October 29, 2012
Many people who live or work near well stocked Office Depot stores have been happily reaping the benefits of earning 5 points per dollar on all purchases through the trick I presented in the post “One card to rule them all.” Lately, with the arrival of American Express’ new Bluebird product, that trick has become even more profitable since it is now possible to earn 5X not just for credit transactions, but for bill payments as well! (see “Bluebird takes flight and changes the game“).
In order to play the 5X everywhere game, you need two things: you need a Chase Ink card (see “Considering and Reconsidering Ink“), and you need to be able to buy Vanilla Reload cards at an Office Depot store. The first is relatively easy [see "How to sign up for the Ink Bold (or Ink Plus)"]. The second can be a challenge.
While many of us have been happily buying Vanilla Reload cards as needed, many others have been seething on the sidelines. Some have no Office Depot stores anywhere near them. Some live in places where Office Depot doesn’t carry Vanilla Reload cards and/or seem to be always out of stock. These groups need a backup plan!
5X Backup Plan Overview
The key to this backup plan is that the American Express for Target prepaid card can be reloaded at Target cash registers using any credit card. Since Visa, MasterCard, and Amex gift cards can be used like credit cards, they can also be used to reload the Target Amex card. If you’re able to earn 5X (or more) by strategically buying bank gift cards (or prepaid cards), you can load those cards onto the Target Amex card. Then you will have the almost as good “one card to rule them all.”
Step 1: Get the American Express for Target card
In order to get the American Express for Target card, you need to go in person to a Target store that carries them. You can find those stores here. Unfortunately, finding the store is just half the battle. It can be surprisingly difficult to find this product in a store that carries it, and even then there are challenges to getting the card. For details of how to get the card, see “How to get the American Express for Target card.”
Note that the card that you buy at Target is just a temporary card and cannot be reloaded. You should wait for your permanent card to arrive before proceeding to the following steps.
Step 2: Buy bank gift cards or prepaid cards for extra points or cash back
If you’re unable to buy reload cards, Vanilla Visa cards are a great alternative. These can be loaded once at the register, up to $500, with a tacked on $4.95 fee. Here are some ideas for how to buy Vanilla Visa cards and other bank cards for extra points or cash back:
- Use a Chase Ink card to buy the Vanilla Visa card at Office Depot. You will earn 5X Ultimate Rewards points. Often, if Vanilla Reload cards are out of stock, it is still easy to find and buy Vanilla Visa cards.
- Use a Hilton HHonors Amex card to buy the Vanilla Visa card at a drug store, grocery store, or gas station. You will earn 6X Hilton HHonors points.
- Use a Blue Cash Preferred card to buy the Vanilla Visa card at any Grocery Store. You will earn 6% cash back (soon to be limited to $6K in purchases per year)
- Use any American Express business card with OPEN Savings to save almost 7% when buying Visa gift cards at OfficeMax (see “10% off everything and 7% off everything else“). Note that this trick is highly dependent upon your local OfficeMax allowing gift cards to be used to buy other gift cards.
Note: If you don’t understand the difference between Vanilla Reload cards and Vanilla Visa cards, please see the post “The many flavors of Vanilla.”
Step 3: Load the gift cards onto the Target Amex card
You have to go in person to Target to use credit cards or bank gift cards to reload your Target Amex card. Target charges $3 per load so the best value is to load the max allowed $1000 at a time. Don’t worry if your bank gift cards are in smaller denominations. The Target register is smart enough to drain the gift card and then ask for payment for the balance. I have successfully used as many as 5 forms of payment for a single load, and I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t do even more. Even when using multiple forms of payment to get to $1000 (really $1003, due to the load fee), the load fee is charged only once.
Just as an aside, it used to be possible to pay for the reload with Target gift cards, but in the past several months Target has been cracking down on this option. The last time I went to Target to reload, a big message appeared on the register that said that Target gift cards may not be used as payment for this transaction (or something like that).
Step 4: Use your Target Amex card (almost) everywhere
The main advantages of the Target Amex card over using individual gift cards are:
- Ability to make larger payments.
- No need to carry many different gift cards.
- Card is fully registered to your name and address and so it works well for online purchases (unlike Vanilla Visa cards which only allow registration of your zip code).
