http://millionmilesecrets.com/2013/04/06/gift-card-pin-number/

Breaking News: You Can Now Use Gift Cards For Cash Back, Loading Bluebird, and Buying Money Orders!

A Million Mile Secrets reader (thanks!) pointed me to this FlyerTalk thread which discusses the new ability to add a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to a prepaid Visa or MasterCard debit gift card.

Even Better With a PIN!

This is good news because you can NOW use your Visa or MasterCard gift card as a debit card with your PIN to:

Load your American Express Bluebird at Wal-Mart
Buy Money Orders at Wal-Mart, grocery stores or other locations to pay loans etc.
Get Cash Back at certain stores
Buy Pre-Paid cards from stores which don’t sell them with a credit card, but let you use a debit card
Potentially pay a lower debit card fee when you pay your taxes

This means that it becomes easier to complete the minimum spending requirement on your new credit cards or to use credit cards for purchases which otherwise couldn’t be made with a credit card.

Unfortunately, you can’t use the cards to withdraw money from an ATM.

According to this article, the Federal Reserve has provided informal guidance that all Visa or MasterCard pre-paid cards or gift cards have to have PIN number from April 1, 2013.

WARNING

Not all Visa and MasterCard gift cards currently let you use a PIN, so buy a small denomination gift card first to see if it makes sense for YOU. Also, getting cash back seems to vary – in my experience – based on retailer, so my experiences may not be the same as yours.

Buying a small amount of money orders to pay your babysitter, mortgage or to pay student loans could be worth it to earn miles & points.

Buying lots of money orders just to deposit in your bank account for the miles and points will arouse suspicion – at the banks and at the places you buy them from. That’s because anyone can buy money orders and deposit them in banks and “launder” money.

If the banks get suspicious, they may file a Suspicious Activity Report to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Or they may shut down your account without allowing you to explain the transactions.

In addition, most sellers of money orders will ask for identification and take down your social security number, driver’s license and other identifying information if you usually attempt to buy more than $3,000 in money orders at a time, and most will not sell you more than $10,000 worth of money orders a day. But you shouldn’t need such high limits if you use them for genuine transactions.

My Experience Using Gift Cards With a PIN

In my experience, some gift card manufacturers are scrambling to get systems in place and not all of them let me register or use a PIN with my Visa or MasterCard gift card.

But they were aware of the requirement and the customer service reps indicated that I would be able to use a PIN very soon. Note that there are different issuers of the pre-paid Visa and MasterCard and they each have a different process to register a PIN. Some make you call in to register a PIN and some make you do it online.

MasterCard and Visa Card Bought at Dillon’s/Kroger

I bought a $100 MasterCard & Visa gifts card from Kroger since I couldn’t find a higher denomination card and paid the $5.95 activation fee. These cards were issued by US Bank and looked like this. Unfortunately, the MasterCard version didn’t let me use a PIN, but the Visa version did!

MasterCard & Visa Gift Cards at Kroger

The backs of the gift card looked liked this.

Back of US Bank Gift Card

I was thrilled when I got a separate receipt which asked me to call 1-866-952-5653 to select a PIN. It also mentioned that I couldn’t use the card to withdraw cash from an ATM.

Receipt With Information on Setting a PIN

I called 1-866-952-5653 and pressed: option 1 for “English“, then option 2 for “other inquiries” then option 3 for “Setting a PIN.“ I entered a 4 digit PIN and confirmed the number.

CASH BACK

I then went back to Dillon’s and tried to get cash back with a small purchase. But the transaction would not go through if I wanted cash back. But I could make purchases with a PIN if I did not choose the cash back option.

I also wasn’t able to get cash back at CVS or Walgreens with these gift cards issued by US Bank.

Getting Cash Back!

But I WAS able to get cash back at Wal-Mart! I’m not sure if this will work at all Wal-Marts or not, but it suggests that some stores will let you get cash back with a gift card while others won’t.

