s all for now. Among three Amex prepaid cards (BlueBird, Serve, and Redbird), Serve is the only one with which you can link credit card for online-reload. But a card has to be Amex, and Amex-issued credit cards can’t earn a reward through online-reloads. To earn a reward, you need a non-Amex issued Amex credit card. And I don’t have it yet. I am going to apply Fidelity Amex credit card in a near future.

I hope the card arrive soon so I can have enough time to load fully this month.

Official Announcement from Amex about Redbird Reloads

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I received an email from Amex that announced a change of rules for Redbird reload. Here is the email,

Dear my name,

We wanted to let you know that you will no longer be able to load your Target Prepaid REDCard® by American Express at Target stores with a Target GiftCard or a non-Target branded credit card. You can continue to load your card with cash or debit at Target stores.

You can also add money to your Target Prepaid REDcard® by American Express online through direct deposit or transfer from your linked debit or bank account.

For more information about your Target Prepaid REDcard® by American Express, click here.

At a glance, my first thought was that they banned me from in-store reloads. But I continued to read,and found that it was just about a change of rule a month ago. I checked other blog posts and forums to confirm that it was sent to all cardholders.

closing redbird

A reason I was scared at first is current status of my Redbird. I have loaded $5000 in store and $1000 online last week. And this week, I rushed to unload by spending normally, paying bills. Then, yesterday I withdrew to my bank account to make the balance zero so I can close Redbird.

Target stores in my neighbor (NYC) don’t accept prepaid debit cards. So, I needed to go to Nassau County for reloads since the change. And surprisingly, even two stores in Nassau didn’t accept prepaid cards. I used PayPal business debit card in those stores. (my local stores don’t even accept PP business debit card.) These are enough reasons to switch back to Serve so I can load with prepaid cards at Walmart ATM. Click here for details.

The email says something strange,

……you will no longer be able to load your Target Prepaid REDCard® by American Express at Target stores with a Target GiftCard or a non-Target branded credit card…..

Target GiftCard? You weren’t able to use Target gift cards for reload from the beginning. non-Target branded credit card? It sounds like that you could use Target credit card for reloads, but I doubt it. That’s because the system doesn’t allow to use credit cards for reloads. Even if you can use it, there is no benefit by doing it, anyway.

I received another email. It is almost identical to the first one, just replacing “Target Prepaid REDcard” with “American Express Target Card.” What is Amex Target Card? When I saw “account ending xxxxx” in the email, I noticed this email is regarding of “American Express for Target.” The change from last month has been applied to Amex for Target, too. But I didn’t care. I used this card for a month or so, then I found it useless to me. I haven’t been using ever since. Did they change the name of the card, Amex for Target to Amex Target Card? …. I don’t care that, either.

Now, I am waiting for the last transaction of Redbird to complete. As soon as it completes, I will Redbird and open Serve.

Close Redbird, Open Serve due to more restrictions to reloads

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When Target stopped accepting credit cards for Redbird reloads, I decided to close Redbird and open Serve. I thought which one to open (Bluebird or Serve.) After some research, I have chosen Serve over Bluebird. Serve is the only card that you use credit cards for online reload. They used to accept any credit cards. But now, they only accept Amex credit cards. And if you use Amex-issued credit cards, you can’t earn the reward. To earn a reward, you have to link non-Amex issued credit cards, such as Fidelity Investment Rewards American Express Card. I don’t have any non-Amex issued credit cards now, but I will apply in the future.

I made a plan when Target changed the rule of Redbird reloads. Here my original plan goes:

  1. load Redbird to the limit by 5/10
  2. unload completely by 5/12
  3. wait 3 to 5 business days for the last transaction (it’s most likely a withdrawal to my bank account) to complete
  4. As soon as the last transaction completes, close Redbird and apply Serve
  5. load Serve to the limit by the end of this month

However, I found it too busy to load Redbird. It took more time than the plan, and probably there was no enough time to load Serve. So I decided to do this next month.

Now, I have time to reconsider Redbird benefits over Serve. Here is some benefit of Redbird:

  • Target is the store I go very often
  • Target accepts Vanilla VGCs

There are only two benefits, but they are enough reasons for me to keep Redbird. I had once changed my mind and decided to keep Redbird. However, Target store in my neighbor applied their own rule. They don’t accept prepaid cards. Probably, this rule has been applied since May 6th, the date all Target store in the U.S. stopped accepting credit card for reloads. On the top of that, they don’t accept PayPal Business Debit card, which my name is embossed. A clerk said, “We only accept cash or debit cards issued by major banks, Chase, Citi,…..”

