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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-money in your Serve account can be withdrawn directly to a linked bank account, which, if done too much, may be seen as risky by Serve, but in moderation should be fine.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 1407963 times)

Offline Iz

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5180 on: January 06, 2016, 02:03:12 PM »
At a store like Rite Aid there are less cashiers and many transactions are overseen by the manager. If manager decides on a policy like cash only then that store is done. At WalMart or Target you could just go to the next register.
On the bright side, there are many more RAs than WMs.

Offline Barryg

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5181 on: January 06, 2016, 02:06:21 PM »
Once we are indulging in nostalgia,

If only Office Depot still sold vanilla reload for credit cards

If only you could still buy dollar coins with no fee

If only credit card purchases on American airlines cards still counted toward status

If only you could still apply for the united presidential plus card



If only ChaimMoskowitz was still a ddf'er...

Offline yochiek93

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5182 on: January 06, 2016, 03:01:27 PM »
If only ChaimMoskowitz was still a ddf'er...
He's still around, just keeping a low profile.

Offline PillanSmye

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5183 on: January 06, 2016, 11:26:12 PM »
Once we are indulging in nostalgia,
If only Office Depot still sold vanilla reload for credit cards
If only you could still buy dollar coins with no fee
If only credit card purchases on American airlines cards still counted toward status
If only you could still apply for the united presidential plus card

If only more of the 4% and 5% cards were available that you can only be grandfathered in with now.

Offline ariIs

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5184 on: January 07, 2016, 01:26:13 AM »

Second day, second RA. Used OV same story, system voided the transaction after debit was approved.

Brooklyn RAs may be hard coded to cash only.

There was another data point above reporting something similar.

Now I feel dumb for losing my BB checkbook.

Haven't gotten 1 successful RA load, and the whole point for me was easy Brooklyn loading.

:(

It has definitely gotten harder in bklyn, but I loaded 2 Vgcs this morning.
Had to find a good RA that still lets you do it.
One place told me 'we don't do any reloads at this location'.
Time to move to a less populated area :)

Offline ariIs

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5185 on: January 07, 2016, 01:29:02 AM »

At a store like Rite Aid there are less cashiers and many transactions are overseen by the manager. If manager decides on a policy like cash only then that store is done. At WalMart or Target you could just go to the next register.

Why do they care is what I don't get.
It's a debit card, they wouldn't get chargebacks, right? What do they lose by allowing debit or gcs?

Offline Tzvi s

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5186 on: January 07, 2016, 01:47:01 AM »
anybody know if there is a problem in serve registration? a few people i know never had any prepaid card with american express and got error message sorry unable to sign up thank you for your intrest in american express serve.

Offline Barryg

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5187 on: January 07, 2016, 01:05:40 PM »
Why do they care is what I don't get.
It's a debit card, they wouldn't get chargebacks, right? What do they lose by allowing debit or gcs?
Not saying that C'V anyone would do this, but hypothetically, if someone were to annoy a manager while loading a Serve card, it would prob. put all Serve loaders that look similar into the same boat.

Offline Aerial Dag

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5188 on: January 07, 2016, 01:22:42 PM »
Why do they care is what I don't get.
It's a debit card, they wouldn't get chargebacks, right? What do they lose by allowing debit or gcs?

Why wouldn't they get chargebacks for debit cards? You can report VGC as stolen.
One scenario: Steal a CC, buy a VGC, unload VGC for mo or Serve. Eventually VGC gets chargedback.
Basically any method that we use for MS can be used by criminals for nefarious activities.

Offline David Smith

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5189 on: January 07, 2016, 01:23:25 PM »
Why wouldn't they get chargebacks for debit cards? You can report VGC as stolen.
One scenario: Steal a CC, buy a VGC, unload VGC for mo or Serve. Eventually VGC gets chargedback.
Basically any method that we use for MS can be used by criminals for nefarious activities.
Gift cards don't have consumer protections. Why would it get charged back?
Who do you think you are fooling? You think you are going to pull a quick one on your Creator? Good luck with that.
JTZ

Offline Aerial Dag

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5190 on: January 07, 2016, 01:52:17 PM »
Gift cards don't have consumer protections. Why would it get charged back?

You can dispute charges on VGC
https://mygift.giftcardmall.com/Dispute

Offline stever

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5191 on: January 07, 2016, 05:55:29 PM »
have a $200 vanilla, 0/2 at random RA. 0/1 at only FD in town:(

Offline David Smith

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5192 on: January 07, 2016, 06:24:39 PM »
have a $200 vanilla, 0/2 at random RA. 0/1 at only FD in town:(
Does that mean it didn't work, or they didn't let you?
Who do you think you are fooling? You think you are going to pull a quick one on your Creator? Good luck with that.
JTZ

Offline stever

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5193 on: January 07, 2016, 06:29:57 PM »
Does that mean it didn't work, or they didn't let you?

no gc, only cash. and i have 7 staples card coming :'(

Offline David Smith

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5194 on: January 07, 2016, 06:31:15 PM »
no gc, only cash. and i have 7 staples card coming :'(
Do you live in a Jewish city?
Who do you think you are fooling? You think you are going to pull a quick one on your Creator? Good luck with that.
JTZ

Offline mochjas

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5195 on: January 07, 2016, 07:20:18 PM »
no gc, only cash. and i have 7 staples card coming :'(
are you telling them it's a giftcards it are you saying debit?

Offline stever

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5196 on: January 07, 2016, 07:32:30 PM »
are you telling them it's a giftcards it are you saying debit?

of course debit

Offline Aerial Dag

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5197 on: January 07, 2016, 07:56:44 PM »
I was just at RA and asked to load up my Serve card. Clerk said no problem but that they only accept debit cards for loads. I know he probably meant only debit as opposed to credit cards but it made me chuckle given the issues Brooklyn people are going through with cash only.

Offline gtyossi

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5198 on: January 08, 2016, 12:25:59 AM »
I was just at RA and asked to load up my Serve card. Clerk said no problem but that they only accept debit cards for loads. I know he probably meant only debit as opposed to credit cards but it made me chuckle given the issues Brooklyn people are going through with cash only.
Where?

Offline ual902

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Re: Amexserve/Softcard
« Reply #5199 on: January 08, 2016, 02:05:08 AM »
I see Serve has a feature to mail a check, can I have serve  mail a check to my business name which is the same as my serve mailing \ billing address?.

I know money in your Serve account can be withdrawn directly to a linked bank account, but do not want to risk of having my serve being shut down.