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Bluebird

The basics:

Sign up for a free account from Bluebird. Wait 7-10 business days to receive the card. If you have a Serve account, you will need to cancel it and then wait about 30 days before signing up. You need to wait for your physical BB card before you can proceed here.

Please note: As of the beginning of July 2014, you can load a maximum of $2500 a day at a WM register or ATM, up to $5,000 each calendar month into your Bluebird (hereafter: "BB") account. As of September 4, 2014, you can also load an additional $200/day with a debit card, up to $1000/month, though this might be risky, see below, II.4.

You can find answers to many questions here: https://www.bluebird.com/faqs?linknav=us-Prepaid-Bluebird-Home-Faqs#bluebird-checks And here: https://www.bluebird.com/ (just scroll down instead of clicking 'log in')

How to load it:

"Gift" cards (GCs)
Mastercard (MC) and Visa GCs have PIN codes that will make the cards function as debit cards. GCs may be used to load up your BB account in any Walmart, as will be explained below, or to get cash back when purchasing with them. Note that not all GCs work this way. Those from Metabank do, as do others. AMEX GCs are not capable of working with a PIN. They can only be used as gift cards. GCs for a specific business or store (iTunes or Home Depot or whatever) will never work in the ways described here. Note that 'Vanilla' brand GCs can no longer  be loaded to BB.

1. Buy Visa or MC GCs. The larger the denomination the better, since the fee-to-balance ratio will be better. Buy them anywhere, but you get the most out of this if you buy them with a CC that pays more than 1 point per dollar at that store at that time.

2. You will need a PIN for each GC. If you bought a MC GC, call the number on the back of the card or go online to set a PIN. If you bought a Visa, the last four digits of the card number will usually work, as long as you have not used the card yet. If you have used it, you had to set a PIN, so use that.
The # for US Bank MC Gift Cards is 1-866-952-5653. 1/2/<16 digit cc>#/<3 digits from back>#/3/PIN#/PIN#.

3. Go to Walmart (WM).

There are two suggested ways to load the GCs to BB at WM. Via a MoneyPass ATM (preferred) or via any cashier. Neither method charges an additional fee to what you paid when you bought the card. Please do not go to the service desk. Certainly do not refer to the GCs as gift cards, as they are, in fact, debit cards.

3a. MoneyPass ATMs

Not all WMs have MoneyPass ATMs, and MoneyPass ATMs at non-WM locations will not work to load BB. You can search for MoneyPass ATMs at WMs here: http://www.moneypass.com/atm-locator.aspx

Some report that MoneyPass ATMs in WMs near areas with high concentrations of DDFers seem to be permanently out of service. You may need to go farther afield or use the other method, mentioned below.

Follow the instructions on the machine to load your BB card. In some cases, the "WM Money Card" option will work for BB as well. Be patient and careful with your card swipes, as the machines are often slow or touchy. Each GC will be a separate transaction. Remember, the maximum of $2,500/day per BB account always applies.

If you are using high-denomination GCs, have found a very quick ATM, had a fellow BBer ahead of you, or are just experienced and able to complete each transaction very quickly, it is possible that you will complete $2,000 of transactions within about 10 minutes, which locks up the ATM for a while. Take a walk around the store and come back to let the machine unlock.

3b. Cashier

Please remember to be friendly, considerate and compassionate in all your interactions.

Ask a cashier to load your BB account from a debit card. If they don't know how, tell them to use 70 action code (they may need to type 70 first, followed by "action code") and follow the instructions on their screen. They are able to split a single transaction into up to four different cards, but it can be simpler to add one GC at a time, especially with people waiting behind you on line. You can then go back around to the same or another cashier to add other cards. Again, the $2,500/day per BB account applies.

This method should work at any WM - as intended by the BB product - but there are many stores in which some or all of the staff and management are suspicious of such transactions and will not do it. Your chances of convincing them to do something they think will risk their jobs is slim to none so if you encounter such resistance, please: Do take no for an answer and leave courteously to try another store or another day.
You want to stay under the radar as much as possible, so if things start getting complicated, tell them that you just remembered that you need to pick your kid up from school or whatever (have a good excuse ready beforehand) and that you need to leave, but you'll be back later. Th is way they forgot about their suspicions much faster.

