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Withdraw/Transfer Money from your Bluebird Card to your Bank Account

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Updated 2/22/14 at 8AM PST: Bluebird changed their website, so I revised this post to show the new graphics and steps.

In this post, I show you how to transfer money from your Bluebird account to your bank account.  The first thing you need to do is log into your Bluebird account.  Click the Settings link in the upper right corner.

Bluebird Home Page

Click the withdraw funds link toward the lower left corner.

Bluebird Settings Home

Click the Transfer to Bank button.

Bluebird Withdraw Funds

If you do not have a bank account linked to your Bluebird account, you will need to enter that information before continuing.  After you have a bank account linked, type the amount you want to transfer from your Bluebird account to your bank account, select the correct bank account from the drop down menu, and click Review.

Bluebird Transfer to Bank

Verify the amount you are transferring, enter you Bluebird PIN, and click Submit.

Bluebird Transfer to Bank Verify

Congratulations, you have successfully transferred money from your Bluebird account to your bank account.

Bluebird Transfer to Bank Complete

Back at your Bluebird home page, you will see that your balance has been updated and the pending withdraw is on the top of recent transactions.

Bluebird Home Pending Transfer to Bank

After a few days, you should see the funds deposited into your bank account.  If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.


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115 thoughts on “Withdraw/Transfer Money from your Bluebird Card to your Bank Account

  1. Pingback: Transfer Money from Bluebird to your Bank Account | Travel with Grant

  2. Brandon

    Is it possible to load $5,000 onto Bluebird, and then transfer all of it to a bank account within a few days, without any risk of getting shut down?

    Reply
      1. tim

        Hi Grant my daughters income tax check should be in the mail if she has a card on my account can it be deposited in my accout

        Reply
  3. Joy

    Can I use BB to make purchase online? will the amount be deducted from my BB balance directly? Is there any fees?
    From BB website:
    “How do I make in-store purchases?
    You can use your Bluebird Card virtually anywhere in the world that accepts American Express®. If a merchant asks you to choose between “credit” and “debit,” select “credit.” No PIN is required for in-store purchases.”

    Reply
    1. Grant

      Yes, you can make purchases online just like a normal credit card. When you are using the card in-store, you can enter a PIN or run the transaction as credit. Either option is fine.

      Reply
  4. KT Watkins

    Grant –
    can you use this method to add someone else’s account, so instead of writing a check I can just send them an ACH transfer?

    Which is similar to what I do at my current bank.

    Reply
  5. K Lane

    I have 14 thousand in my blue bird right now and I cant get it to transfer out because of this new “updated” blue bird this is very frustrating

    Reply
    1. Grant

      Have you tried bill pay? I didn’t think you could have more than $10,000 in your Bluebird account at one time. Is it all from Vanilla Reload Cards?

      Reply
  6. Lexie

    I am currently using my BB card as a savings (it was free and has no APR charging). I am setting a large amount off to the side and plan on withdrawing it whenever I am ready to use it, how would I get all of my cash back in my account?

    Reply
      1. Scott

        The website looks completely different from the screenshots you posted, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. For clarity, you now have to go to “Settings” first. Then look under “Funding and Transfers” for “Withdraw Funds.” Then “Transfer to Bank” and from that page you can transfer money from Bluebird to your linked (and verified) bank account. It’s not the most transparent way to do this and it took a lot of playing around with the site. It’s obvious to me that Bluebird wants to make it easy to out funds in and more difficult to get them out.

        Reply
        1. Grant

          I started working on updating some of the Bluebird pages to reflect the new graphics and steps last night. Should have most updated by tonight.

          Reply
    1. Grant

      Use Bluebird’s routing number and add that as a bank account in your PayPal account. Then from Bluebird, withdraw the money from Bluebird to your PayPal account. That should work.

      Reply
          1. Peter

            When moving money from BB to PayPal, the funds need to be “pushed” from one account to another. Each service responses best when you use their service to remove funds from that account. Set up your PayPal account as a bank account to withdraw to in BB and withdraw to it. You can also do it the other way too; BB calls it a Direct Deposit.

    1. Grant

      Add your TDAmeritrade account as a bank account in your Bluebird account. You need to get your TDAmeritrade routing info. You might have to call TDAmeritrade and ask for that. Or just transfer money from Bluebird to your bank account to your TDAmeritrade account. That might be easier.

      Reply
  7. josh

    If i have 6800 on my bluebird card can i add a bank account and get it all out or how muchshould i withdraw from there at a time?

    Reply
  8. AZ

    I did a direct withdrawal from Bluebird to Scottrade and after the deposit was complete and I executed a trade, Bluebird reversed the transaction forcing a margin call from my trading website. Any ideas why this happened?

    Reply
  9. Katherine

    Can I transfer money from my bluebird account onto my daughters money card that she purchased from walmart?

    Reply
  10. Tyronza

    I have a online store and for my transactions I use a merchant called Stripe they collect my payments by credit card and deposit in my bank can I give them my BB account info to transfer my funds from my store to my BB account?

