# Starwood Amex, Bluebird, and Vanilla Reload



## czar (Jan 25, 2014)

Just passing along an idea I'm going to try. After learning about the Starwood card, I followed Denise's advice and my wife and I began putting all of our normal household expenses (and of course MF!) on the card and pay it off monthly. Of course, there are those annoying bills you CAN'T pay by CC, like mortgage, car pmts, etc.

From The Points Guy, I learned about Bluebird and Vanilla reloads. Basically, you open an Amex Bluebird checking account and then you can pay your bills from there. You can load this account with $ from Vanilla Reloads, which, you probably guessed by now, you can buy with a credit card. You can get them at CVS. There's a fee, of course, of $3.95 per card, for amounts from $20-$500. 

So here's the plan. Buy about $4000 per month to cover mortgage, car pmts, etc., pay $31.60, earn 4000 miles. That's 48,000 miles per year, and with the SPG transfer bonus, it's really 60,000 per year at a cost of .0065¢ per mile. Not free, but about 35% less than the accepted value of .01¢ per mile and more than enough for 2 free RT domestic tix. 

Anyone else doing this?  Here's the link to TPG info on it: http://thepointsguy.com/2013/08/cvs-raises-the-daily-vanilla-reload-purchase-limit-to-5000/

I looked for ways to pay bills like this before and there's usually a 3%+ fee, which never made it worth it.


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## jlp879 (Jan 25, 2014)

Thanks for the great information.  Will definitely have to look into this!


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## Joshadelic (Jan 26, 2014)

That all sounds great, but doesn't the Starwood AMEX limit you to 30,000 earned Starpoints per year? I'm usually right around that number anyway without going to all of that trouble.


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## nokaoi9 (Jan 26, 2014)

Wow, this is great information!

I went out and bought $1000 in cards this morning, just finished up setting my Bluebird account.  

On my home from purchasing the cards, I thought about the following.  My wife and I currently use our Starwood AmEx for our day to day bills and other bills that could be paid on the card.  Assuming we charge $2000 a month on our AmEx, then buy $2000 in the Vanilla Reward cards to load into the Blue bird account to pay off the AmEx, wouldn't we be essentially be earning double the points we would otherwise earn?

Again, thanks for posting this!


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## czar (Jan 26, 2014)

nokaoi9 said:


> Wow, this is great information!
> 
> I went out and bought $1000 in cards this morning, just finished up setting my Bluebird account.
> 
> ...



Actually yes, that seems to make sense!


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## czar (Jan 26, 2014)

Joshadelic said:


> That all sounds great, but doesn't the Starwood AMEX limit you to 30,000 earned Starpoints per year? I'm usually right around that number anyway without going to all of that trouble.



I was unaware of a limit. I read the terms quickly and didn't see anything but I'm not the most accurate reader!


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## Pedro (Jan 26, 2014)

Joshadelic said:


> That all sounds great, but doesn't the Starwood AMEX limit you to 30,000 earned Starpoints per year? I'm usually right around that number anyway without going to all of that trouble.



It doesn't limit you to 30,000 Starpoints.  I've earned many more Starpoints than that in some years.


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## DeniseM (Jan 26, 2014)

No - 30k is the minimum you need to spend to reach gold each year


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## RALnGA (Jan 26, 2014)

*Vanilli Cards*

I have never heard of the Amex Bluebird checking account. Where can I find more info on it.
 My wife had looked into the Vanilli Cards last year, when another one of our CC offered 8 times the points for $1 when used at drug stores, for the next 3 months. We added up all the bills for the next 6 months that we could pay by credit cards and bought $$$ worth ,in one month alone we purchased $12,000 worth. I'd go into a store and purchase up to $2500 at a time, the people behind me couldn't figure out why would someone do that. I'd just tell them they were for gifts and smile while walking out the door knowing I'd just "earned "  a one way flight to Cancun.

