Topic Wiki

Open Serve: Do 1 of the following:
1) Buy a temporary card. (free in cvs in NJ won’t take cc)($3.95 fee), or
2) Open online. They’ll send you a card. (free)
Note that you COULD have more than one of these: Bluebird (BB), Redcard and serve. 

Loading Serve: Serve does not have any fees to load money.
a) At CVS, 7-11, and Rite Aid ONLY CASH can be loaded.
b) At Walmart GCs …uh Debit Cards (besides Vanilla cards) can be loaded onto Serve just like onto BB. Load limit: $2500/day up to $5000/month
c) At Family Dollar max $499.99/Day, not hard coded, YMMV, Cash or Debit/Gift Card.
WARNING: There are reports of debit cards being drained at FD, and not loading onto Serve, so FD is not recommended.
d) An Amex CC of the serve cardholder can be linked and used to fund your Serve ONLINE. Load limit: $200 per day/$1000 per month
Amex cc loads are not considered cash advance. They DO NOT earn points, or count towards a spending threshold.
e) Debit Cards linked to Serve: $200/day up to 1000/month ONLINE.  But only a permanent DC with your name on it. (NOT GCs)

So your total loading limit per month, if using all 3 methods is $7K.

-Serve has a $1 monthly inactivity fee (waived in VA, NY and TX) that is waived if you use Direct Deposit OR add $500.
-If Serve has a bonus for using direct deposit, use AP.

Using the funds on Serve:
-Free ATM use/withdrawal at MoneyPass ATMs. $2 elsewhere.
-Serve has a Bill Pay feature – same as BB.  You tell them who to pay, and they send a check for you.  You can pay up to 5k of unregistered billers, but 10K of registered ones (registered= those on their bill pay list). Pay your Credit Cards bills as well as many other bills or any person!
WARNING: Do not use the bill pay feature to pay the Credit Card that is linked for online loads.
-money in your Serve account can be withdrawn directly to a linked bank account, which, if done too much, may be seen as risky by Serve, but in moderation should be fine.
Withdraw to your bank https://secure.serve.com/Actions/WithdrawMoney

Make sure the name, address and phone number on your profile match your credit card billing address, or you may get declined.  When linking your credit card at serve.com, the website will only show you the address on your profile, but not the phone number, so this is easy to overlook.  Go to profile, and check/update your phone number there.

Error likely with the Serve account:
When you create a new account and add a credit card, you will be allowed to do the first transaction. After that, your account will probably go into system lockdown until you verify some information. Likely error message for this case is "Risk declined operation" when you try to add money on to the account. You will need to send in (online, fax or mail) a photo ID and a copy of your credit card or statement. Upload your documents here -
https://secure.serve.com/User/SecureFileUpload. Then Call up AMEX Account Protection Services at 1-800-555-4318 and tell them you uploaded the documents and ask them to verify it for you.
« Last edited by Iz on August 18, 2016, 10:36:02 AM »

Author Topic: Amexserve/Softcard  (Read 1386098 times)

Offline ChaimMoskowitz

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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1720 on: October 03, 2014, 01:01:30 AM »
If true, definitely not well known.
I never got a CA fee before, how long would it take until it posts?
If it takes a few days, obviously no one will have definite proof yet.
Ask any FWF member. This is many years old info. I always joke about this but ya all need to get out more.  ;)

CA fee will post with charge when it goes from temp to posting.

I said this before and I will say this again. Things in this game are changing by the minute. Can they now being charging a CA fee, absolutely. The point I am making is with the info you have now there is no way to know at this point. Will it kill everyone to wait a couple of days?
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Offline D93

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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1721 on: October 03, 2014, 03:09:49 AM »
It is well known that some charges initially show as a CA but are actually purchases.
I loaded $500 from my freedom (visa) on 10/1 and 10/2. I didn't lower my CA limit because I thought it was $100 but turns out it's actually $2300 since I had shifted more CL over to my freedom card recently. The $500 load from 10/1 posted now in my account as a purchase not as a CA, and the $500 load from 10/2 is still pending and my cash advance limit is now down to $1800, which means that this $500 load is pending as CA. Hopefully when this posts it will show up as a purchase also, just like the $500 load from 10/1 - unless this new CA business only changed on 10/2, If so then my load from 10/1 isn't a proof about pending in CA and posted as purchase.
« Last Edit: October 03, 2014, 03:13:55 AM by D93 »

Offline ChaimMoskowitz

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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1722 on: October 03, 2014, 07:06:37 AM »
I loaded $500 from my freedom (visa) on 10/1 and 10/2. I didn't lower my CA limit because I thought it was $100 but turns out it's actually $2300 since I had shifted more CL over to my freedom card recently. The $500 load from 10/1 posted now in my account as a purchase not as a CA, and the $500 load from 10/2 is still pending and my cash advance limit is now down to $1800, which means that this $500 load is pending as CA. Hopefully when this posts it will show up as a purchase also, just like the $500 load from 10/1 - unless this new CA business only changed on 10/2, If so then my load from 10/1 isn't a proof about pending in CA and posted as purchase.
Finally an informative post.
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Offline yuneeq

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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1723 on: October 03, 2014, 08:48:07 AM »
Finally an informative post.

Sometimes you make no sense at all.
Because it's longer it's more informative?
It's what's been said here for the past 3 pages.

All the short data points about pending CA charges you push aside.
Someone says the same info in a long Megillah and all of a sudden you gleaned some new info?
« Last Edit: October 03, 2014, 08:55:13 AM by yuneeq »
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Offline churnbabychurn

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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1724 on: October 03, 2014, 09:07:31 AM »
IIRC There are posts up in this thread about charges pending as CA and posting as purchases.