- ATM use. You can withdraw money at any ATM.
Unlike the Bluebird card and generic American Express Prepaid cards, though, the Target Amex card cannot be used outside the United States. Specifically, the FAQ states: “can not be used outside of the U.S., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.“
Fees
- When buying gift cards and prepaid cards there is usually a fee for each card. The best value is usually the highest denomination card available (e.g. $4.95 to buy a $500 Vanilla Visa card).
- Target charges $3 per reload in-store
- Amex charges $3 per ATM withdrawal after the first free withdrawal each month. Note that ATM owner fees apply as well. One good option for many are Costco ATMs which charge only $1.25 per withdrawal. You do not need to be a member to use their ATM.
Limits
- Number of cards: Each person is allowed up to two cards. Only one may be purchased in a day.
- Maximum balance: $2500 per card
- ATM withdrawals: Limited to $400 per day
Wrap Up
The backup plan described here isn’t quite as good as “One card to rule them all” and it is a far cry from what is now possible with Bluebird (“Bluebird takes flight and changes the game“), but it can be a good option for those who otherwise can’t play the 5X Everywhere game.
In addition to providing a 5X everywhere alternative, the Target Amex card has some other nifty uses. For example, I’ll follow-up soon with details of how best to use this card to meet credit card minimum spend requirements. Additionally, for those sitting on lots of bank gift cards (for whatever reason), the Target Amex card offers a pretty easy option for liquidating those cards!
Related Posts and Links
- How to sign up for the Ink Bold (or Ink Plus)
- How to get the American Express for Target card
- Using the Target Amex card to run up spend
- One card to rule them all
- Bluebird takes flight and changes the game
- Considering and Reconsidering Ink
- Where to buy Vanilla Reload Cards
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Do you know what is the atm withdrawal per month is? Also, I can reload this at any Target? (Even ones that do not sell this card)
Now you’re teaching me something.
Once again you prove that you are the undisputed King of Maximizing Points on Spend!
I sure wish the great state of North Carolina had this Amex. I could really do some serious mileage earning with this in my hands.
Thanks FM! Heading to Target today for yet another weapon in the arsenal!
Jebidiah: That’s a great question. I don’t know.
Lively: Great!
thegasguru: Thanks!
MileageUpdate: Darn. I didn’t notice that NC wasn’t on the list!
Preacher: You may want to wait until you’re armed with my “how to buy the target amex” post. Seriously.
Can you use a regular credit card to reload? I am assuming you can (because you can use gift cards to reload) but didn’t see it stated explicitly anywhere.
Thanks
“Preacher: You may want to wait until you’re armed with my “how to buy the target amex” post. Seriously.” — When is that post coming?
FM : I couldnt find any new information on ATM limits. Old limits are saying $400/month which makes this card pretty bad … anyway you can get new information? (Although I guess I could just call also)
chris: Yes, you can use a regular credit card to reload. It counts as a purchase.
Jebidiah: Tonight or tomorrow morning for that post. The only ATM limits are $400 per day.
Do you know if reloads with a CC (even AMEX CCs):
a) earn miles/points
b) count toward minimum spend
c) are not coded as cash advances?
Is so, on 1K reloads, you’re buying your point of choice for a mere 0.3cpp. Pretty good.
Sad…they don’t even offer them in Target’s home state of Minnesota
One might want to hurry on this one because it will not last long. I just sent a link to Amex and Target making them aware of this. They will not be accepting and GC’s very shortly. Don’t get stuck with all those GC’s. I will be doing this for all posts on this blog. Enjoy your day! P.S Chase and OD next on the list.
Preacher: a) yes; b) yes; c) correct; .3 cpp: not really. You need to factor in the cost to unload the card at atms
Jebidiah: Yes this card can be reloaded at any Target counter and also at any Target nationwide. Limit for loading is $2500 every 28 days. ATM withdrawal limits are $400 every 30 days. They charge $3 for 2nd withdrawal from ATMs.
Preacher: Yes every reload from a CC counts as a purchase and earns miles/points. Yes every transaction count towards min spend also. These transactions are not coded as cash advance.