At that moment, my mind’s made up, I will close Redbird and open Serve for sure. Because of this store’s own rule, the closest Target store that accepts GCs for reload is now 20+ miles away. (there are seven other stores within that range, and they had already stopped accepting GCs even before May 6th.)

If you can buy Vanilla VGCs with credit cards at drug stores, or somewhere else, Redbird still has the advantage over Serve on that point. But my local drug stores don’t accept credit cards for payment of a large amount of GC purchase. The place I can comfortably buy is target.com. $400 VGC charges $6 fee; it’s 1.5%. You can use AmexGCs for the purchase and buy multiple GCs at a once. Keep it in mind, it’s always better to have many options for your MS. I may be going to use for Serve reload via Family Dollar. (I haven’t been to FD since I closed Serve for opening Redbird. I hope this option is still alive.)

Will I double-MS next month?

There was a forum post. It said that he or she had to wait for 30 days to apply a new card (Serve) after closing an old one (Bluebird). I used to have Serve and closed it for opening Redbird. As soon as the last transaction of Serve completed, I closed Serve. And then I applied permanent Redbird. It was about 10 minutes after closing Serve and was succeeded. So I was able to double-MS that month. In terms of switching Redbird to Serve, I couldn’t find the specific information. But big deal, I will close Redbird, anyway. For a possible double MS, next month, I will need to load and drain Redbird as soon as possible.

Target No Longer Accepts Credit Card for Redbird Reloads

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Overview

A new rule was reported in many forums and blogs on May 5th, and it’s implemented on May 6th in all U.S. Target stores. It’s hard-corded. The POS system won’t allow credit cards as a payment for Redbird reloads.

Background

Before this new rule, several Target stores in my neighborhood already had their own rules. For examples, “Cash or Debit Only” “No Credit Cards” “No Prepaid Cards (gift cards)”, etc. However, there are many other Target stores in my neighborhood. So, I didn’t have much trouble reloading Redbird until yesterday. Loading with credit cards was the main benefit of Redbird for me (and I suppose, for the most cardholders, too.) I mostly used AmexGCs for reloads. It was really easy to reload $1000 without worrying about a decline by a bank. You didn’t have to deal with fraud alert as long as a GC has enough balance on it. Now, the benefit is gone, and this new rule is hard-corded and nation-wide. There is no way to get around it.

Current Accepted Payment Methods

Target accepts Cash or Debit for reload. Reportedly, the system allows PIN-enabled gift cards. But I think some stores don’t accept gift cards because of store-specific rules. And I don’t think split payment works anymore. When I asked split payment, transactions of each card were treated as credit. (see details here) So, from now on, you will need to make separate transactions with each gift card.

What is the best now? Redbird or Bluebird or Serve

The main benefit of Redbird is gone. I’m going to close Redbird and open Bluebird or Serve. I’m still thinking which one to open, but I’m sure I will close Redbird. The new rule makes Redbird inferior to Bluebird and Serve for the following reasons.

Too Mush Hassle for reloads

You can’t use AmexGC anymore. For MS, the only option is to use PIN-enabled gift cards. I will use many $200 VGCs from BBY. 25 reloads ($200×25=$5000) every month are too many hassles. Besides, most local Target stores allow to reload at guest service only. Regular cashiers are not allowed, or simply they don’t know about Redbird. Each store has only one guest service. This means I have to go and ask the same clerk for multiple reloads. It’s not comfortable. Bluebird and Serve can be loaded by a kiosk at Walmart. You need to separate transactions with each gift cards, but it’s not a big deal because what you deal with is a machine. Even if a kiosk is out of order, regular cashiers know how to load.

5% REDcard discount isn’t that great

5% instant discount sounds nice, but you can get more discount by purchasing TargetGCs from gift card resellers. It’s not difficult to find 5% or even 6% discounted GCs. If you buy those GCs with reward credit cards, an overall discount would be more than 5%. In case discounted TargetGCs are all sold out, keep in mind that Staples sells e-codes online. If you have Chase ink business credit card, you will earn 5x bonus reward on the purchase. So, 5% discount is not exclusive, and even more discount would be possible.

Amex Offer

Recently, Bluebird has been able to be connected Amex Offer via Twitter, Facebook, etc. And Serve has been also able to do it quite a while. Only Redbird can’t. Maybe in the future, but I don’t want to wait for something uncertain and miss good Amex Offers.