Offline yuneeq

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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1725 on: October 03, 2014, 09:12:52 AM »
IIRC There are posts up in this thread about charges pending as CA and posting as purchases.

-1
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Offline ChaimMoskowitz

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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1726 on: October 03, 2014, 09:23:59 AM »
Because it's longer it's more informative?
It is accurate play by play of what is going on. The last three pages and you mentioning the worthless FT site makes it look like the sky is falling.
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Offline yuneeq

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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1727 on: October 03, 2014, 09:35:16 AM »
It is accurate play by play of what is going on. The last three pages and you mentioning the worthless FT site makes it look like the sky is falling.

Accurate? How is proof that a charge from 10/1 posted as a purchase any indication that a pending CA charge from 10/2 will also post as a purchase?

Sometimes you like to argue just for the sake of arguing.
No one said the sky is falling, but obviously when something changed systemwide, people should be aware that they'll very likely get hit with CA charges.

Eta: Thanks for letting me know that useful data points from FT isnt worth sharing.
« Last Edit: October 03, 2014, 09:56:39 AM by yuneeq »
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Offline Talmid Muvhak

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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1728 on: October 03, 2014, 09:40:54 AM »
+400. I have a balance of around $7500 in 0% until pesach on my ink card which I was supposed to ;) be playing with and looks like as of yesterday has a CA on it.
« Last Edit: October 03, 2014, 10:01:13 AM by Talmid Muvhak »
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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1729 on: October 03, 2014, 10:27:55 AM »
Want to share what you're using?
Other Visa GCs wherever I find them. I think most stores that sell OVs sell them too.
Workflowy. You won't know what you're missing until you try it.

Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1730 on: October 03, 2014, 10:53:02 AM »
Other Visa GCs wherever I find them. I think most stores that sell OVs sell them too.
Oh duh. Wow I can't figure out why I bought a ton of OVs instead of VGCs (except for a few at 7-11 on Freedom). I guess I got excited when I found a new store that sold OVs but that was clearly a mistake unless FD goes smoother than WM.

Offline ah

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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1731 on: October 03, 2014, 11:08:09 AM »
Other Visa GCs wherever I find them. I think most stores that sell OVs sell them too.
u referring to vanilla visa or the $5.95 metabank ones? Vanilla visas are the same issue as OV

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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1732 on: October 03, 2014, 11:10:15 AM »
u referring to vanilla visa or the $5.95 metabank ones? Vanilla visas are the same issue as OV
the metabank ones. It's a shame that they're a dollar more, but if buying OVs means going to FD every day, it makes it not worth it for me.
Workflowy. You won't know what you're missing until you try it.

Offline Don Will

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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1733 on: October 03, 2014, 11:16:47 AM »
I was having the issue of my card getting charged as a cash advance and therefore being declined since my cash advance is set to zero and serve told me that since I only had withdraw $ in the past therefore it's coming up as a cash advance so today I paid off another credit card bill and afterwards was able to load my serve with my sp card without any problems

Offline ChaimMoskowitz

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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1734 on: October 03, 2014, 11:23:35 AM »
Accurate? How is proof that a charge from 10/1 posted as a purchase any indication that a pending CA charge from 10/2 will also post as a purchase?

Sometimes you like to argue just for the sake of arguing.
No one said the sky is falling, but obviously when something changed systemwide, people should be aware that they'll very likely get hit with CA charges.

Eta: Thanks for letting me know that useful data points from FT isnt worth sharing.
Nobody said anything about proof. You stated up thread it was a CA. Nobody so far has been hit with a CA fee. Purchases being denied and CA CL being hit is normal. I explained why this is happening. You can keep showing your lack of knowledge on this subject by keep posting or wait and see how this plays out. It might be a system wide change but there is no way to know at this point.

ETA: The FT wiki's have been updated by knowledgeable members to reflect what is going on.
« Last Edit: October 03, 2014, 11:30:31 AM by ChaimMoskowitz »
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Offline Don Will

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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1735 on: October 03, 2014, 11:30:20 AM »

Nobody said anything about proof. You stated up thread it was a CA. Nobody so far has been hit with a CA fee. Purchases being denied and CA CL being hit is normal. I explained why this is happening. You can keep showing your lack of knowledge on this subject by keep posting or wait and see how this plays out. It might be a system wide change but there is no way to know at this point.

The FT wiki's have been updated by knowledgeable members to reflect what is going.
but if you raise your cash advance then your risking that it will charge as a ca and then incur all the fees that come long with ca

Offline ChaimMoskowitz

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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1736 on: October 03, 2014, 11:33:37 AM »
but if you raise your cash advance then your risking that it will charge as a ca and then incur all the fees that come long with ca
That is correct. That is why you let the n00bs at FT do the testing. This way they are good for something.  :)

Since we are on the subject of CA limits. Setting your CA limit to zero is not 100% protection from it still going through as a CA and being hit with a fee.
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Offline Don Will

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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1737 on: October 03, 2014, 11:41:43 AM »
How does that make sense if it's set at zero then it shouldn't go through

Offline ChaimMoskowitz

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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1738 on: October 03, 2014, 11:53:48 AM »
I don't use a CC to load Serve so I have no skin in the game. I tried to explain what can be going on. It seems I have failed so I will bow out gracefully.
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Offline mb1

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Re: Amex Serve.com
« Reply #1739 on: October 03, 2014, 12:05:26 PM »
I don't use a CC to load Serve so I have no skin in the game. I tried to explain what can be going on. It seems I have failed so I will bow out gracefully.
I hope you are not quitting DDF! ::)