4. It is apparently possible to load up to $200 per day to BB from debit cards on the BB web site for free, up to $1000 per month. Please note that people have had their BB accounts frozen or shut down for using GCs to load BB online, and that the BB site clearly says that any debit card used must be in the BB account holder's name. You have been warned.

Using A MC GC
Frequently a MC is declined at WM

When using the moneypass ATM, press the button ABOVE the BB button.  It may work without the following workaround.
The workaround is to:
1. Swipe MC
2.If you have the black and green screen press Cancel.If you have the white screen with colored touch icons, then right after you swipe a yellow 'change payment' button well pop up for a second, press that (you have to be fast).  You can also push the physical yellow button on the keypad. It does the same thing.
3. Select Debit
4. No Cash Back
5. Enter the PIN

Also seems to work if only $99 loaded.  or 99.99, too.

What to do with the money on your BB:

On the BB site, money can be sent to pay bills that don't normally accept CCs (think rent/mortgage, tuition, insurance, car payment, gas bill, even pay your cc bill) or to anyone in the U.S. for free. Use the 'pay and transfer tab'.  Checks sent online this way are delivered within 5 business days. (It may be prudent not to use BB to directly pay the CC on which you purchased the VRs/GCs that funded BB, but, once again, YMMV.)

Some people would rather use the free physical checks that you can order from BB. Please note that these checks need to be pre-authorized by you online, and a number written on them, before you give them to the person/institution you are paying. For checks of more than $2,000, authorization will require additional information and time. You need to provide the information and wait for confirmation before the check will be valid.

The money in your BB account can be withdrawn directly to a linked bank account, which, if done too much, may be seen as risky by BB, but in moderation should be fine. You can also send money to your bank account online by check, same as any other payee, but this might be risky from the perspective of the bank (not BB) if you bank and have CCs at the same institution.

Useful organizing techniques:

It can be unwieldy and confusing when standing in front of the WM ATM with a BB card or two and a bunch of GCs, some used, some not. The last thing anyone wants is to end up throwing away several hundred dollars on a perfectly good GC because you mistakenly thought it was drained. I'm sure there are contributors to this thread who have woken up in a cold sweat from just such a nightmare. Plus, being unorganized costs you time, and may make it more likely that some employee thinks you are up to something. Here are a few strategies for how to be organized.

1. Cargo pants, or other clothing/accessories with plenty of different pockets. Use different pockets for GCs yet to use and used GCs.

2. If you have more than one BB card, shuffle them into the stack of GCs at the appropriate spots for how many GCs you plan to load to each card. That way, you can just work through the stack and finish/begin each new BB card in turn.

3. A Sharpie marker works well for marking off GCs or BBs that you're done with. The marks even come off the cards with a little alcohol. Careful not to mark yourself or your clothes though.

4. Sort your GCs in ascending order of last 4 digits.  That makes it easier to keep track of which GCs are used.

To Close Your Bluebird:
While logged into your BB account, open this page: https://secure.bluebird.com/Profile/CloseAccount   

This no longer works and the only way to close your account is to call
For more details, including how to close family accounts, see (FM writeup)
« Last edited by justmeha on January 11, 2020, 11:55:46 PM »

Author Topic: Bluebird: Now you can pay bills that don`t take credit card with a credit card  (Read 2263671 times)

Offline PBaruch

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The end is upon us.

Vanilla Visa gift cards newer series which card number starts with 4847 18xx do not have working PINs. (Discovered by gloreglabert).

$200 Vanilla VGCs from WM.com are likely 18-th series now. Beware.

Beware many of the Vanilla cards that say happy holiday at 7-11 are bad

Series 484735 is fine.

quoted from FT here

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1514089-problem-loading-bluebird-vanilla-visa-gc-37.html
What do you do after your dreams come true?

Offline shauly

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BD"E  :'(

I have 2.5k in OV left, and 17k in thresholds left haha..

Offline TimT

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BD"E  :'(

I have 2.5k in OV left, and 17k in thresholds left haha..
What are you going to do with all that OV ?

Offline PBaruch

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What about Evolve?
What do you do after your dreams come true?

Offline shauly

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What are you going to do with all that OV ?