My Plan

I used to have Serve. I closed it for opening Redbird. From my experience, you can apply a new one right after closing the existing one. In order to close the account, you need to unload the card completely, by bill pays or withdrawing to linked bank account, which takes 3 to 5 business days. For this month, I have already done $1000 online reload, but in-store reload is only $1400 so far. I will load as much as possible in this week and unload completely next week. Then I will close Redbird and open Bluebird or Serve. There have been some minor changes to these cards since I got Redbird. So, I will need to review all benefits of both cards to decide which card is better for me.

Free $10 Target GC with a $50 Applebees GC purchase

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Overview

Target has a promotion. You can get free $10 Target gift card for a $50 or more Applebees GC purchase. They offer this type of deal occasionally, but this deal is 20% back. It is a high return. It’s available both in-store and online. The offer ends on April 18th, 2015.

Limit

They say, “Quantities limited.” So, when GCs are out of stock, they stop this promo. And it seems that you can get only one $10 Target GC per transaction. At Target.com, when I add a $50 Applebees GCs in a cart, a free $10 Target GC appears in a cart, too. But even if I change the quantity of Applebees GC, there is only one free Target GC in a cart. And, I don’t know what’s going to happen to in-store purchase.

How will you receive Target GC?

Online, you will receive an electric gift card. During a check-out, you need to enter an email address to which you want them to send EGC. The email address doesn’t need to be the same as one from your Target’s online account.

In-store, you will probably receive a physical gift card. And most likely, it’s a paper card without a silver scratch. All numbers are exposed from the beginning. Be careful with these GCs. Target reuse them over and over. If some crooks keep the numbers, they can snatch the amount of GCs. I suggest moving the balance to another GC as soon as possible. If you don’t have one, you can buy new GCs with GCs.

Is it profitable?

I just don’t want to use GCs at a restaurant. I’m not interested in saving money at a restaurant by using GCs. All I care about this promo is if it’s profitable when I sold to GC exchange sites. At the time of writing this post, the highest rate is 76.5% from Giftcards.com. If you sell $50 Applebees GC, you will receive $38.25. Say you shop at Target very often, and consider $10 Target GC as cash ($10USD). After you sold, you would have $48.25.

It’s a loss of $1.75. However, you should know a few things about GC purchases at Target before a conclusion.

Things you should know about GC purchases at Target

Cash Back Portal – You may earn cash back from a portal. I bought 3rd party EGC a few days ago. Portal site sent a confirmation email, and pending cash back was posted. (Soon after, I bought $400VGC via the same portal site. I received a confirmation email as well, but this time, it says $0. See details here.)

5% REDcard Discount – 5%-discount used to be applied on 3rd party GC purchases, but no longer applied. This change happened just a week ago. Online, I can’t find any GCs with 5% discount applied since then. I don’t know about in-store purchases.

Pay with Target GCs – You can use Target GCs for GC purchases except Visa, MasterCard, and American Express (available in-store only.) Although 5% REDcard discount is gone, you can get 5% or more discount by using Target GCs. You can find 4 to 6% discount GCs at GC exchange sites. Buying and using discounted GCs might as well get a discount at check-out.

So, is it profitable?

Say you buy a $50 Target GC with 4% discount at raise.com. You save $2. Then you buy and sell a $50 Applebees GC at the rate of 76.5%. You have $38.25(check)+$10(TargetGC)+$2=$50.25. It is slightly profitable. Considering with credit card reward from the transaction at GC exchange site, it is a good deal. And there may be cash back from a portal. Most importantly, I can carry out an experiment of cash back portal without losing money.

Conclusion

I purchased one $50 Applebees GC with Target GC, via the same cash back portal site from a few days ago. So far, I have received a confirmation email from Target. That’s it. Not yet, an email of $10 Target GC nor an email from the portal. I will update a result here when I receive.

Update 4/15/2015

I received $10 Target eGC next day. And almost the same time I received an email from the portal site. Unfortunately, the amount of cash back is $0. Cash back for the transaction of the other gift card from a few days before still exists in my account, without clawback (still pending, though.) Depending on gift cards, you may earn cash back with GC purchases.

5% REDcard Discount no longer applied to GC purchases

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It happened for a few weeks in April. 5% discount IS applied to GC purchases, except for Visa, MasterCard, Amex or Target.

Overview

It seems that Target implemented a new rule on gift card purchase. 5% REDcard discount is no longer applied to any GC purchases.

Target Gift Card

5% discount had been never applied on Target GCs purchases. So, the change doesn’t affect on Target GCs purchases.

Visa Gift Card

A few weeks ago, Target started selling high denomination of Target Visa gift cards ($200 and $400) online. And 5% discount was applied to these purchases. I believe this deal had been available for a week or two after their debut at Target.com. However, this deal ended last week. The VGCs of other denominations have been available since way before. But 5% discount wasn’t applied on these GCs purchases.