You can buy this from a state where it is offered. I know a few people who picked it up when they were attending Chicago seminars and they have since then activated and used these.
Unfortunately Target does not allow to load these using a target gift cards any more. If you find a store where the registers are still not programmed you are in luck than.
When reloading at any target you are allowed to pay the reload fees ($3) using a target gift card and the rest amount of reload as any credit card or any bank card. In fact if you offer TGC, the counter takes the first $3 off and then will ask to pay with something else for the remaining amount.
joomba: Sorry to hear that!
DealKiller: Funny. I know there are people who think that I kill deals by writing about things like this, but I’m pretty sure that not a single deal I’ve ever posted has died because of my posts. I purposely held off on posting this one until the opportunity to use Target gift cards had died because I didn’t want to risk killing that deal. When people were buying target gift cards at 10% off and using them to buy more gift cards at 10% off, I didn’t write about that either until after that deal was done.
Kushal: What makes you say that ATM withdrawal limits are $400 every 30 days? $400 per day is the only limit I’ve seen
FrequentMiler: Yes I should have mentioned, $400 every 30 days without fees from Amex. If you are ready to pay $3 for each subsequent withdrawal you are allowed.
Sorry about the confusion.
Has anyone gotten an error message saying you are not old enough to get the Bluebird card when you register it? It must be a glitch that is going on because I tried calling and the wait time was over 10 minutes. Frustrating.
FM: Would it be possible to use the Amex Target card to load the bluebird?
Kushal: Thanks for your inputs. It was nice meeting you at the Chicago seminar!
It looks like for those who don’t have INK nor OD, this is EVEN a better deal in terms of meeting spend requirements (ignoring points earning and keeping it to
1 : 1 ratio ) as
1. No need to spend $3.95 or up to $5.95 for buying a prepaid Vanilla card via CC – instead use CC directly to fund the account and take a hit of only $3.00
Wondering if once loading the Target Card, I can drain it via “Service” card
??
Kushal: thanks for the clarification
Joe: I haven’t seen that. I assume you are, in fact, old enough?
AsanteSana: No, you can’t use the Target Amex to load Bluebird
david: Vanilla Reloads are still easier to convert back to cash, but yes this can be a great tool (more on that topic tomorrow). What do you mean by drain via a Service card? email me if you don’t want the idea public.
I love the ingenuity of your posts but for me the problem is still finding a place that will take a CC for gift cards. For example, I was trying to bank Hilton points so trying to buy Vanillas at gas stations, drugstores, and/or grocery stores. No place I have been to here in MN will allow the use of a CC to buy a gift card (vanillas, visas, etc).
I noticed that Bluebird provides you a routing number and account number when you try to set up direct deposit, can you use that to pay credit cards or rent online?
Allright !!!!
Frequent Miler, the ARBITRAGE king.
This seems like a lot of work and investment for not the best return. On average, one will spend between $450-500 annually for a 120,000 points (not counting the opportunity cost [which by the way is hands down the best thing about the eagle] in going to target and other stores and unloading the card.
Curious who has both IB and IP and has been successful in getting nearly 40k points/month? (20k each w 4k spend)? Debating whether I should add IP to the armemantarium.
Does Target allow you to use their own Target Red Card for the reload? If so, the card typically gives you 5% back immediately on your purchase. I’ve never tried purchasing a VISA/MC GC in target to see if I get 5% back for doing so. But I’m also wondering if reloading would net you 5% back.
Is this considered a prepaid card? I imagine its not PIN based?
The only downside to these cards is that they cannot be reloaded from ANY target. Only targets that sell the prepaid AMEX cards will allow you to reload them. At least that is my experience here in Utah.
@FM, there are a few Target stores near me that participate so I will check that out. I would recommend going to another office supply store besides Office Depot to buy the generic $500 prepaid cards. Maybe try Staples or Office Max so Chase sees you spread your spend across various stores.
.
I plan on buying gift cards at office supply stores (Ebay, Amazon, Groupon, etc) before buying more things online
^^ to take advantage of the Chase 5x, of course.
SpD – that was one of my original questions. If that is the case… ew.
Is there a fee to purchasing this card? Or do we have to pre-load when purchasing this card?