MONEY ORDERS

I was able to buy money orders at Wal-Mart and Kroger when I used the Visa but NOT the MasterCard as a debit card and entered my PIN number.

But be VERY CAREFUL with buying money orders. Amounts over $3,000 require special documentation and banks are suspicious of folks – and have to file government reports – who deposit a lot of money orders into their bank account. But you can use money orders to pay bills which you otherwise couldn’t pay with a credit card.

LOADING BLUEBIRD

I WAS able to load my American Express Bluebird at Wal-Mart using the Visa, but not the MasterCard gift cards with a PIN!

If you can find Vanilla Reload cards at CVS or other shops, you can also buy a Vanilla Reload at CVS and load your Bluebird online via the Vanilla Reload website.

But if you can’t buy Vanilla Reloads at CVS, you could buy a Visa gift card with a credit card. Then go to Wal-Mart and load your Bluebird (up to $1,000 a day). After that, you can use Bluebird to pay bills, write checks etc.

You can load up to $1,000 a day and $5,000 a month to your Bluebird by using a debit card – or gift card with a PIN – at Wal-Mart without a fee.

WAS THIS WORTH IT?

It depends on the amount of the gift card (a larger denomination is better since the activation fee remains the same) and how much you value the miles or points which you earn.

I paid a $5.95 activation fee for a $100 gift card & I earned 105.95 miles/points (assuming I used a card which earns 1 mile/point per $1).

This means that I paid 5.62 cents per mile or point (595 cents /105.95 miles earned) which is a very high price per mile/or point. But it was worth it as a test!

My cost would have been 1.18 cents per mile or point if I had bought a $500 denomination gift card. My cost would have been lower if I used a card which gave a category bonus for purchases at that store.

Vanilla Visa Cards Bought at Dillon’s/Kroger & CVS

I bought a $200 Vanilla Visa gift card from Kroger & CVS. You can load between $20 and $500 for a flat $4.95 fee on the Vanilla Visa gift cards. Ideally, I should have loaded $500, but I wanted to make sure that I could use the card with a PIN first, so I bought a lower denomination gift card.

These cards were issued by The Bankcorp Bank and looked like this.

Vanilla Visa Gift Cards at CVS

The back of the card looked liked this.

Back of Vanilla Visa Gift Card

I did NOT get a receipt indicating that I could sign-up for a PIN, nor was there any indication on the card packaging that I could sign-up for a PIN. So I went to the Vanilla Visa website and entered my card number.

Enter Gift Card Number

I then noticed a new tab on the left hand side which read “Manage PIN”

Click “Manage PIN”

The instructions suggested that I could go to a store and select “Debit” and enter in a 4 digit number which would automatically be set as my PIN for future transactions.

How to Set Your PIN

But I wasn’t able to make ANY debit purchases at Kroger, Dillon’s, Wal-Mart, CVS & Wal-Greens using a PIN with the Vanilla Visa gift card!

I could make purchases using the Vanilla Visa gift card as a credit card (which is how you normally used a gift card to make a purchase), but couldn’t buy ANYTHING using the card as a debit card with a PIN.

So I called the Vanilla Visa helpline and a few reps told me that I couldn’t use the card as a debit card and that there was no way to get a PIN.

Finally, one rep acknowledged that you can’t – currently – use the Vanilla Visa gift card as a debit card with PIN. But she mentioned that I would “soon” be able to use it as a debit card with a PIN and that they haven’t activated the PIN function as yet.

I can’t wait for this to happen soon and will report back!

Other Experiments

I’m experimenting with other gift cards and will post updates of what works and what doesn’t.

There are lots of Visa and MasterCard gift cards, so please share your experiences in the comments!

Bottom Line

Having a PIN with a Visa or MasterCard gift card opens up lots of possibilities. But I’d use this only to complete the minimum spending requirement on cards and to make payments which I otherwise couldn’t make using a credit card.

