Topic Wiki

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 2263800 times)

Offline Dan

  • Administrator
  • Dansdeals Lifetime 50K Diamond Elite
  • **********
  • Join Date: May 2008
  • Posts: 67598
  • Total likes: 16909
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 16442
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Location: CLE
  • Programs: UA GS, AA EXP, DL Dirt, Hyatt Glob, Fairmont Lifetime Plat, DD Diamond, Blocked By @NeriaKraus
In case anyone is curious, you can't use any ExtraBucks for VRs.
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline yossi4k

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Oct 2010
  • Posts: 1577
  • Total likes: 14
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Location: NMB FL
  • Programs: Avis President's Club National Executive Elite Sixt Platinum
In case anyone is curious, you can't use any ExtraBucks for VRs.
and neither do you earn any...

Offline btab

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Nov 2012
  • Posts: 379
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Location: South
Bluebird: Now you can pay bills that don`t take credit card with a credit card
« Reply #1242 on: January 11, 2013, 04:52:48 PM »
In case anyone is curious, you can't use any ExtraBucks for VRs.

and neither do you earn any...

and it doesn't work for the fees either. but what you can do if you want to extend the life of your bucks is have them turn it into a cvs gift card.
learning about churning

ham

  • Guest
Has anyone confirmed that bluebird or vanilla reload does not issue 1099's? I am concerned that since they are kind of a payment processor, they may issue a 1099-k if you break the 20k/200 transaction rule. I believe the entity has to have a contractual obligation or something with the IRS to have to do it.


« Last Edit: January 12, 2013, 11:50:20 AM by ham »

Offline MEIR613

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Aug 2012
  • Posts: 4593
  • Total likes: 6
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 7
    • View Profile
I'm trying to pay my citi bill, and it just allows me to enter my citi acct number, and then wants me to press submit. Does this mean that the  Citi address is automatically plugged in?
When you search "citi bank" they give you a choice of which citi department you want. Press credit cards and that's the department you can send your payments to (with the correct address).


Offline Fan of Dan

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: May 2011
  • Posts: 3029
  • Total likes: 8
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
Can I pay the same Amex account from 2 different ppl's BB? Wanna beat the 5k limit so have friend that would allow me to use his BB account and was wondering if its an easy workaround to the 5k limit.
« Last Edit: January 12, 2013, 09:04:07 PM by Fan of Dan »

Offline nutcase

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
  • *****
  • Join Date: Aug 2012
  • Posts: 742
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 7
    • View Profile
  • Location: nj
but what card do u buy. their amex or visa gift cards only went up to $200. the rest of the cards were for specific stores. they didnt have any where u can choose ur own price
gotta keep looking it can be the particular store you checked doesn't have it

Offline nutcase

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
  • *****
  • Join Date: Aug 2012
  • Posts: 742
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 7
    • View Profile
  • Location: nj
Can I pay the same Amex account from 2 different ppl's BB? Wanna beat the 5k limit so have friend that would allow me to use his BB account and was wondering if its an easy workaround to the 5k limit.
yes. yes will work 100%

Offline est

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Jun 2008
  • Posts: 456
  • Total likes: 20
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
No need for rude answers -but I've got to spend 15 k in 3 months. after reading to death im still unsure. can anyone tell me on 2 ink cards and one united what's my best card and store type purchasing option and if they know of a place in Lakewood to purchase. Tx

Offline nutcase

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
  • *****
  • Join Date: Aug 2012
  • Posts: 742
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 7
    • View Profile
  • Location: nj
No need for rude answers -but I've got to spend 15 k in 3 months. after reading to death im still unsure. can anyone tell me on 2 ink cards and one united what's my best card and store type purchasing option and if they know of a place in Lakewood to purchase. Tx
1. how crazy do you want to make yourself to get extra points??
easy way swipe on square(might get shut) or paypal now you pay a fee but you dont gotta run around. square 2.75% paypal now 2.7%
other  ways require some effort are you interested?
united you need 5k?? isn't it 1k?

Offline Fan of Dan

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: May 2011
  • Posts: 3029
  • Total likes: 8
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
yes. yes will work 100%
Amazing thank u.