Sorry, fat finger hit enter too fast. I was wondering if I could pre-load max $1k while buying this card. I may have to hit it soon before hurricane hits us hard.
@ frequentmiler
Once I’ve reached 2500, spent it, can I load another 1000, or am I limited to 2500 per month.
James: I’m really surprised by that. Have you tried Walmart or Rite Aid? Sometimes its worth trying the same chain, but at a different location
Tao: I’m not sure if you’re asking whether you can use that same trick with the Target card or whether you can do that with Bluebird? My answers are: No, and probably.
JoC: Thanks!
Chimmy: great question. I don’t know the answer
Yo: Yes it is a prepaid card. It does have a PIN, but it can’t be used for debit transactions only for ATM withdrawals.
SpD: That’s too bad if true!
Grant: I haven’t seen $500 cards at Staples or OfficeMax, but maybe some branches carry them. Have you seen any?
jipjip: If I remember correctly, you just have to pay the initial $3 load fee. Once the permanent card arrives, any balance on the card is moved to the permanent card
jipjip: you can preload, but I don’t remember if they allow $1000 for the first load (I did $500).
JoC: I think you’re limited to $2500 per month overall
@FM – It is called collateral damage. You get things killed that you don’t even know about. If you knew more than the basics about these deals you would know what I am talking about. Hell you can’t even get this one right.
So I live in NC..assuming I go out of state to pick one up would I then be able to later on load it with visa GCs at my NC target stores?
Dealkiller: so, no one should ever publicly write or say anything for fear of killing a deal that they didn’t even know of? That’s a tough standard.
spiffy: kushal says yes, JpD says no. I think the jury is still out
Isn;t this the same as buying prepaid MC/Visa gift cards at grocery or pharma’s and using those as your main credit card? I struggle to find the reason why this is useful. Does it it have free billpay?
FM, do not feed trolling coupon clippers like dealkiller, they are just kids stealing wifi from their neighbors while living in their grandma’s basement.
I have it on good authority that if you attempt this scheme, Cardinal Fang will hunt you down, seize all of your credit cards, brand you with the scarlet letter, and subject you to public shaming in the town square.
FM, can you buy the amex target card from a state that sells it and reload it in a Target that does NOT sell the amex card?
can’t order the permanent one on amex site like bluecash?
how do we get permanent one?
i mean like bluebird, we can’t order online?
[...] Home › Frequent Flyer News › How to Get 5x Points with American Express for Target Prepaid Card [...]
troy: 1) it’s easier than carrying around lots of little credit cards; and 2) you can get money out of it via ATMs
FYI, the Cardinal Fang comment is getting stale. Semi funny the first time, but now just downright annoying. Please come up with something more original instead of regurgitating the same phrase used by AlohaDaveKennedy ad nauseam.
Clifford Kulas: I don’t know
VFTW: Yes, Bluebird can be ordered online. Just go to bluebird.com.
Netspend and paypower can be reloaded and used at atms. Ns and pp are no different than bb it appears to me. You can also feed ns/ pp into bb .
Are there other places where you can reload a bluebird card other than Walmart? Perhaps an online option? I currently live in Manhattan, and the nearest Walmart is in NJ, plus there is no guarantee it will accept credit cards for reloads.
man you rock!
DealKiller: Just out of curiosity, why are you doing that? I doubt your e-mail to Chase/OD can change anything, as they already know about it, but even if you succeed killing it, I just don’t understand why it would make you happy.
@troy — How do you reload netspend and paypower directly with a credit card?
Some grocery stores allow credit cards
@ FM
i don’t mean bluebird. I mean amex target prepaid card. why we can’t order permanent card online like we ordered bluebird?
VFTW: I don’t know why Amex doesn’t provide an option to order online
@wondering: If Chase/OD read FM’s post, there is no way they won’t shut it down. Mr. Dimon’s 100M salary can’t be jeopardized. FM is so kind sharing. He should be making $50M and all of us benefit from his idea should share the cost.
I found them at my local target. I was planning to get 2 (1 for me and 1 for my wife), but at the counter, I have to register the card right away with ID, SS#, DOB, PH#, so I am not sure how to get it for my wife then. So, end up with 1.