    Reply
  11. Wo Ideafarm

    Is there a fee for sending money to another BB account? Are there any restrictions, i.e. can the money be sent as part of a commercial transaction?

    Reply
  12. Hollie

    I tried setting up my mortgage bill to pay TD Bank and when I enter “add payee” it prompts for me to put in my mortgage acct #. I get an error that my mortgage # should only be 5 or 9 digits long. I called Bluebird and they said that TD Bank may not accept payment from Amex. Have you had this issue? Help!!!

    Reply
  13. Jason

    Can I get someone to wire transfer me money from a
    Wells Fargo account to my blue bird account? Is that possible? Wire transfer from outside bank to bluebird account?

    Reply
  14. Tara

    Why can’t I transfer money to my linked debit? I can only load money to my bb card with this debit card? I need to pay my pud bill online but American express is very limited as payment source with a lot of businesses. It only accepts visa and mastercard. My linked debit is a visa but I’m unable to transfer funds to it with my bluebird. How come this is!!??

    Reply
  15. Greg

    I have a student refund card. I lost the card so i decided to put the funds into my bluebird account. Unfortunately the only way i can transfer money from my student card is through a wire. I set up the wire with my bluebird account using the bank name address and routing number. And my account number. I have sent the funds already and am unsure if bluebird will recognize the wire and allow it to post. Am i just being paranoid or does this method not work with bluebird?

    Reply
    1. Grant

      Hmm, I’ve never done that before. Wait a few days and see if the funds show up on your Bluebird Card. Hopefully they do. If not, you will have to contact Bluebird and your Student Card issuer and see where your money is at.

      Reply
  16. Cailyn

    How can I withdraw mywhole tax check off my bb card? I don’t have a bank account to transfer it to. I’m looking to buy a car and need the cash now.

    Reply
  17. Kristin G

    I have a question ! If I have a family member that normally transfers money once a month to me, would I give them the direct deposit info of just the account and routing numbers in order for them to transfer it from their bank ?

    Reply
    1. Grant

      If your family member can do ACH transfers, I think you would just need the bank routing number (or bank name) and your account number. If they have a Bluebird/Redbird/Serve card, they can just transfer the money to your account.

      Reply
      1. waffles

        How about if a friend wants tosend me money but only has a debit card no bank account nor bb card do i give them the routing number or card number?

        Reply
  18. rand steffens

    hello, is there any way to use BB just like a paypal card and accept payment from people that buy items from me, somehow? if not then do you know of any other thing that would allow me to accept payment from ppl online, besides paypal itself? and, on an unrelated note, i just now figured out how to acquire my BB Am Ex Centurion routing number so that i can use the BB card to make payments to credit card balance online. pretty cool.. TIA!

    Reply
    1. Grant

      You can use Bluebird to accept payments, they would just need to send money to the email address associated with your Bluebird Card. You could also use Google Wallet, but they charge a fee similar to PayPal.

      Reply
  19. Lauren

    My tax refund is getting deposited into my BB card and I’m going to buy a car but it says you can only withdrawal so much a day. Can I transfer $3,500 to my boyfriends bank account? Or will it cancel everything?

    Reply
  20. Quatangela

    I TRIED TO GO TO WALMART TO GET MY MONEY I NEED 3800 TO GET A CAR GETTING 300 A DAY FROM AN ATM IS NOT HELPFUL HOW CAN I GET MY MONEY??!!! NOWWWWWW

    Reply
  21. Rob

    Loaded bluebird with $2000 today and planning on another $2000 tomorrow to max it out before switching to Redbird (already did $1000 earlier this month). Can I load $2000 tomorrow, immediately withdraw $4000 to my bank account, close bluebird and open Redbird? Or is this unsafe?

    Reply
    1. Grant

      You should wait for the funds to clear your bank account before closing your Bluebird Card. I would wait 24 hours after closing your Bluebird Card before applying for a Redbird Card. Do you have a temp Redbird Card already?

      Reply
  22. Rob

    No, no temp Redbird yet… I ordered a $3000 Amex gift card yesterday to finish up the minimum spend on my new CSP with the intention of liquidating it directly onto Redbird to minimize cost, and thought I would max out Bluebird before I close it. Now I’m seeing that I might not be able to get rid of the Amex GC as quickly as I would like because of the time it takes to withdraw funds from bluebird to my bank account…

    Is it safe to load $4000 and then immediately withdraw it? Is there a way to move it out more quickly other than via billpay? I want to minimize using billpay because I like to keep my funding sources to a minimum.

    Reply
    1. Grant

      If you need a temp Redbird Card, I can connect you with my friend Nigel. I never withdraw my funds to my bank account, I only do bill pay, so I’m not sure what is safe.

      Reply
  23. Dring (@Elfdring)

    I am currently trying to link my Bluebird to my Simple Bank account so I can fund Simple with it. Have any of you tried this? Can you link and transfer money to your Simple Bank account using Bluebird?

    Reply
      1. Dring (@Elfdring)

        Hey, Grant I was indeed able to link Bluebird with Simple and the other way around but with no help from Bluebird customer service who was emphatic that it was not possible. AMEX really needs to train and retrain their agents because they know absolutely ZIP about Bluebird and its capabilities.

