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An updated guide for BlueBird and how to fund the card

René by René
December 4, 2014
in Travel Related
41

Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.

bluebird

This post is really needed now that we have, for the most part, very limited access to Vanilla reload cards and load them to Bluebird from home (as talked about in this rookie post). Now, one of the best ways to meet spend on any new travel card is via GCs that is buying Debit Gift Cards (I often will shortcode them as VDGCs in post, that is Visa Debit Gift Cards) that will allow a PIN to be set. Once you have that, and the right kind, you are good to go. Some of them you can set a PIN online while others you have to call the number on the back of the card to get this done. Now for the rest of this post I will hand it over to Lisa!

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What do you do if you, for some reason, end up with several hundred, if not thousands of dollars worth of gift cards from say the Kroger or the Officemax black Friday deal where you could buy $200 Mastercard or Visa cards and you’re wondering what to do with them all?! Having obtained a large amount of them ourselves, especially in the Mastercard variety, I was eager to get out to Walmart this week and see how it would currently go loading to Bluebird since I am the one in the family who takes care of that part. There were a couple of interesting things I noticed in the process.

For the Mastercard debit gift cards you have to call to set a PIN for each card. If you have a bunch of them this can take a little while (it drained my phone battery by 6% to get it done). When you go to load them to Bluebird at Walmart you will see the screen first ask you to confirm the amount from the clerk, then it typically blinks twice showing the amount due. Now is the point you swipe your card and you will see the screen change to white with a yellow, on-screen “button” in the bottom middle of the screen with “Change Payment” on it. You will need to press this button, in some places you will not have more than a few seconds to do this, then the screen will give you several payment options. You want to press “Debit” and then it will ask if you want cash back. I press no cash back, and then it asks for the PIN and once that has been entered it proceeds through authorization and approval.

For the Visa debit gift cards you can set the PIN using the website listed on the back of the card. After that the process is pretty much the same up to swiping the card. The difference is after swiping the card it will immediately just ask for the PIN and once that is entered it will process through authorization and approval. You can see why it is an advantage to pick the Visa ones if you can. I have found the ones issued by US Bank and Metabank work the best (it will say on the back of the card who issues them).

So far I have not pressed my Walmart clerks to process more than 5 cards per Bluebird account total at one time as in the past this has been an issue. What would happen is the computer would reject any more than that regardless of the dollar amount total I had run that day, but it was a pain because it would go through all the initial steps, I would see “Approved” on the screen and then the computer would cancel the transaction. I tested this by going back later the same day and running a total of 12 cards to the same Bluebird account for a total deposit that day of $2410 and it worked. The daily limit per Bluebird account is now $2500 and the monthly limit is still $5000. When I attempted to run a 13th card for $200 more it rejected and canceled the transaction.

One thing you want to keep in mind when doing this is that you want to have it go as smoothly and quickly as possible. You can load to Bluebird from the Money Center, the Money Center ATMs or any check out clerk in the store. The check out clerks don’t always know or remember how to do it, so they sometimes have to ask a manager which can lead to more questions. When you approach the clerk you want to just spoon feed them the transaction, so begin by simply telling them you want to add funds to your Bluebird account. They will ask you the amount, so you need to tell them the amount of the first GC, not the total you plan to try on that visit! Once they complete that transaction you simply ask them if you can run another one, and so on until you have loaded all you want to that Bluebird account. You can then say you want to do the same thing with a second Bluebird account and typically since you just did it already, they will not even consider telling you that you can’t. When I load 10 GCs to both of our Bluebird accounts I can be completely finished in under 10 minutes, but that is 10 minutes the rest of the people in line have to wait on me which can lead to the clerk getting flustered. Try to go when they are not likely to be super busy – avoid lunch hour, Fridays, first of the month, or right around 5:00pm when the whole store is always busier. Be polite most important be patient and be sure not to tell them your debit cards are GIFT CARDS!

When using the Money Center ATM, or “KATE” there are a few tips to consider there as well. Most of them will “talk” you through the transaction. I noticed that there was a headphone jack, for those hearing impaired, so I thought I would try plugging in a set of earbuds to attempt to “mute” my transactions. The minute I plugged them in, however, all the buttons on the screen grayed out and I could not proceed with a transaction. You can find which Walmart locations have these ATMs at walmart.com but make sure before you use it that it is an actual KATE machine. Almost all of them have an ATM of some sort, but not all of those are KATE or Money Center machines. If your closest store is anything like mine, the machine is broken more often than it is operational, but when it is working it is preferable to going to a clerk because there is seldom a line of people waiting to use it. I have more commonly had issues in the past with the machine canceling out my transaction before I had reached my daily dollar limit for too many similar, therefore questionable, transactions. I have tested this now and found that I could successfully load 12 debit cards in a row to the same Bluebird account with no problem. When I then attempted to load the 6th card to the second Bluebird account  the machine locked and gave me a compliance issue message. The Walmart clerk then told me to just go to customer service and they could override it for me. As there was a huge line there, I opted to skip that step. One more benefit of using the machine is that when it asks you for payment to load funds the options are cash or debit, so it makes no difference if your debit is a visa or mastercard variety. When you press debit it asks you to swipe your card and then it asks for the pin, then if you want cash back and then to confirm the amount. Lastly just for reference, it took me 24 minutes to load 17 cards to 2 accounts.