I loaded $100 with my amex prepaid.
now, waiting your next post on how to get this card the “right” way.
[...] The 5X everywhere backup plan [...]
CHRIS: Congrats on finding the card! A few minutes ago I published the post on how to buy them
FM: Would the surpass or the Hhonors cards generate the 6x points or 6% cash back at target (target has groceries)? That would be a good way to avoid the middle costly vanilla extract and directly load at target w one of those cards.
OK. Just went to Target before Hurrican got serious. The cards are only available in the center aisle. Took me 10min to find them. Only 1 aisle in the center had it where I live.
I loaded $500 with temp card. There is FREE $3 rebate but some of the cards didn’t have it. It look liked some1 stole it or something, not sure why. They ask for driver’s license, SS, and phone #. Not sure if they had to be real, but I gave real info.
I paid it with 2-$200 GC + AmEx card. Goes through np.
I then bought $50 gas with the temp card. Again np. Great card
. Now, how to get 5 more
FM: on the 1st initial load on your temporary card, is it $1000 limit?
It is 500 on initial load on the temp card.
Works for people who don’t ahve access to OD
Hi Frequent Miler, can you load $2000 in one day, just using 2 transactions? Or is the max $1000 per day? Thanks!
Yo: no, I don’t think so
.
Jenny: $1000 max per 24 hour period
Damn it! I was quietly working this deal myself. Had the same experience as you trying to find the cards – eventually had to get the manager who placed the cards on the floor – and even he had forgotten where the “lone” selection was located. After 15 minutes search, he finally located it.
And yes, the signup at the register is horrific if you aren’t prepared for The Inquisition in front over everyone. Don’t do it during a busy time or if you don’t have all the info at your fingertips. Luckily, the manager stuck around to guide the cashier thru the process – she got stuck halfway thru (rumbles from the line waiting) and w/out his help, the cashier would not have been able to do the transaction.
This is a decent replacement for the Ink/OD/VR methods, but since the Amex Blue is limited to $6K a year starting next year, not as lucrative. However, I can find Visa gift cards everywhere (local Safeway has em by the hundreds).
I actually like this setup better – Safeway and Target are only a few miles away, while my local WM are 15 miles…
I’m going to make a bold prediction for MMS’s October 30th headline:
“How to Use the Target Amex as a Backup Plan”
FM: can u confirm what @ troy says above about netspend and pp feeding bluebird?
Another great post!
Not sure there’s a lot of point to this one without a Chase Ink and 5X loads though. At $4.95 per VISA plus $3 at Target to load plus ATM fees you’re close to $10 for say $500 of load. $400 at the ATM gets you cash to pay the baby sitter and others who only take cash. And another $100 for some random Amex Target spend. But even at 6X on Hilton Surpass at a drug store, at .5 cents per point, the 3000 points you might get from this would only be worth 15 dollars, so you’re only very slightly ahead, and probably behind after you pay for gas let alone your time. Ditto for Chase UR Points at around 3 cents, slightly better if you value them at 4 cents, but still…
I think its great for hitting minimum spends though, especially the last month when you otherwise wouldn’t make it…
[...] The 5X everywhere backup plan [...]
B-Rad: Yes, it is possible to load bluebird from a Netspend or Paypal prepaid card. Any true debit card can be used in person at Walmart to load bluebird (up to $1K per day). And, any bank account that allows ACH transfers could be used to feed Bluebird online
Glenn: Agreed. I think the best uses are: 1) Ink 5X, or 2) running up spend (to hit minimums or high spend thresholds); People who visit Target regularly anyway, though, may find it worth doing Hilton 6X or cash back options too.
So let me get this straight. I can go to my grocery store and buy netspend prepaid at 6% cashback, go to walmart and with my netspend and bluebird and load my netspend $ onto my bluebird? Or how does that work? Because in effect, I would still earning 6% via bcp and use bluebird for spending? Do I understand this right? I thought only way to load bluebird for points was through vanilla…
If this is true, isn’t this just as lucrative as OD vanilla reloads?
FM, you said that regular Target shoppers might want to use Hilton AMEX 6x… Does that card get 6x at Target?
fM, just to be sure, the Vanilla Visa card you’re referring to is the Vanilla prepaid Visa (card is light inicolor with the dark squiggly smoke going through it) and not the gift card, correct?