Resist the temptation to go overboard! And do the math to see if this works for you! I’d also only buy aSMALL denomination gift card first, to see if this works for you, since there seems to be differences based on where you use the gift card and which bank issued the gift card.

* If you liked this post, why don’t you join the 10,000+ readers who have signed-up to receive free blog posts via email (only 1 email per day!) or in a RSS reader …because then you’ll never miss another update!

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261 Responses to Breaking News: You Can Now Use Gift Cards For Cash Back, Loading Bluebird, and Buying Money Orders!

Kyle | May 18, 2013 at 9:56 pm |

Hello. I am wondering if these visa gift cards can be used to buy money pak or money order. It is a Vanilla Visa Gift Card. I would like to verify before I buy any. I know you mentioned it earlier, but will the pin work now for debit? Thanks.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Visa-200-Gift-Card/20625678
Sahil | May 20, 2013 at 3:35 am |

@Maury

The Vanilla Visa issued by Bancorp loads just fined to the Bluebird (BB). There is no charge for loading a BB in a Walmart, but you are limited to $1000/day and $5000/month, again, at the Walmart.
JBeam | May 20, 2013 at 10:28 am |

I ran into the same problem with my last run on the kroger /mc /load BB.

The key is to hand them your BB card, tell them the amount you want to load, swipe your card (will get declined saying it’s a CC) then have
the CSR red0 their part then just after you swipe your card hit CANCEL the ATM/DEBIT/ options will pop up then hit DEBIT, key your
PIN in and you’re good to go.
Million Mile Secrets | May 21, 2013 at 8:41 am |

I was able to use a Vanilla Visa with no issues.
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Harold J. Forbes | May 23, 2013 at 8:40 pm |

Another data point for you: I bought one of the US Bank prepaid Mastercards today at Kroger and successfully loaded it to my BB account using the Walmart Money Center kiosk. I know a lot of people have reported issues with the Mastercards with PIN but it gave me no issues tonight.
Million Mile Secrets | May 24, 2013 at 8:00 am |

@Harold J. Forbes – Thanks! That is good to know.
Jill | May 27, 2013 at 6:30 pm |

Hi Darius,
What’s overboard? $500 a month per 4 credit cards? Thanks!
Nikki | May 27, 2013 at 8:52 pm |

I went to my local Wal-Mart AND CVS and tried to purchase a $500 Visa gift card at each place and was denied by both tellers saying I am not allowed to buy these cards with a credit card. Also tried a Vanilla Reload at CVS and the same thing happened. The actual register would not let the teller process the cc. Has anyone else encountered this? I live in California so not sure if this has to do with anything. I was using my AMEX SPG when trying to make the purchases.
Chris S. | May 28, 2013 at 2:00 am |

I usually use Pay Pal credit, the credit you use online, to purchase Vanilla Visa cards from walmart.com. To my surprise I was able to easily set up my pin number by making a small purchase at walmart as debit. Since I now have a pin number I have been able to use it wherever I have gone. I have even used it for gas purchases at Arco Am/Pm where they normally do not take gift cards. As for cash back, I have not tired this yet but I interested in doing so soon.
mindy06a | May 28, 2013 at 6:45 pm |

Hi can someone help me – I bought 2 $200 visa metabank gift card (it says debit) on it – I assigned a pin to it & today I went to the Walmart in Monroe, Ny – I asked them to load $400 on my bluebird card -they said they can’t use these visa gift caards- they sent me to customer service – who said they don’t take these cards – I asked them to try – it asked me for my pin & then it went to authorize & got an error msg “Debit not available appr. code = 51″ Any suggestions – this Walmart is near my summer home, so I’d like to do it?
Will I have the same issue with Chase online cards?
Jeff | May 29, 2013 at 6:44 am |