MasterCard Gift Card

The available denominations of Target MasterCard gift cards are $25, $50, and $100. It had been several months that they sell MCGCs, and 5% discount was applied when you check out with REDcard. This deal have ended at the same time as $200&$400VGCs’ deal ended.

3rd Party Gift Card

The 5% discount had been applied on 3rd party GC purchases for years, but it’s ended as well.

Cash Back from Portals

Generally, you don’t get cash back on GC purchases. Back then, ShopDiscover ( a former version of Discover Deals) paid cash back on GC purchases except Target GCs. I used to buy a bunch of VGCs through it. After ShopDiscover stopped being a partner with Target, I couldn’t find any cash back portals that pays on GCs purchases until yesterday.

I purchased one 3rd party e-GC yesterday. The main purpose of this purchase was to make sure if I can still buy 3rd party GCs with Target GCs, and just in case I clicked a link on one portal site. The order went through successfully. And the portal site sent me an email that told me I earned cash back. I checked my account and saw a pending cash back posted.

Soon after, I purchased one $400 VGCs with a regular credit card, via the same portal site, hoping for the same result. I received an email as well. This time, however, it clearly says that the amount of cash back is $0.

Summary

5% REDcard discount is no longer applied to ANY GC purchases. You can still use Target GCs for GC purchases except Visa and MasterCard. So, you can still save money on GCs (again, except Visa and MasterCard) by paying with Target GCs which you buy with discount at eBay, cardpools, etc. Cash back deals vary by portals and GCs you purchase.

This story is limited to online purchases . I don’t know outcomes for in-store purchases.

Updated 05/02/2015 – I noticed that 5% REDcard discount on 3rd party GC purchase is back again. I haven’t actually checked out, but the discount appeared in a cart after I choose REDcard as a payment method. I did that for several 3rd party GCs and confirmed that the discount was applied. Unfortunately, it didn’t applied to Visa, MasterCard, and Target GC purchases.

Restrictions of Redbird Reloads

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Overview

I experienced some difficulties with redbird reloads at my local Target stores. The closest store from my home started not accepting credit cards and prepaid cards as payment for a redbird reload yesterday. And today, I went to the other store. They don’t accept prepaid cards, but still accept credit cards.

Details at store#1

It’s the store I go the most frequently because it is the closest from my home. Until yesterday, they accepted any type of payment methods for redbird reload. A reload is available at guest service only. I visited yesterday and tried to use a Visa gift card for reload. A clerk asked me to hand my ID and the cards and started asking other clerks if VGC can be used for a reload. There were three clerks at that time, and apparently a manager was absent. They discussed for a minute and ended up with opening a file (=a manual.) And then, it came to conclusion that acceptable payment types were cash or debit only, no prepaid cards. I could glance at a page of the file. There was a big letter saying “NO CREDIT.” It seems that they just started new policy on that day. I didn’t carry any debit cards. So, I had to leave the store without loading.

Details at store#2

Today, I went to the other store. This store also used to accept any types of payment for reload, but now they don’t accept prepaid cards. I went to Guest service and asked a clerk to add $500 to the card. Then, the clerk called a manager. Probably, only a manager or some clerks allow to do a reload in this store. (it wasn’t like that before, though.) I handed to the cards (redbird and VGC) and my ID. Then, she told me that the card has to have my name on it while she was touching on a surface of VGC. At least, I could use my credit card in this store. And I’m not sure if personalized Amex GCs are accepted. Amex GCs are very convenient when it comes to redbird reloads. That’s because they never get declined. You can always add a maximum amount, $1000, without worrying about a fraud alert. So, when I get a personalized Amex GC, I will go and find out if they still accept it.

Rules vary by stores

I have reloaded at many stores. Each store has a different policy about redbird reloads. Some stores allows only one reload per day. Probably, this prevents people who has multiple (family member’s or friend’s) redbirds from loading all at once. And some store had already had “Cash or Debit” policy since last December. (I got redbird last December.) As long as I can tell, the policy is not standardized. I believe that there still are many stores still accept VGCs.

Switch back to Amex Serve

If all stores accept only cash or debit, I will close rebird and open Serve again. (even if stores accept prepaid cards.) I used to have Amex Serve. It was very comfortable to load the card at Walmart ATM, without having it done by clerks.

Summary

I believe the rules of redbird reloads are changing at more stores and getting stricter in the future. As long as any of my local stores accept credit cards, I keep a redbird.

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.