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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 2264609 times)

Offline googleyeshivabocher

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got the wrong cards I spoke with a rep and she told me the most you can load on to a mvd is 500 per day and at any given time you cannot have more than 10,000k on it you can use it at the atm. Don't get the visa gift card because it's not the my vanilla debt card I am going to upload the visa gift card so you guys don't make the same mistake I did , also you cannot with draw money from this gift card at the atm. 

Offline MEIR613

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got the wrong cards I spoke with a rep and she told me the most you can load on to a mvd is 500 per day and at any given time you cannot have more than 10,000k on it you can use it at the atm. Don't get the visa gift card because it's not the my vanilla debt card I am going to upload the visa gift card so you guys don't make the same mistake I did , also you cannot with draw money from this gift card at the atm.

Did you try to withdraw it via a bank teller? Ask them to make a cash advance. Let us know what happens.


Offline MEIR613

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Not sure if i should post it here or start a new thread, but i bought some vr's with my cc, i can now cash them out wth my bb, but would have no problem selling it to someone else, and u can pay me via paypal or ap, and therefore be able to use  ur credit card to buy it as well, however if thru paypall buyer must cover fees. (i dont mind loosing the 3.95 fee per card, but not willing to loose more.) pm me if u r interested

Just curious can't anyone buy a visa GC and cash out AP so why would someone make a purchase with CC via AP if he could just buy a GC and swipe at a store and not worry FR/AA just a thought, but hey its nice of you to offer.


Offline ahecht37

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Just curious can't anyone buy a visa GC and cash out AP so why would someone make a purchase with CC via AP if he could just buy a GC and swipe at a store and not worry FR/AA just a thought, but hey its nice of you to offer.
i dont carewhat kind of card you pay with, or even if u pay cash

Offline karen

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When I register on www.myvanilladebitcard.com, it ends up sign an account and tell me that my permanently card will arrive
in mail.  I don't want a permanently card, which step did I did wrong?


Nope.

For VR, you just need to sign up and receive a Bluebird card...

For MVD (MyVanilla Debit card), you can sign up at www.myvanilladebitcard.com with your MVD (from CVS) card# to activate and get cash.

I've Done both-
  Plan A: VR
  Plan B: MVD

Offline yitzf

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got the wrong cards I spoke with a rep and she told me the most you can load on to a mvd is 500 per day and at any given time you cannot have more than 10,000k on it you can use it at the atm. Don't get the visa gift card because it's not the my vanilla debt card I am going to upload the visa gift card so you guys don't make the same mistake I did , also you cannot with draw money from this gift card at the atm.
she is mistaken, I was told that too by one rep. but a second one said it's 5 loads per day and so it says in the t&c without a mention of a $ limit. Worked fine for me doing more than 500.

Offline karen

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These were the temporary ones. I registered them first.
David, how many temporary ones a person can register? Do you have one online account for each of temporary ones? Will you get permanently one for each of you temporary card? Thanks!

Offline MEIR613

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David, how many temporary ones a person can register? Do you have one online account for each of temporary ones? Will you get permanently one for each of you temporary card? Thanks!
I know this wasn't @ me but I got 2 MVD and got 2 permanent cards


Offline ADanFan

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Did you try to withdraw it via a bank teller? Ask them to make a cash advance. Let us know what happens.

Yes - I've been successful in receiving cash at the bank from my registered $500 MVD.

Offline karen

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I know this wasn't @ me but I got 2 MVD and got 2 permanent cards
@meri613, Thanks for the info. Did you register both in your name? If both are in your name, one or two online accounts?

Offline Saver2000

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Just curious can't anyone buy a visa GC and cash out AP so why would someone make a purchase with CC via AP if he could just buy a GC and swipe at a store and not worry FR/AA just a thought, but hey its nice of you to offer.
I'm glad to see you're catching on   ;)

There are many reasons why people buy gc's. One of the reasons is as you stated - to avoid FR/AA.


Offline HelpMe

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I don't want a permanently card, which step did I did wrong?
You did nothing wrong. Just the way it works.
"Elvis Has Left The Building"

Offline mod

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@meri613, Thanks for the info. Did you register both in your name? If both are in your name, one or two online accounts?
I have 4 registered under 1 name. I did not receive the permanent cards yet, but all cards are already cashed out.

Offline Devorah

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Can someone post a pic of the MVD card?
Thanx

Offline karen

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I have 4 registered under 1 name. I did not receive the permanent cards yet, but all cards are already cashed out.
Thanks for the info. Do you think it is good idea to load it with VR cards, then cash out in bigger amount?
« Last Edit: December 05, 2012, 01:27:07 PM by karen »

Offline MEIR613

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So I got hold of 2 VR(only 2 were left) so the right move is to load each one onto my MVD and CA each card for 499? Is that gonna be a problem? The CA part I'm not worried about since I got the cards in the mail with my name on it. Its the 499 part? Or just forget it and let there be a -.50 balance?

So I loaded 1 MVD with VR. CA for 499. Worked like a gem:)

Offline Redbull3

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So I loaded 1 MVD with VR. CA for 499. Worked like a gem:)

What's the balance now, .50? or 0.

Offline Shmelly

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Has anyone bought VR by credit card at the WalMart in Severance Circle in Cleveland Heights? If yes, where can they be found in the store? (I will not be going there myself, so I would need to explain in vivid detail to someone who's never done something like this.)
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. - Dr. Seuss

Offline Saver2000

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Has anyone bought VR by credit card at the WalMart in Severance Circle in Cleveland Heights? If yes, where can they be found in the store? (I will not be going there myself, so I would need to explain in vivid detail to someone who's never done something like this.)
AFAIK Walmart doesn't sell VR cards. You can loads funds directly on to your bb at the register.

Offline MEIR613

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So I loaded 1 MVD with VR. CA for 499. Worked like a gem:)

right now the balance is .50 but the transaction is pending so it might need to clear to be charged the .50 fee