I have, over the month of May, purchased Visa Vanilla gift cards issued by the Bancorp Bank at CVS, two loaded for $500 each and then loaded them onto my Bluebird card at Walmart. I have done this three times in the last month. Today I tried to do this again. This time there was a problem. The clerk said that the debit was not approved and could not be loaded because it was a cash transaction. I called the 800 number on the back of the card and was told by the representative that you could not load this gift card onto Bluebird because it was a cash transaction and cash transactions were not allowed with this gift card. There is some long involved process that I have to go through to get a refund which will take three to four weeks. The back of the card package does state that the card can not be exchanged for cash except where required by law. I live in Ohio. This is so weird since I did this twice successfully in the last week which the service rep did not believe. Have you heard of this before?
jeff
Million Mile Secrets | May 30, 2013 at 7:01 pm |

@Jill – That could be fine if you have a legitimate use and pay bills etc.

@Nikki – Wal-Greens doesn’t sell them with credit card and with CVS it will vary by store.

@mindy06a – They should work and you could try again after making sure you have a PIN number set with the card.

@Jeff – I have not heard of this, but will try again.
Alfred Vachris | June 2, 2013 at 8:50 pm |

This seems like a very expensive way to get miles.
Tobias | June 3, 2013 at 9:20 pm |

Can you pay taxes using multiple debit cards? Or do you need to use 1 debit card to pay the entire bill
Frankie direnzo | June 4, 2013 at 12:14 am |

I have got several vanilla visa giftcards and the. target visa giftcards I have set a pin at a Hess gas station and bought lottery scratchoffs and tickets using the debitb option and that a gamble weither u will win but if u do I can cash the. tickets in for cash that has been the only way I have ever got cash from a giftcard most gas stations will let get lottery tickets using a debit card only no credit cards but once again its a gamble if ur goin to win back ne money and by the way this was done in Florida and I spent $100 on scratch offs with my target visa debit giftcard and won back $40 so its a gamble either. way lol
Million Mile Secrets | June 4, 2013 at 11:25 am |

@Tobias – You can, but there is a limit on the number of debit cards which you can use to pay your federal taxes.
Jin | June 4, 2013 at 1:32 pm |

Hello,

I am new in the Us and don’t get all the subtilities of the system.
Can you help me understand what is the advantage of having a PIN on VISA or Mastercard gift card ?

Thank you
Million Mile Secrets | June 5, 2013 at 9:05 am |

@Jin – The advantage is that you can then load your Bluebird or Go Bank card at Walmart with a gift card with a PIN.
Jeff | June 7, 2013 at 5:44 am |

The problem turned out to be that I had already loaded the max $5,000 onto my Bluebird account. These cards loaded fine when I tried again on June 1st.
Chris | June 8, 2013 at 5:09 pm |

@Daraius @Jeff and @Sahil

May I know if The Vanilla Visa issued by Bancorp allows to load fined to the Bluebird (BB). Is it the Gold colorer one appeared at the top of this page or it’s silver colored OneVanilla or Black colored MyVanilla?

How did you setup PIN for Vanilla Visa? I was told by customer service that the only way to setup PIN is to make first purchase at any retail and I can’t setup PIN by visiting VanillaVisa website or calling their 1-800 number.

I was quite confused and wanted to go directly to load BB with $500 without the hassle of making the 1st purchase and setup the PIN at the store. Thanks!
There is no charge for loading a BB in a Walmart, but$1000/day and $5000/month, again, at the Walmart.
Million Mile Secrets | June 9, 2013 at 5:24 pm |

@Chris – Just use the Vanilla Visa to load your BB directly as the 1st purchase. You can enter a random 4 digit PIN and it will process as a debit card transaction.
Alex | June 13, 2013 at 10:02 pm |

Is there any way to load a BB using a Visa gift card somewhere other than Wal-Mart? I’m in NYC where there are unfortunately no Wal-Marts around.
Million Mile Secrets | June 14, 2013 at 6:43 am |