Thanks Lisa for this update and your work. There are so many points to be had if we are willing to take a little time to make them. BTW we then use our Bluebird for a number of things. We pay our mortgage payment, our taxes and other things that we cannot use a travel card to earn MORE points with. Yes you can, and many do, simply pay your credit card direct from Bluebird. For no good reason other than taking a very cautious approach I empty the balance each month by paying to a line of credit we have.

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Also, depending on your local store, buying the custom AMEX gift cards starting at say BeFrugal or TopCashBack, with your name on them (be sure to sign back of card) and then using them to purchase your VDGCs is a nice way to lower your cost even more. Either way, please take the time to utilize this simple way to meet spend on your latest round of travel cards or, as Delta flyers, to help meet your yearly goal of $25,000 in spend to earn MQD exempt status!- René
.
Editorial Note: This content is not provided by American Express. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express.
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René

René

René de Lambert is a contributing writer for EyeoftheFlyer.com - He is an avid Delta and SkyTeam flyer who has held Delta’s top Diamond Medallion status for many years and flown millions of miles.

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Comments 41

  1. We says:
    10 years ago

    at the walmart counter or register, if the clerk looks confused, just tell them that you want to load as ” action code 70 “. Which is their internal register function code for the load service. They know immediately what to do and appear happy that you the customer have actually educated them in their job.

    Reply
  2. Tammy says:
    10 years ago

    I am a newbie and recently tired my first Visa Metabank transaction at Walmart. I didn’t call to set a pin yet it appeared like the funds were deposited to my Bluebird. I am a bit worried now.

    Reply
    • rene says:
      10 years ago

      @Tammy – always goes smoother with pin. if you see the funds at bluebird you should be AOK!

      Reply
  3. Quinn says:
    10 years ago

    Do you have any guidelines on the current VDGC’s that work and the ones that don’t work?

    Reply
    • rene says:
      10 years ago

      @Quinn – As mentioned US Bank and Metabank flavors that are widely available tend to work best.

      Reply
  4. Kevin says:
    10 years ago

    What button is everyone pushing on the Money Center ATM? Bluebird or WalMart Money Card?

    I’ve had it error out on both sides, giving me “debit network not available” or other error codes

    Reply
  5. Kate says:
    10 years ago

    Lucky Lisa! Our Walmart now has a strict policy of no more than one gift card per account. Even if there is no one in line. Also, for the cards from staples, we don’t call, we just use the last four digits on the card.

    Reply
  6. JT says:
    10 years ago

    I thought most retailers stopped accepting CC for payment on gift cards or was that just vanilla reload able cards? I tried to do this at CVS and did not work. I’m in NY.

    Reply
    • rene says:
      10 years ago

      @JT – CVS stocks VanillaOne cards that can be buggy! Avoid those if you can. You can not buy Vanilla Reloads at CVS anymore with CCs

      Reply
  7. JT says:
    10 years ago

    Is it just vanilla reload GC that you can’t use a CC to purchase? Didn’t realize that this still works. I’m in NY and would like to try this espically to pay my mortgage.

    Reply
    • rene says:
      10 years ago

      @JT – You can still buy GC with a CC at CVS but as mentioned loading to BB from the Vanilla VDGCs can be buggy!

      Reply
  8. JT says:
    10 years ago

    Sorry for the double post. It showed error when I submitted.

    Reply
  9. whitney says:
    10 years ago

    Kate will only allow 3 loads in 10 minutes…..I load 3, then do my shopping, then load another 3

    Reply
    • rene says:
      10 years ago

      @Whitney – not from Lisa most recent test. clearly she did a LOT more than 3

      Reply
  10. Lisa says:
    10 years ago

    @Kevin When loading to Bluebird, always press Bluebird button.

    Reply
  11. Sean says:
    10 years ago

    On the MoneyCenter ATMs can you use more than one card on a transaction (example: choose $1,000 as your amount you want to add and use five cards in a row at $200 each) or do you have to do it $200 at a time?

    I

    Reply
  12. MikeO says:
    10 years ago

    Kate doesn’t limit the number of cards. It limits the amount loaded in a 10 minute period (<$2000). Need to wait 10 minutes if loading more.

    Reply
  13. RMF325 says:
    10 years ago

    The Walmarts in my area allowed $2500 loads for a very brief time, and now are back to $1,000 per card per day. So annoying.

    Reply
    • rene says:
      10 years ago

      @RMF325 – Really. Humm… txs for sharing.

      Reply
  14. MSPDeltaDude says:
    10 years ago

    Big Redbird is soooooooooooooooooooooooooo much less work 🙂
    Swipe and Sign 3 times at the store which can be done in about 1min. Do it twice a month for total of 5K . It’s fee free and go home and use the Bill Payer and done! Plus getting 5% at the Bull’s-eye every time I shop now is nice! Need more family members!