Offline btab

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Nov 2012
  • Posts: 379
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Location: South
Bluebird: Now you can pay bills that don`t take credit card with a credit card
« Reply #1251 on: January 13, 2013, 12:37:35 AM »
Has anyone confirmed that bluebird or vanilla reload does not issue 1099's? I am concerned that since they are kind of a payment processor, they may issue a 1099-k if you break the 20k/200 transaction rule. I believe the entity has to have a contractual obligation or something with the IRS to have to do it.

any information about this?
learning about churning

Offline googleyeshivabocher

  • Dansdeals Gold Elite
  • ***
  • Join Date: Nov 2012
  • Posts: 169
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
  • Location: brooklyn
wow just caught up on the last 30 pages haven't been here for awhile has anyone done and could they elaborate please on linking my bank account with blue bird so I don't have to travel by foot a few miles to use the money pass atm . tx in advance
(you can link bluebird's routing and account number into paypal or your outside bank account
for ACH transfer, which Bluebird will count as a 'direct deposit' and waive the $2 fee).

Offline HelpMe

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Aug 2011
  • Posts: 3427
  • Total likes: 40
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
Can I pay the same Amex account from 2 different ppl's BB? Wanna beat the 5k limit so have friend that would allow me to use his BB account and was wondering if its an easy workaround to the 5k limit.
yes. yes will work 100%
Amazing thank u.
I would be careful paying an account not in your name. Other prepaid cards have been shut down for this. BB is still in the early stages to know what will happen for sure.
"Elvis Has Left The Building"

Offline nutcase

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
  • *****
  • Join Date: Aug 2012
  • Posts: 742
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 7
    • View Profile
  • Location: nj
I would be careful paying an account not in your name. Other prepaid cards have been shut down for this. BB is still in the early stages to know what will happen for sure.
just to clarify he wants to make a bill pay to his credit card. how would bluebird know the account holders name? which other prepaid debit allow billpay?

Offline est

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Jun 2008
  • Posts: 456
  • Total likes: 20
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
1. how crazy do you want to make yourself to get extra points??
easy way swipe on square(might get shut) or paypal now you pay a fee but you dont gotta run around. square 2.75% paypal now 2.7%
other  ways require some effort are you interested?
united you need 5k?? isn't it 1k?
Yes I want to go to stores buy the cards... Just in lkwd I'm not sure what my best options r. Can I still get the vr card here? Where? Which stores will get best points value? And yes ur right I only need 11 k

Offline Fan of Dan

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: May 2011
  • Posts: 3029
  • Total likes: 8
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
I would be careful paying an account not in your name. Other prepaid cards have been shut down for this. BB is still in the early stages to know what will happen for sure.
How would they know my name? If they track the account number I wonder if it would help to give BB the account number of the AU so that its not the same, at least with Amex.

Offline yitzf

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Mar 2011
  • Posts: 2623
  • Total likes: 52
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 4
    • View Profile
No need for rude answers -but I've got to spend 15 k in 3 months. after reading to death im still unsure. can anyone tell me on 2 ink cards and one united what's my best card and store type purchasing option and if they know of a place in Lakewood to purchase. Tx
2) prepay utilities, phone and cable providers.
3) stock up on gift cards for the gas station and grocery store you frequent.
4) use chargesmart.com to pay your mortgage 3% fee but better than not getting the points (or Williampaid.com for rent).

Offline bem684

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
  • *****
  • Join Date: Aug 2010
  • Posts: 670
  • Total likes: 4
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
So I picked up two $500 VR cards in Queens last week at a CVS, and of course I used my Freedom card :)  It took almost 15 minutes at the register because a slip printed out of the receipt printer telling the clerk to call Chase.  He spoke to the rep for 5 minutes, then handed me the phone so I could verify that I was who I say I am, and finally after a few more minutes of cashier/chase-rep conversation the purchase went through.  I hope this doesn't happen every time I buy them!  Should I call Chase before I make the purchase to alert them that I'm going to be making a large purchase later that day?  I don't plan on buying more till next month.

Offline moshiach1

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: May 2011
  • Posts: 331
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
Anywhere in deal nj?