@Alex – Unfortunately, the only way to load Bluebird with a Visa gift card is at a Wal-Mart.
Rene | June 17, 2013 at 5:43 pm |

In Austin, TX, I was trying to buy the Vanilla Visa gift cards and was denied at two different Dollar Generals today. Their policy is cash or debit only. I am still having luck at CVS though having already bought three cards so far this month. My next stop will try to buy them at a grocery store down here called HEB. The Vanilla Visa website says that they are sold there. Wish me luck!
Million Mile Secrets | June 17, 2013 at 9:29 pm |

Rene – Good luck! BTW, you can’t (currently) load your Bluebird with the cards from Dollar General, so it doesn’t matter if they take cash or debit.
suzy | June 17, 2013 at 11:34 pm |

I just wanted to say thanks a million! I went to a store called Smith’s ( I live in Las Vegas, NV) and purchased a prepaid Visa for $50.00. I paid with my AmEx. I then went home and got the 866 toll free number you posted. I called, made a pin and went to Wal-mart. At their money ATM, I chose to re-load my Wal-Mart Visa using the debit option. Bidda bannnng. Easy. I added 48$ to my Wal-mart Visa and then without missing a beat, drew $40 cash off it. I turned a prepaid into cash. Thanks again. Couldn’t have done it without this website!!!!!
Jenny | June 26, 2013 at 1:13 pm |

Have you had any more luck loading your Bluebird with Mastercard debit cards? None of the office stores around here have any $200 Visa cards left. Before I buy some of the MCs I was wondering if you have heard of more success stories loading a BB with them? I’ll probably try a $25 card first just to be safe.
Million Mile Secrets | June 27, 2013 at 9:21 am |

@Jenny – I haven’t tried recently, buy starting with a $25 card to test is always a good idea.
cyclops | June 30, 2013 at 4:35 pm |

I want o buy GiftCards to maximize the Freedom and Discover Gas Station category for the upcoming quarter. The Gas Stations in my area only carry the Vanilla Visa Gift cards. So are the PIN on these working now to buy money orders or are these still risky?
Million Mile Secrets | July 1, 2013 at 10:51 am |

@cyclops – Vanilla Visa gift cards work for me, but do a small one as a test.
Jason | July 2, 2013 at 10:56 pm |

Has anyone actually tried to purchase a Money Order with the Vanilla Visa Gift Cards? My Sapphire Preferred is on it’s way and Money Orders are actually the more convenient way to pay rent at the moment.

Awesome site by the way and I really admire that you are still answering questions on this article months later!
Jason | July 2, 2013 at 10:58 pm |

Sorry for asking the same question as the person above me. Missed that one in my quick scan and eagerness to ask!
Million Mile Secrets | July 3, 2013 at 8:10 am |

@Jason – No worries, and you can buy a money order with a gift card. But do a small test to see if it still works.
John | July 3, 2013 at 8:31 am |

Wait, the title of this post says u can now buy MO with a gift card, now you say you can’t?

Can you clarify? I purchased the chase gift cards….. Loading to bluebird but the Walmart machines are always broke!
Million Mile Secrets | July 3, 2013 at 8:40 am |

@John – You may be able to use a gift card (I edited my comment to be clearer), but always do a small test first, because not all of them work.
Matt | July 3, 2013 at 1:09 pm |

Where within Wal-Mart do you load your bluebird with the pin gift cards? Just a regular checkout line? A service desk?
John | July 3, 2013 at 1:42 pm |

Other than Walmart – where has anyone had success buying MO’s ? I understand USPS is a no go?
Yi | July 3, 2013 at 4:18 pm |

The office depot now carries the vanilla visa gift card with value up to 500 dollars. Just bought 2 of them and went to the same website as the one in this post to check the balance. The “Manage PIN” page is also identical to what shown in this post. Not sure if I could use these two card to load my BB card at Walmart with any 4-digit PIN.
anthony | July 4, 2013 at 6:50 am |

So i have a vanillia gift card…can i buy a money order with it at walmart
Million Mile Secrets | July 5, 2013 at 10:45 am |

@Matt – You can do it at either.