    Reply
    • rene says:
      10 years ago

      @MSPDeltaDude – Wallyworld is next door. Target is a long drive (like 1+ hr RT). But txs for input.

      Reply
  15. Howard B says:
    10 years ago

    My local Kate ATMs never allow me more than 3x$500 VDGC loads to BB at one session, 4th card is always rejected.

    Reply
  16. Russ says:
    10 years ago

    From my experience w/ Kate and also reading several blogs, the machine is limited to $1,500 in 10 minutes, no matter who does them. If the guy in from of you loaded $1k, you’ll be able to load $500 and then you’ll get rejected on the next one. Go shop 10 minutes and come back, and it will work fine. I have loaded $2k in one trip to WM this way. Also, I’ve had better luck with line cashiers that aren’t real clear on the process. They never seem to care or check if it’s a GC, but the MC cashiers do check sometimes.

    Reply
  17. Mark R. says:
    10 years ago

    My suggestion, close your Bluebird account & open a Redbird account – no messing around with gift cards & PINs – any cashier can swipe your Redbird, you tell them the amount to load (up to $1,000,) you swipe any credit card and you’re done. Want to load more (up to $2,500 per day per account), go to another cashier and rinse & repeat (sometimes the same cashier will be willing to do another transaction, but I don’t like to do them all at the same register – superstition – also, I load odd amounts, like $982, just so they look more like a merchandise purchase to the credit card company).

    Reply
    • rene says:
      10 years ago

      @Mark – have you tested with AMEX GCs to Redbird? I agree sounds nice if a Target is near by where you live.

      Reply
  18. Mark R. says:
    10 years ago

    I have not tried any GCs, but I have no reason to mess with them when this is so easy. I have loaded with almost every imaginable M/C, Visa & AMEX CC.

    Reply
    • rene says:
      10 years ago

      @Mark – So you are walking away from free cash this way why? I mean today TCB is paying 2.25%. Get the custom ones with your name and enjoy the points AND cash?

      Reply
  19. Mark says:
    10 years ago

    “What button is everyone pushing on the Money Center ATM? Bluebird or WalMart Money Card?”

    You push “Bluebird” to load your Bluebird card. It also works for the Serve card as I discovered this week. But those machines are terrible – they are VERY slow, and most of the time, after loading 3 or 4 cards, they freeze up and put up a message to “check with customer service”.

    Reply
  20. Brian says:
    10 years ago

    Just got back from Walmart today. Tried to load my GCs into my Serve card as usual but this time after I entered “$500” and “Debit” it tells me “Approval Needed.” I had to call over the manager who asked me if i was trying to load cash or debit. After telling him debit he asks me regular debit or prepaid debit so I say “Uhhhh regular debit.” Waited for him to leave and loaded my GC with no problem. I tried to load my second card for $500 and got the same message again and had to repeat the process of calling over manager etc. I wonder if all the Walmart machines are going to be updated to indicate “Approval Needed” everytime you load from debit. Next time I’m going to play around with entering different amounts such as $499 or $250 to see if it’s the magic $500 number that triggers the “Approval Needed”

    Reply
  21. Judith says:
    10 years ago

    The Bluebird website says I am limited to $1000 total deposit with a Debit card. So how do I get more money into my Bluebird acct?

    Reply
    • rene says:
      10 years ago

      @Judith – That is for online. You can do up to $2500 at Walmart.

      Reply
  22. Adam W says:
    10 years ago

    Rene, the FAQ says the daily limit at WM is 1,999.99. Have you been able to load 2,500 via VDGC in one day?

    Reply
    • rene says:
      10 years ago

      @Adam – Yes 2500 is the limit but as you can see from so much GREAT reader input YMMV by store and state. Very interesting info and feedback.

      Reply
  23. Jacob says:
    10 years ago

    Ugh. Wish I’d known about the Target card thing before today. I was just in Denver and looks like I could have picked one up there. Looks way better than BlueBird IMO. Time to find a way to get my hands on one of these puppies…..

    Reply
  24. Lisa says:
    10 years ago

    I applied for a bluebird account and was rejected… twice! I called and they can’t tell me why I was rejected. Any ideas?

    Reply
    • rene says:
      10 years ago

      @Lisa – get a BB at WM. Anyone can get one. Anyone!

      Reply
  25. Alemap says:
    10 years ago

    Rene, what are “the right kind” of VDGC?

    Reply
  26. John DELTA says:
    10 years ago

    @Lisa – FYI (regarding the headphone jack)

    How to shut “KATE” up

    1.Before you press anything, plug the headphones into the jack near the pinpad
    2.The touchscreen will “gray” out, and you won’t be able to press anything.
    3.Press ‘3’ on the pinpad
    4.Press ‘Enter’ on the pinpad
    5.Continue business as usual on the touch screen.

    Note: If you ever make a mistake, to get out, just unplug the headphone.

    Reply
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