RAL


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## Dandc3 (Jan 26, 2014)

*amex*

Flyer Talk & a lot of the frequent flyer blogs talk extensively about  this.
Check them out!
Here is a link to one blog. From there you can check out a lot of others on Boarding Area.

http://boardingarea.com/pointmetotheplane/


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## czar (Jan 26, 2014)

RALnGA said:


> I have never heard of the Amex Bluebird checking account. Where can I find more info on it.
> My wife had looked into the Vanilli Cards last year, when another one of our CC offered 8 times the points for $1 when used at drug stores, for the next 3 months. We added up all the bills for the next 6 months that we could pay by credit cards and bought $$$ worth ,in one month alone we purchased $12,000 worth. I'd go into a store and purchase up to $2500 at a time, the people behind me couldn't figure out why would someone do that. I'd just tell them they were for gifts and smile while walking out the door knowing I'd just "earned "  a one way flight to Cancun.
> 
> RAL



You can actually buy a temp card at walmart.


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## nokaoi9 (Jan 26, 2014)

Our local Wal-Mart didn't have temporary cards, or Vanilla reload cards.  I asked a couple employees if they had either, but was about as successful as asking a Starwood salesperson about the advantages of buying resale. :hysterical:


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## rickandcindy23 (Jan 27, 2014)

I am learning the points thing slowly, and I read about this before but didn't understand it all that well.  I think I will do it!


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## RALnGA (Jan 27, 2014)

*Bonus Points*

Czar we had to make purchases at a true DRUG store to get the extra points...


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## czar (Jan 27, 2014)

RALnGA said:


> Czar we had to make purchases at a true DRUG store to get the extra points...



Cvs doesn't count?  So, a pure pharmacy?  Do those still exist???


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## MichaelColey (Jan 28, 2014)

Am I reading right that you can only reload a maximum of $5k/month?  That seems pretty limiting to me.


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## slomac (Jan 28, 2014)

Just bought my first vanilla reload at CVS.  I am going to open a bluebird account and try this slowly.  Im sure this is a loophole they will close soon but it will be nice to rack up a few SPG points in the process. I will let you all know if I run into any issues.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 3, 2014)

Slomac, how much did the card cost you?  I see $4.95 for the Vanilla Reloads at CVS here in Orlando.  Is that the cost one can expect?


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## lily28 (Feb 3, 2014)

It should be $3.95 fee for up to $500 in vanilla reload


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 3, 2014)

Thanks Lilli.  I hope to start doing this but it's not turning out to be easy to find these cards.


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## nokaoi9 (Feb 3, 2014)

Office Depot requires you to pay cash for the card, which is of no use.  Wal-Mart didn't have any, CVS seems to have limited supplies, and hit or miss with whether or not they'll let you use credit card or require cash.


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## slomac (Feb 4, 2014)

The first store I went to (CVS) had the cards.  Cost was $3.95 for $500 card and I paid with my SPG AMEX no problem at all.  Set up my bluebird account.  It took about a week to get that card in the mail.  Activated the vanilla reload on-line.  Then went to link that account to my Bluebird account.  That was a bit more tricky. After spending about 1 hour on the phone with Bluebird it was linked and I was able to transfer over $100 from the vanilla reload card.  There was some error that the street address from both my accounts did not match exactly but it took them over an hour to figure that out.  Luckily I was at work at a desk and just put them on speakerphone while I worked.  No way would I have spent that much time if I was at home.  I set up bill pay from my Bluebird account to pay my SPG AMEX bill and just did a test $10 transfer and it looks like it worked.  IMHO this is way to much work for 500 starwood points but we'll see.  Now that I have it set up it should be pretty easy to rack up 1000 points a month.  It is a bummer you are limited to $1000 in these per month but it helps if you are trying to meet a minimum spending on a new credit card to get a bonus.    Thats my experience so far.  I will let you know if have anything else to report as I continue to use it.


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## lily28 (Feb 4, 2014)

I think you can add $1000 per day and max $5000 per month. I did 3 $500 last month without problem


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## bryanphunter (Feb 4, 2014)

lily28 said:


> I think you can add $1000 per day and max $5000 per month. I did 3 $500 last month without problem



This is correct.  I just finished a quick vacation in Phoenix.  Each day I was out and about I found a CVS store.  Bought two $500 vanilla reloads.  Went to Vanillareload.com and entered my vanilla reload pin from each card.  Then I entered my Bluebird Amex number and in a matter of seconds I had transferred $1000.