@John - Kroger works too.

@Yi @anthony – Yes.
Yi | July 6, 2013 at 1:23 pm |

Today I went to the Walmart (8651 Nw 13Th Ter, Doral, FL 33126) , where I used to load my bluebird with the visa gift card from giftcardmall.com without any problem. However, the lady sitting in the money center saw the word “Gift” on my Vanilla visa gift card purchased from Office Depot and said it is a gift card and could not be transferred to Bluebird account. I told her it is a visa debit card with a PIN. She did not buy my words.

She called her supervisor, who also said “we are not supposed to do so”. I asked: this is the same debit card as what I got from my bank. She said “your check card was issued by a bank”, I replied “this card is also issued by a bank and has a PIN”. She had no answers and said “No matter what argument, we are not supposed to do so”. I also mentioned that I have done a few time here before without any problem and the system went through, she replied “who helped you? they will be in trouble because of doing so.” At that moment, I know I need to give up. I said “Fine. Thank you” and left.

I then went to another Walmart a few miles away, and the nice person in the Money Center loaded my card without asking any question.

I don’t get the idea why the supervisor in the first Walmart insists that the Gift card is not a debit card. Debit cards are supposed to be differentiated from credit cards, the term “gift card” simply means this is a gift and has nothing to do with its nature as a financial instrument. I guess people there just feel uncomfortable about the words “Gift” on the visa gift card. I would suggest people either not show the gift card to the person (just hand in your BB card) or buy the visa gift card without a sign of “gift”
Pingback: Using Vanilla vs MetaBank $200 Visa GCs for MOs at WM - FlyerTalk Forums
EJ | July 12, 2013 at 10:19 am |

I have sucessfully loaded gift cards with PINs to my Bluebird multiple times in June and May. Last night was the fist time I tried in July and it failed!

The first WalMart I went to, the clerk took one look at the gift card (the purple and gold MC) and said that a “memo from Bluebird” had told them not to allow loads, so she wouldn’t even let me try.

Then I went to a Walmart Neighborhood Market. The clerk there was going to let me do it but she said the system only recognized the card as credit, not debit, so it couldn’t go through.

I am trying in Denver, btw.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?
Scott | July 13, 2013 at 1:59 pm |

@Jenny, you may have already done an experiment with a low-denomination MC, but if not here is my experience today. I bought at $200 MC from Staples the other day, which was issued by U.S. Bank Natl. Assoc. and I set a PIN by dialing 866-952-5653 (options 1, 2, 3 as MMS pointed out…thanks for the outstanding blog). Then I went to WM to load it onto my BB. Unlike the Vanilla VISA from Bancorp Bank, it didn’t seem like it wanted to work at first. It kept defaulting to trying to run as a credit without offering me an explicit debit option. I figured out I had to choose “Change Payment Method” on the touch screen of the customer self-swipe reader, then select “Debit” then key in the PIN. It prompted me whether I wanted cash back, but I was loading the full balance so I didn’t attempt that (maybe another time). The load to BB was successful (confirmed online when I got home). So it appears there is a work-around for the MC variants of these cards. I live in Ohio, and this worked for me here. YMMV.
Million Mile Secrets | July 13, 2013 at 3:36 pm |

@EJ - It worked for me a few days ago.