FM, the vanilla visas that can be used to load this crd, are those the light gray ones with the dark smoke going through them?
FM: I scored another one last night for my wife, and this one has $3 off sticker in front. I loaded $300 into the 2nd one (vs $100 to mine).
I setup online for my $100 temporary card yesterday and today, I kind of plan around with the online account, there is a button for view my pin.
I need to confirmed my DOB, last for SS#, card security#, and later i got a pin number. I think this pin# is for temporary card. because, there is a wording there saying the pin will be different with the permanent card (or will be sent in mail with the permanent card).
So, you do can get pin#, but who why risk it?
can you buy netspend with creditcard?
BTW I think the bonus category on the HIlton AMEX is 6x for grocery and gas but only 3x for drugstore. I could be wrong tho.
“Don’t worry if your bank gift cards are in smaller denominations. The Target register is smart enough to drain the gift card and then ask for payment for the balance. I have successfully used as many as 5 forms of payment for a single load, and I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t do even more.”
Now I wonder what the hard limit is for number of forms of payment at Target. I have many rebate Amex/Visa cards that are in small denominations and would like to consolidate to Target Amex. I know Walmart has a 5 credit card limit, then must pay with debit or cash. Wondering if Target is the same? Anyone have experience?
So there is some conflicting information. Anyone know if you can load cards at a target that do not sell the reload card?
Closest target that sells the card is like an hour away. Local target is like 5-10 minute. I will travel to buy … but not to load
So if I have the SPG American Express business card, I can purchase 2 $500 Visa Gift Cards from OfficeMax and get 10% off (minus gift cards fee). Then I can load the gift cards that i purchased at OfficeMax onto the Target Amex card, correct? Thank you!
@Joan How will you get the 10% off?
B-Rad: No, you need a permanent Netspend card to load bluebird at the Walmart register. The Netspend card you can buy at a grocery store is a temporary one without a pin for debit transactions.
Dave: No, Hilton Amex does not get 6X at Target. The idea is to use the Hilton Amex at a grocery store or drug store to buy visa gift cards. You’ll get 6X that way. Then load the gift cards onto the Target card at Target
Dave: There are many different Vanilla Visa prepaid cards and gift cards. Any of them will work. you don’t even need Vanilla cards — that’s just an example. Get any Amex, Visa, or MC prepaid card or gift card. Just make sure you get one that has low fees relative to the overall value of the card. For example, if the card is worth $500 with $4.95 fee, then you are paying only 1%, but if you pay the same fee for a $100 card, you are paying 5%.
CHRIS: that’s interesting that you found a PIN. I don’t think it will work with the temporary card, but it would be very interesting to find out.
Vicky: 6X at drugstores too (but only certain drugstores)
Ted F: I don’t think there is a limit, but I would be interested to hear from others
Jebidiah: We’re still waiting to get more info from readers about that. So far we’ve heard conflicting info.
Joan: Yes, sort of. Use that card online to buy more than $250 worth of OfficeMax gift cards and you’ll get 10% back. Then, go to OfficeMax to buy Visa or MC gift cards. The most biggest value cards they have at my local store are $200 each. Use your OfficeMax gift cards to pay. Big caveat: some officeMax stores do not allow buying gift cards with gift cards.
Cardmember agreement online states ATM use of up to $400 per card per day, however the folded cardmember agreemennt enclosed in the package states only “up to $200 per week” ! Haven’t used it at an ATM yet.
FM: yupe i got a pin#, if you play around with your online account, you can aquire a pin#, but not too clear if that for temporary card or permanent card, but there is a wording there that your permanent card will arrive and the pin that i generate will not work with that permanent card. So, I assume that pin is only for the temporary card, not permanent one.
I only load $100 in there, so i dont really want to try to waste my 1x withdraw to take out $20 out.
$400 seems to be the daily limit, even with the temp card. I wonder why the inserted cardmember agreement says $200 per week ???