I used my newly acquired Capital One Venture card (50,000 points after $3,000 spend) and repeated this process over 4 days.  I put $4,000 on my bluebird amex.

So now I can use Bluebird to pay part of my monthly mortgage, make an auto payment, or maybe payoff my Capital One Venture bill.


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## slomac (Feb 5, 2014)

So did you transfer from your vanilla account to  your bluebird or did you link your vanilla to your bluebird and transfer to your bluebird account?  I am having trouble doing it the second way.


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## slomac (Feb 5, 2014)

after over two hours on the phone with Bluebird I was informed that you cannot load prepaid debit cards to a Bluebird account so that is why I kept getting errors.  Not sure why everone else is able to do it but the loophole has been closed for me.


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## TDS (Feb 5, 2014)

slomac said:


> after over two hours on the phone with Bluebird I was informed that you cannot load prepaid debit cards to a Bluebird account so that is why I kept getting errors.  Not sure why everone else is able to do it but the loophole has been closed for me.



Did you purchase the Vanilla "Reload" card?  There's a difference between a Vanilla Prepaid debit card and a Vanilla Reload card.  You need the Reload version.  This can be used to add funds to an existing prepaid account, such as a Bluebird account.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 5, 2014)

TDS is right.  As far as I know, you have to buy the actual cards that say, "Vanilla Reload."  They are usually next to the American Express gift cards.  

Be sure you buy the correct ones that have the word Reload on them, and you should be fine.  

We are just figuring this out for ourselves while here in Orlando.  I want you to know that all Walgreens and CVS stores in our vicinity by Marriott's Cypress Harbour have the cards in stock.  The people at the registers look absolutely baffled when we go to pay.  It looks fishy, I am sure.  But we figured it out and seem to be well on our way to making it work.  

Thanks for the advice and the reminder about the cards.  We can get a free flight to Maui from Denver, First Class, for a $60K spend per year on the Starwood card, transferring to Alaska at 1.25 points.  $60K spend is only $474.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 5, 2014)

Here is some advice from Million Mile Secrets:

http://millionmilesecrets.com/2012/10/25/credit-cards-american-express-bluebird/

This is a great read if you want to spread your points around or are trying to get to a spending level for the purpose of status.  

I personally love the idea of the Hilton Citi card, because $10K spend is a free night in a hotel.

Also, a certain amount of spend on the British Airways card will get you a companion voucher.  Our daughter and son-in-law each have these BA cards and fly the kids with them free to Europe.  This is a great way to create the spend one needs for that voucher.  Very valuable.  

A first glance would seem these Vanilla Reloads might be a terrible deal.  But they really are a great way to earn miles for whatever you need.

The Southwest Transfer from our Chase Ink cards is going to get us 3 RT airfares to Orlando.


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## lily28 (Feb 5, 2014)

Cindy. Does Walgreen allow you to buy vanilla reload card with credit cards? So far I can only buy them at CVS.  Thanks


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## akp (Feb 5, 2014)

MichaelColey said:


> Am I reading right that you can only reload a maximum of $5k/month?  That seems pretty limiting to me.



But $10k a month if each spouse has a card.


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## akp (Feb 5, 2014)

lily28 said:


> Cindy. Does Walgreen allow you to buy vanilla reload card with credit cards? So far I can only buy them at CVS.  Thanks



They did at the beginning but not anymore.


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## akp (Feb 5, 2014)

czar said:


> You can actually buy a temp card at walmart.



Don't pay for the temp.  No need.  Just register for an account online and they'll send you a card.


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## bryanphunter (Feb 6, 2014)

slomac said:


> So did you transfer from your vanilla account to  your bluebird or did you link your vanilla to your bluebird and transfer to your bluebird account?  I am having trouble doing it the second way.



Make sure you are using Vanilla Reload Cards.  Not Vanilla Debit Cards.