@Scott – Thanks for sharing how to get it to work!
Bubly1011 | July 13, 2013 at 9:57 pm |

Can I do the same what Scott has mentioned in above post at money center kiosk at walmart??
Tai | July 15, 2013 at 2:53 pm |

Hey Daraius, I’ve been using a lot of your referral links for cc signups. Thanks for all the info you put out. Quick question… If I use my chase ink+ at OD on Visa gc and reload to BB at walmart I essentially get the 5x point that was previously only available with VR’s right?
michelle | July 30, 2013 at 5:36 am |

@cyclops – have you tried and were you able to buy the MO?

discover card for gas station purchases this quarter is $75 CB (5%) on $1500 in purchases. considering the $4.95 fee, i believe it would only benefit to buy a card if i’ve earned less then $70 CB in the quarter??
Million Mile Secrets | July 30, 2013 at 9:00 am |

@Bubly1011 – It could work.

@Tai – Unfortunately, OD will only let you buy them with cash.
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Mango | August 1, 2013 at 12:52 am |

I tried loading bluebird with VisaDebit card today, and my walmart would not do it, i did it last month, now they are saying we dont load one prepaid card with other(bluebird)

What is going on, did anyone see this too
LaReesa | August 1, 2013 at 7:30 pm |

I just want to say I’ve learned SO MUCH from your website. I know you get a lot of crap from “veteran” milers about walking newbies through the steps and giving up too much info, but I for one really appreciate it. I’m a veteran traveler and an educated person, but I live in a small town (we don’t even have a CVS!) and work a lot so it’s hard for me to invest a ton of time into figuring out these strategies myself. In spite of that, I’m flying to Europe for free (+$100 in taxes) in September thanks to you!
Million Mile Secrets | August 2, 2013 at 9:01 am |

@LaReesa - Thanks for reading!
Pinhead | August 7, 2013 at 1:46 pm |

Do the other vanilla labeled visa GC’s such as the Anne Geddes card or the Lets Go Shopping GC’s at stores like CVS work for BB?
dailydealsjc1@gmail.com | August 9, 2013 at 12:15 pm |

Any ideas on where to buy these GCs? I found 2 at walmart that let me pay with a CC last month, but now they have none. I haven’t found any gas stations to let me purchase them with a CC either. Where can I buy these with a CC? I’ve been checking everywhere!
kimmie | August 18, 2013 at 5:55 am |

I was able to buy several $500 mo at Fred Meyer (Kroger in the NW) over several weeks. Yesterday, a transaction with a pin was rejected. I tried at three different stores with two different prepaid MC–at least six times with varying amounts. Ugh, what a headache.
Yvonne | August 22, 2013 at 3:37 pm |

I am having similar issues as Kimmie above. Between my husband and I we purchased 4 us bank issued Visa gift cards from Fred Meyer (Kruger) the last few weeks. I called the 866 number and got pins on all gift cards. After a visit to WM to load my BB, only two of the four cards worked. I did not exceed my daily deposit limit. In fact the two failed cards would not even let me purchase an item using the pin. I spoke with card representative, who noted that I indeed have a PIN number, but did not know why I was unable to make a purchase with a pin. Anyone else having issues?
yvonne | August 24, 2013 at 10:48 am |

Kimmie, as noted in my earlier message, I too was having trouble with my two of gift cards. After again renewing my pin number, I went to my local gas station to test. After 4-5 attempts it finally accepted my pin! I then when to WM and was able to deposit to BB with no issues..

Separately, I tested a University National Bank gift card purchased at Walmart (needed for minimum spending). While the terms and conditions noted “No PIN”, I used the last 4 numbers on the card, and it worked fine as a debit. It was much easier then the US Bank issued gift cards.

Darius, I would love an update on this subject. Which gift cards work and don’t work. Which one “work” sometimes, but can be challenged at times (as the US Bank issued cards).
saha | August 27, 2013 at 8:40 am |

just a heads up – the visa gift cards at sold at staples and at best buy (the 200 dollar visa ones) have stopped working for pin based reloads.
saha | August 28, 2013 at 9:41 am |

another heads up – these vanilla reload cards have stopped working at walmart. this method of reloading your BlueBird and/or Gobank cards are now dead. I tried it yesterday night. the atm would not allow it, nor did it work at the cashier’s system.