PatMike: I assume that the written $200 limit was an error or left over from an old version of the card
Frequent Miler, you say in your post that the Target registers are “smart” enough to ask for additional payment when using a gift card that isn’t high enough to pay for the entire reload amount. Can you confirm that their registers have this ability both when paying with Amex gift cards and Visa gift cards–or did you just try one type of gift card?
I’ve had no luck finding a gas station that sells Vanilla Reloads. What has station have you found?
Milezjunkie: I haven’t personally found them in gas stations, but I have heard from others who have. I don’t know which stations.
&FM – Sorry for the delay in dialogue, but…I go to grocery store and get netspend temp card, load the temp card $ onto permanent netspend card. Take perm netspend card to walmart with bluebird and load bluebird from perm netspend card? A few steps, but I am still get 6% from grocery on bcp, or am I missing a step or misunderstanding. Any drawbacks or cautions I should be aware of in doing this? Trying to figure out a way to fund bluebird while earning points…
Thanks.
B-Rad: I suppose that would work, but I don’t know if you can get more than one permanent NetSpend card at a time, and I doubt you can move the money from multiple temp NetSpend cards to a single permanent one. So, I think that to do what you have in mind you would have to 1) get the temp card; 2) order the permanent card; 3) wait for it to arrive; 4) load the money to BB; 5) cancel permanent card; 6) repeat steps 1-5. If I’m right, it sounds like a lot of work!
FM: Would this type of plan work with green dot or paypower?
B-Rad: Yes, if you can find a place where you can buy MoneyPaks or Reloadit cards with a credit card then your plan would work.
Can you go to any Target and reload your Target amex card. There are no Target stores close to me that sell the card, there is a store 45 min away. My thought is to drive and pick up the card, than go to the local target to reload it…..thoughts
Hi, I just activated my Target AMEX account and noticed that if I click on the “set up DD” link, there’s a routing number and account number, just like with BB. Couldn’t I use this to pay credit card bills like you can with BB?
tfranke: I’m hoping someone will try this soon and report back, but so far I haven’t heard.
.
Dave: I don’t think that would work, but if you want to try it and report back that would be great
[...] via social media promotions, Small Business Saturday, and other occasions. Thank you too for your Target and Campus Edition cards. But mostly, thank you for Bluebird. What a terrific gift that [...]
Is $400 ATM withdraw per week for one card or two?
karen: I believe that the ATM limit is $400 per day per card
I spoke with amex this am. The cus service rep told me that the target card can be reloaded at any Target, even ones not appearing list of locations selling the card.
[...] 7. Use the American Express for Target Prepaid Card. How to get: Go into a Target store that carries the American Express For Target card, which can be found here. Once you have it, you can load it using debit or prepaid gift cards at $3 a load. There are also fees to use ATMs and limits, so I personally don’t use this product, but Frequent Miler did a great write up of the basics here. [...]
[...] 7. Use the American Express for Target Prepaid Card. How to get: Go into a Target store that carries the American Express For Target card, which can be found here. Once you have it, you can load it using debit or prepaid gift cards at $3 a load. There are also fees to use ATMs and limits, so I personally don’t use this product, but Frequent Miler did a great write up of the basics here. [...]
Quick update after using these for a month and a bit.
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I got 2 of these, 1 a week after the other. Got the permanent cards in the main about 8 days after activating online. Paid for both with $500 GC plus an additional GC for the $3 load fee.
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The daily ATM is $400 per card.
You can put $1k per day per card. (so $2k per day if you have 2 cards.)
Paying with multiple GC isn’t an issue, although they ask for the last 4 numbers of the card for each card as a security check.
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The key trigger for loading limits is max $5k between the cards per 28 days on a rolling basis. ie. I waited 28 days after getting the 2nd temporary card to start a new set of reloads for this month. I could load $1k onto the first but nothing on the 2nd. This means the ‘allowance’ for loading comes from each reload date and is not simply fully reset each month. 28 days after each reload payment this amount is subtracted from the $5k max load balance. Therefore I have to wait until 28 days since I did my first permanent card reload to add more.
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Advice is – keep track of your reload dates and amounts.
russell: Great info, thanks! Do you know the answer to this: if you have two cards, could you load one to $3K and the other to $2K? Or load one to $5K and the other to $0?