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## slomac (Feb 10, 2014)

So I bought the wrong card initially.  Finally found the correct card and it worked.  thanks everyone for setting me straight.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 10, 2014)

akp said:


> They did at the beginning but not anymore.



The Walgreens in Orlando, very near Cypress Harbour, did let us buy $3,000 with our credit card.


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## hypnotiq (Feb 10, 2014)

Can someone clear something up?  Do I have to buy 10 new cards each month @ $500 or can I just buy the initial 10 and then call each month and reload them with my AMEX card?

Thx,
Nico


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## nokaoi9 (Feb 10, 2014)

Nico, can only buy $1000/day.  They take your license so there's really no way around the system, unless you have someone else buy them for you.


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## hypnotiq (Feb 10, 2014)

I get that part. My question is, do you have to buy new cards each month or can you just call and reload them with your Amex?


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 10, 2014)

You can pay for as many as you want, if you really want to buy a bunch at once.  But they might process in multiple transactions, $1,000 at a time. 

We are wondering how Walgreen's near us will react to our purchases of these vanilla reloads.  I have a feeling it won't be as great as the stores in Orlando were.  Very easy in Orlando.  

Our credit card stopped us once, but a simple call to Chase to explain we were on vacation was all it took to continue buying.


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## hypnotiq (Feb 10, 2014)

This is likely going to be a no op for me. Walgreens and Walmart doesn't seem to have them in Seattle (that I found so far). We don't have cvs, and Office Depot is cash only for reloadable vanilla cards.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 10, 2014)

Walgreen's in Orlando carried the cards behind the checkout counter, kind of near the cigarettes.  They weren't where the other gift cards were.  You might want to take a second look.


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## akp (Feb 10, 2014)

nokaoi9 said:


> Nico, can only buy $1000/day.  They take your license so there's really no way around the system, unless you have someone else buy them for you.



The limit went up to $5000 a day back in the fall of 2013.  I routinely buy $2000 at a time because I don't feel comfortable pushing it any further.

They swipe your license any time you buy more than 1 in a purchase.

In response to the person asking if you buy new ones each time, yes.  These are not reloadable despite the name.  They are used to reload other cards (specifically the Bluebird card) and then are discarded.

If you live in an area where they are readily available for purchase by credit card, it can be very worthwhile.


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## hypnotiq (Feb 10, 2014)

Finally found a walgreens that had them but they're saying corporate policy is 1 card at 500, cash only.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 12, 2014)

The two Walgreens near us were a no-go.  $500 limit per day, cash only.  

That's stupid.  $500 limit per day with cash?  Why the heck would I do that?  

I wish I knew in advance who carries them, and who will take a cc payment.  

We may have to go to Orlando more often.


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## pharmgirl (Feb 12, 2014)

Can you add info about the Bluebird account? From what I have read here seems this can be used as a checking account to pay property taxes? Live in NJ so this is a BIG bill,  IRS? State taxes ?

Is bluebird  backed by a bank? FDIC?

Looks intriguing so far
Thanks for any info and experiences

Just back from Maui snow storm tomorrow so REALLY wanting more points to fly back to Maui


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 12, 2014)

As long as you have CVS stores in your area, you will do fine with Vanilla Reload.  For information about Bluebird, go to www.bluebird.com.  Also, check the OP's link for The Points Guy's advice.


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## bryanphunter (Feb 15, 2014)

I had a very productive day collecting 4 Vanilla Reloads at $500 each at a local CVS. ( I bought 2 and my wife bought 2).  After reading the blog below, I followed his advice and purchased one $500 One Vanilla Visa Card at Walgreens.  I tried to buy a Vanilla Reload Card but they insisted on cash, so I said no.
http://travelwithgrant.com/bluebird/no-vrc-try-one-vanilla/
After leaving Walgreens I immediately went to Walmart and loaded the One Vanilla Visa $500 onto my Bluebird.  I went to the customer service department to do this.  The walmart employee first swiped my bluebird card.  Hit Load Money.  Then she swiped the One Vanilla Visa Card.  It asked for a pin and I put in 1234 (You can makeup and 4 numbers).  Done!  It was super easy and may be the way to go if you have trouble finding VRC's.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 15, 2014)

That's great advice.  So why would they let you buy the One Vanilla with a credit card and not the Vanilla Reload?  