Well first I'm gonna at least try and load them up, at the worst it's just a waste of a bit of time. They are all 4941-59s, so I guess we will see.

Worst case, it's still money. I can pay off the CC from savings and spend the cards down over time.

Offline mechayamom

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I will tell you I was in Walmart in Monsey today. Tried to load a 200 visa GC from Staples. I made the mistake of going to a cashier Angela I think who had one of those star employee buttons. She was downright NASTY. Wouldn't take the card and went on a rant saying how they are fraud and illegal. Went around telling all the cashiers. Then said oh watch out. People come in and walk around the store and try another cashier. Then she said they are going to start taking pictures of people doing his and posting the pictures. Quite an attitude. I was thinking of going back tomorrow to complain to a manager of how she acted. Anyway. The day before a cashier loaded 2 for me.

Offline smaxber

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earlier today loaded 2 visa gc from staples at atm....

Offline MC

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earlier today loaded 2 visa gc from staples at atm....
It's the Vanilla ones that are problematic.

Offline srap

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Well first I'm gonna at least try and load them up, at the worst it's just a waste of a bit of time. They are all 4941-59s, so I guess we will see.

Worst case, it's still money. I can pay off the CC from savings and spend the cards down over time.

Vanilla Visa gift cards newer series which card number starts with 4847 18xx do not have working PINs. (Discovered by gloreglabert).
$200 Vanilla VGCs from WM.com are likely 18-th series now. Beware.
...
Series 484735 is fine.
quoted from FT here
How do the numbers work? 
1)  Are these numbers the beginning of the 10 digit PIN or are these the beginning of the 10 digit number in the UPC after the 627700 on all the card packs?
2)  If 4847 18xx is the beginning of the latest, the 18th series, then series 484735 is the 35th series? no...   ???

Offline smaxber

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It's the Vanilla ones that are problematic.
theres OV and what else?

Offline shauly

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How do the numbers work? 
1)  Are these numbers the beginning of the 10 digit PIN or are these the beginning of the 10 digit number in the UPC after the 627700 on all the card packs?
2)  If 4847 18xx is the beginning of the latest, the 18th series, then series 484735 is the 35th series? no...   ???

Unless I'm mistaken they are the 16 digit card numbers. That's what I was referring to at least..

Offline MC

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theres OV and what else?
I've used the vanilla gift cards at Walmart in the past

Offline theberk

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Well first I'm gonna at least try and load them up, at the worst it's just a waste of a bit of time. They are all 4941-59s, so I guess we will see.

Worst case, it's still money. I can pay off the CC from savings and spend the cards down over time.
Just tried 494159 did not work, even with workaround.

Offline shauly

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Just tried 494159 did not work, even with workaround.

Well that stinks. Were you able to try an ATM?

Offline theberk

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Well that stinks. Were you able to try an ATM?
The atm didn't let me do it either. Although the staples gc worked as usual.

Offline srap

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Unless I'm mistaken they are the 16 digit card numbers. That's what I was referring to at least..
Is that the number starting with 627700 which is under the brown bar at the bottom of the pack?  (Alternately, on some packs,  the 627700 begins the last 16 digits of the number under the UPC code.)

I have a feeling they are talking about the PINs since all my PINs start with 3523 or 4065 where the last 10 digits of my 16 digit numbers (after the 627700) range from 3181 to 7620.

Offline lunatic

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Maybe try calling and reseting the pin

Offline theberk

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Is that the number starting with 627700 which is under the brown bar at the bottom of the pack?  (Alternately, on some packs,  the 627700 begins the last 16 digits of the number under the UPC code.)

I have a feeling they are talking about the PINs since all my PINs start with 3523 or 4065 where the last 10 digits of my 16 digit numbers (after the 627700) range from 3181 to 7620.
We are talking about the actual card number which is the 16 digit number embossed on the gift card itself, not the packaging.

Offline rng

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Will the pin for OV  still work when trying to use for mo? Last 4 digits of card?

Offline Marco Polo

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Just to be clear, are you saying that OV or Vanilla GC's will not work anymore at the ATM either?
The machine was down, but after the first update, the machine still took Vanilla cards. I believe ALL vanilla cards will not work anymore at WM.
Quaerite et Invenietis.