Haven’t tried it, but based on the T&C you should only be able to load $2.5 max on any 1 card in a 28 day period unless you load by direct debit.
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However if you carried over $500 from a month prior I don’t know if you could then add $2.5k on each and exceed the $5k max balance. I’ll discover this later this month. .
In general with these cards I do my Costco spend (at least 1/week) and use their ATM for the very low fee. Though I do fee odd using 2 cards and pulling $800 at a time. Really glad that my bank’s ATM’s accept cash deposits!
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General AMEX ATM query – on their site they highlight free ATM withdrawals using WorldPay ATMS from say US Bank, but every time I’ve tried this I get hit with a $3 charge. Have you had the same experience? This has been true for AMEX prepaid, AMEX Campus and Target AMEX.
Update.
You actually have to wait until the 29th day to reload.
You can load $3k on to 1 card and $2k on the other. Haven’t tried any other combinations as it more efficient for me to load both cards $1k at the same time at the same store visit (though I usually have to walk the teller through how to do it – especially as I pay with 2+ GC).
@russell I have one AMex Target Card:
Here is my deposit loads:
11/1/12: $400
11/14/12: $1000
11/17/12: $1000
12/7/12: $1000
12/11/12: $1000
So according to your theory. I shouldnt have been able to load $1000 on 12/11/12.
Just curious. I thought we could just load, drain, load, drain.
I had an issue trying to reload 1K with two $500 GC, or may be the target associate didnt know what he was doing! since GC hold $500, he said i have to pay $3 load fee twice $497 each load. Now I know ppl have loaded $1K with two GC and just paying $997 from two GC, but how? What do I tell the associate in order to do $1K. I know this sounds like a stupid question.
Adnan: In my experience, I simply do the following:
1. Tell the cashier I want to load $1,000 onto the card
2. If they don’t know what to do, I tell them to swipe the card on the swiper connected to the right side of the register
3. On the customer facing display I swipe my first gift card, and select credit.
4. Show the card to the cashier.
5. The register automatically drains the gift card and then asks for the rest of the payment
6. Swipe the next gift card
etc.
Do you know how many permanent cards can you carry at a time?
Do you know if one can use the Target REDcard to purchase (and reload) this prepaid? If so, that is 5% cash back right there!
aegt: two
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ET: I think they’re smart enough not to give 5% for that, but please feel free to try it and let us know!
Hmm. I’d been successful with this strategy before, but today when I attempted to load my Amex Target card with Amex gift cards, two different cashiers attempted and failed… pointing out to me the error message, “Invalid payment instrument” or something like that. The second cashier insisted that Target does not permit the use of gift cards to load up their Amex Target :\
Adam: How much time went by between buying the Amex gift cards and trying to use them to load the Target Amex card? it seems that sometimes the activation takes a while
Ah, that’s an interesting point, and one I hadn’t thought of. I had *just* bought them 30 minutes earlier at Office Depot. I did call the number on the back of the cards and it seemed that the balance was available, though :\
Successfully loaded Amex prepaid from od to target Amex. $500
Webazoid: Sweet. Thanks for the update
Today i went to a target and tried to load my target for amex with visa gift card and credit card. But target register declined and cashier told me i can’t use visa gift card nor credit card for reload. Anyone hit same issue recently?
thx
Has anyone tried to do a cash advance off the Amex for Target?
allan: That stinks. I haven’t seen that, but its been a while since I’ve loaded.
Mark: I’ve been wondering the same. Time for an experiment…
I just loaded my AMX Target yesterday with 2 gift cards and loaded just fine.
Will you get a hard pull when you apply this one?
goals^n^dreams: No, you won’t get a hard pull
The card is not available in Kansas. If I buy it in another state, is it loadable in Kansas. Basically, is this card loadable in stores that don’t sell it?
benji: Yes, many others have reported success doing that
Can we use the Target Amex with Amazon Payments?
Ken: Yes.
I loaded 6 $50 mastercard gift card, 1 $25 amex gift card, and the rest on Hilton HHonor Amex for a total of $1000. They all worked.
David: Great!
Can you unload the AMEX GC from Big Crums on this Target AMEX?
Luchex: Yes
David
How much did you pay for activation fees?