This would be a very valuable benefit with our Starwood card.  I wish I could buy the One Vanilla at Office Depot with a credit card.  Maybe we will try it.  They wouldn't sell us a Vanilla Reload with a cc.  We get 5X at office supply stores for all purchases.  I was thinking this would be a good deal for us.  Didn't work for the Vanilla Reloads. 

Rick is frustrated with the Denver stores, every one of them.  I need to try 7-11 because I read where people are getting the One Vanilla cards at 7-11 with a credit card.


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## bryanphunter (Feb 15, 2014)

rickandcindy23 said:


> So why would they let you buy the One Vanilla with a credit card and not the Vanilla Reload?



Cindy, This must be a Walgreen's policy specific for the Vanilla Reload Card. I think this policy is up to each store manager.

I was only going to Walgreen's to buy a One Vanilla Card but then I saw a few of the Vanilla Reloads in the gift card rack so I grabbed one and brought it to the register.  He saw me pull out my Capital One Venture card and said the Vanilla Reload must be purchased with cash.  Oh well!   Loading One Vanilla at Walmart was a breeze and will be a good alternative.

I just applied for the 100,000 miles AA Citibank Executive Card requiring a $10,000 spend, so I'm counting on VRC's, One Vanilla, and Amazon Payments to get there.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 16, 2014)

Bryan, do you have the Starwood Amex?  It's a great value for your spending dollar.  

Maintenance fees for your SDO are 2X.  2X points is more than 2% cash back with the Capital One Venture.  I converted from Capital One and may actually cancel the card this year.  I think it renews in June.


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## bryanphunter (Feb 16, 2014)

rickandcindy23 said:


> Bryan, do you have the Starwood Amex?  It's a great value for your spending dollar.
> 
> Maintenance fees for your SDO are 2X.  2X points is more than 2% cash back with the Capital One Venture.  I converted from Capital One and may actually cancel the card this year.  I think it renews in June.



No, I don't have the Starwood Amex.  I am adding that to my next rewards card churn.   I'm new to this whole process so I'm planning on two cycles per year. I'm a bit smarter now and I love Westin's so the SPG Amex is a priority for my next round of applications.

I got a bit crazy in Dec/Jan picking up rewards cards for:

Southwest, American Airlines (X2), USAirways, Hilton (X2), Marriott, Carlson Club, Hawaiian, Ink Bold, Cap One Venture.  Got the southwest before I knew all the facts and I could have picked up the business version and reached free companion pass level.

This obsession is much like timesharing!


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## LobsterHunter (Feb 22, 2014)

If by any chance you can be a member of Navy Federal Credit Union & get their travel rewards visa ($49/year) you get 2pts/dollar that can be used on ANY airline purchase.  If you have an immediate family member in the military, ie: mother/father, son/daughter (or they are already an NFCU member) you can be a member.  You actually purchase your ticket with their travel Visa card and get reimbursed for the purchase.  A $400 ticket will cost 40,000 pts (or $20,000 in spending).  So spending $60,000/yr on Vanilla reloads gets you 120,000 pts or $1,200 worth of airline tickets for about $480 in fees. 

I did set off their fraud alert & they called to make sure it was me making the purchases after spending about $8k on Vanilla reloads in a week (2 Bluebird accounts), but it was all good after I verified they were my purchases.  On track to earn 20,000 pts for Feb (or $200 toward a flight) for $80 in fees.

On my last $2k purchase, CVS clerk said "Oh, you trying to earn miles?  I'm taking my family to Disney World this year on the points I earned."  He said his store goes through about 100-150 Vanilla Cards per week.


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## Boonie (Feb 24, 2014)

Have been reading up on this posted on different sites and just signed up for BlueBird!  So I'm hoping mortgage payments and property taxes will be less painful if I'm at least earning points.   Just need to decide which credit card to put them on but I read you should alternate them!


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 24, 2014)

I have been looking at the Green Dot cards at King Soopers here in Denver.  I read on Points Guy that you can buy those Visa cards and load them to Bluebird through Walmart's kiosks.  Not sure if King Soopers (Kroger/ City Market) will let me buy the cards with a credit card, so that is a question on my mind because I haven't tried it yet.  I am also unsure if the purchase will get me fuel points.  I would guess not.  

I hate to waste money and discover I cannot load the cards.  Which do I do first?  Go to the kiosk and look (may not be any answers there)?  Or should I buy the card and maybe strike out at Walmart?


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## Kildahl (Apr 10, 2014)

rickandcindy23 said:


> I have been looking at the Green Dot cards at King Soopers here in Denver.  I read on Points Guy that you can buy those Visa cards and load them to Bluebird through Walmart's kiosks.  Not sure if King Soopers (Kroger/ City Market) will let me buy the cards with a credit card, so that is a question on my mind because I haven't tried it yet.  I am also unsure if the purchase will get me fuel points.  I would guess not.
> 
> I hate to waste money and discover I cannot load the cards.  Which do I do first?  Go to the kiosk and look (may not be any answers there)?  Or should I buy the card and maybe strike out at Walmart?



Any update?


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## lily28 (Apr 10, 2014)

I read that start on April 4, cvs will no longer allow one to buy vanilla reload w a credit card


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## hunkyleebo (Apr 11, 2014)

Looks like this applies to all CVS stores

http://millionmilesecrets.com/2014/...with-a-credit-card-at-cvs-from-march-31-2014/


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## bryanphunter (Apr 13, 2014)

Yes CVS is out of the picture for Vanilla Reloads.

But,  If you can find a store that allows you to buy PIN enabled Visa Cards with a credit card you can still go to Walmart and load your Bluebird $1,000 per day.

I buy $500 One Vanilla Visa Cards at my local Walgreens.  My wife is usually along so she does the same.   Walmart is just down the street so I immediately stop there after Walgreens and load my Bluebird.  The pin with One Vanilla is activated with any four numbers the FIRST time you use it.

Little more work..... but works for me.


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## rickandcindy23 (Apr 13, 2014)

It is a little more work but if you have shopping to do anyway, or you are just driving by, then you aren't going to waste a bunch of gas doing it.


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## Beefnot (Apr 13, 2014)

What is a PIN enabled Visa card and who sells those?

 EDIT: Oh just followed one of the links and it is just a Visa gift card basically. Ok got it.


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## LobsterHunter (Apr 13, 2014)

If you really need miles, you can also apply for this AA card by Citi, the fee is a bit stiff at $450/yr, but if you can spend $10,000 in the first 3 months, you get 100,000 AA miles (+10,000 for the spending).  The card also lets you (and your family - UNLIKE Delta) into the Admirals Club even if you are traveling on a different airline.  The first year, you also get a $200 statement credit after you spend $200, so really only $250 the first year.

https://creditcards.citicards.com/u...1&ProspectID=8289431BF5BC49478648B92A43DF07A8

On the initial screen, just enter your name and ignore the referral/airport codes (unless of course you got one).  The spending is steep, but if you find a way (stock up on the visa gift cards? open a Bluebird acct for your spouse?) it gets a lot of miles.


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## rickandcindy23 (May 2, 2014)

Using Starwood AMex to buy the One Vanilla Visa cards:

$60K spent per year on $500 gift cards=spend of $594

Worth 60K points on Starwood, which transfers to Alaska at 1.25, so 75K points for $594.  That is nearly a First Class ticket to Hawaii (80K).

I keep reading on Million Mile Secrets that WalMart is no longer allowing the loading of pin-enabled cards like these One Vanilla, but Daraius says others are just trying to shut everyone down and save the benefit for them.


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## bryanphunter (May 2, 2014)

I have had no problem loading bluebird with One Vanilla debit cards at Wal-mart.  In fact, the cashier's have been very helpful.

Another way to to use your points to Hawaii is use your Alaska Airlines miles using the first class upgrade (15,000 miles each way).  I find really good upgradeable fare's from Oakland to Hawaii ($339 each way).  I will use either Delta or Southwest to get to the west coast from Minneapolis.  So for about $700 and 30,000 miles I can fly first class.


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## bryanphunter (May 2, 2014)

Chase Ink Bold and Chase Plus cards currently have 60,000 point sign-ups.  I've been getting going through my Topcash Back account to purchase $200 Visa Debit cards at Staples.com

I purchase the Visa Debit cards with my Chase Ink Bold Card gaining 1000 UR points per $200 debit card.  The debit card has a 6.95 activation fee but that is negated after getting 3% cash back through Topcash Back.

I can load these debit cards onto my Bluebird or use the debit card with Amazon Payments.


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## rickandcindy23 (Aug 30, 2014)

Bringing back this older thread because we are having difficulty loading One Vanilla at WalMart off and on lately.  Rick loaded one $500, and the second one just wouldn't load.  It's more difficult than before.  I have a Bluebird to load as well, but we don't want to set off Walmart's suspicions.  I know there is nothing wrong with what we are doing, but Walmart's customer service people give us some funny looks when the machine freezes up.  

There is a lot of discussion about the problems and the workarounds on Flyertalk, and I read so much, my head is literally spinning.  All of the abbreviations are meant to throw newbies for a loop, and I am only a minor poster there, so they are not about to help me with my questions.  I am not asking questions to get snuffed out by the people who are eviscerating some of the newbies. 

Can anyone explain in plain English what the problems are with loading Bluebird and how to get it to work?


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## czar (Aug 30, 2014)

I stopped. Became too complicated. 



rickandcindy23 said:


> Bringing back this older thread because we are having difficulty loading One Vanilla at WalMart off and on lately.  Rick loaded one $500, and the second one just wouldn't load.  It's more difficult than before.  I have a Bluebird to load as well, but we don't want to set off Walmart's suspicions.  I know there is nothing wrong with what we are doing, but Walmart's customer service people give us some funny looks when the machine freezes up.
> 
> There is a lot of discussion about the problems and the workarounds on Flyertalk, and I read so much, my head is literally spinning.  All of the abbreviations are meant to throw newbies for a loop, and I am only a minor poster there, so they are not about to help me with my questions.  I am not asking questions to get snuffed out by the people who are eviscerating some of he newbies.
> 
> Can anyone explain in plain English what the problems are with loading Bluebird and how to get it to work?


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## ocdb8r (Aug 30, 2014)

rickandcindy23 said:


> Bringing back this older thread because we are having difficulty loading One Vanilla at WalMart off and on lately.  Rick loaded one $500, and the second one just wouldn't load.  It's more difficult than before.  I have a Bluebird to load as well, but we don't want to set off Walmart's suspicions.  I know there is nothing wrong with what we are doing, but Walmart's customer service people give us some funny looks when the machine freezes up.
> 
> There is a lot of discussion about the problems and the workarounds on Flyertalk, and I read so much, my head is literally spinning.  All of the abbreviations are meant to throw newbies for a loop, and I am only a minor poster there, so they are not about to help me with my questions.  I am not asking questions to get snuffed out by the people who are eviscerating some of the newbies.
> 
> Can anyone explain in plain English what the problems are with loading Bluebird and how to get it to work?



The problem seems to be One Vanilla cards which several of the WalMart terminals have been updated to now reject.  While some report success, more and more these cards aren't being accepted.  In addition, WalMart employees have been instructed to not allow loading of BlueBird with gift cards of any sort.  Policy for cashier loads is to request the card and verify it is printed with the same name as the BlueBird card you are loading.  Sadly, it's getting very hard to "manufacture" these extra points.  There are other VGC (Visa Gift Cards) that don't seem to be blocked by the WalMart systems, however, you still have to either bait-and-switch a cashier (by showing a debit card with your name on it and quickly switching to your VGC when you actually swipe) or by finding a WalMart ATM that allows BlueBird loading (but these are often broken and subject to timed loading limits).


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## lorenmd (Aug 31, 2014)

i have had no problem buying visa giftcard going through the check out stand and then going over to the kiosk and loading the cards onto my bluebird account.


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