        Just did a $20 withdraw from Bluebird to Simple, hoping it goes thru without a hitch. I’ll report back if anything unusual happens :)

        Great site Grant, very helpful info!

        Reply
        1. Grant

          Bluebird/Serve/Redbird customer service is pathetic. Glad you figured it out on your own. The transfer should go through fine.

          Reply
  24. Jill

    My company is wiring a check that they forget to direct deposit. Not sure why it is not considered a regular direct deposit, but will a wire from my company get into my account ok? The direct deposit hit fine.

    Reply
        1. Grant

          I’m not sure you can add a bank account that is in someone else’s name to your Bluebird account. You could have Bluebird mail her a check though.

          Reply
    1. Grant

      No, you can only send money between permanent, personalized Bluebird Cards. You can only send money between Bluebird account by entering the recipient’s email address.

      Reply
  25. Jon stahl

    I have an acount online and so does he so we still cant send each other money, until we get our personalized cards?

    Reply
    1. Grant

      You can try to send money to his email address. It might work. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a temp Bluebird Card, so I don’t know if anything has changed. If it doesn’t work now, it should work as soon as you both activate your permanent cards.

      Reply
  26. Andrew

    Has anyone successfully received an incoming wire transfer from a third party bank using their Bluebird routing and account numbers? Even though the Bluebird routing and account numbers are used to receive incoming ACH/direct deposit transfers into your Bluebird account, I’m talking about receiving an incoming wire transfer (a wire transfer and an ACH /direct deposit transfer are two different things). Using the BlueBird routing and account numbers associated with each account, it may be possible to receive an incoming wire transfer—at least in theory. There is nothing in the Bluebird member agreement that states incoming wire transfers via this direct deposit account information is prohibited (at least nothing that I saw).

    Reply
    1. Grant

      Theoretically it should be possible to receive wire transfers into your Bluebird account. Just provide the routing and account number to the sender. I believe wire transfers are processed much faster than standard ACH transfers.

      Reply
        1. Grant

          I would think that wire transfers count toward the $5,000 monthly maximum, just like any other reload would. Are you trying to transfer more than $5,000 into one account?

          Reply
          1. Andrew

            Assuming that the incoming wire transfer is categorized as a cash reload, then yes, it would count toward the $5000 monthly cash limit. The question is how an incoming wire transfer would be categorized by Bluebird. Would it be considered a cash reload? A direct deposit? Funding from a checking/savings account? And this is all assuming that an incoming wire transfer is even permitted in the first place.

  27. brandy parrish

    I tried to do a post dated check (with authorization code) to pay a bill by phone and 3 times I was told the company (who I was paying) couldn’t verify the account. They except american express and I was able to use my card there but my checks were denied.

    Reply
  28. Eric

    I called customer service just now and he said the option to transfer money from your BB account to your Bank Account is not available. Maybe it was at one time Idk but I really wish it was possible I’m trying to think of a work around because I have a credit union and can’t deposit cash since there is not a branch neat me.

    Reply
    1. Grant

      You should be able to link a bank account (credit union accounts work too) and transfer money between each other. You can also write a check, get money from an ATM, or do a bill payment.

      Reply
    1. Andrew

      Take a look at the Bluebird terms and conditions:

      The Member may also return funds from the Member’s Bluebird Account to the Member’s Bank Account. By linking a Bank Account (i) you represent that you are the owner of the Bank Account and, if there are additional owners, you are authorized by them to withdraw or add funds and take all other actions required or permitted by this Agreement, and (ii) you provide the ACH Authorization and Agreement set forth below.

      From the ACH Authorization and Agreement:

      By supplying your Bank Account number(s) to us via the Bluebird Site or Bluebird Mobile Application in connection with your election to Add Funds to or withdraw money from your Account from time to time through a Bank Account, you provide this ACH Authorization and Agreement (“ACH Authorization and Agreement”) and certify and agree as follows: (i) you are the owner of the Bank Account(s) whose number(s) you have supplied and designated as an Add Funds Source for your Account, such Bank Account(s) is/are a consumer account(s) and you are authorized to make withdrawals from it/them and credits to it/them without the approval or participation of anyone else

      Reply
    2. Grant

      No, you will have to verify the bank account in your Bluebird account and since the names do not match, Bluebird would not approve the transfer. You can write a Bluebird check to someone though.

      Reply
  29. Scott

    Grant, great you’ve kept this post updated — and patiently respond to so many questions. I do have an observation. As much as I generally have been pleased with BlueBird, and much appreciate the option to have paper checks, the loading via Kate (when I’m near one), this transfer process of funds from Bluebird to my personal checking account remains terribly uncertain…. that is, in terms of timing. When you are paying a bill, you get a specific indication of when you can expect the payment to reach the intended recipient, and I’ve found that to be quite reliable. (down to just one day for payments on credit card bills) But when I’m transferring funds via the process you so neatly outline above, you get no firm or even vague idea of when the transfer will go through…. and this can be nerve wracking. My bank happens to be Wells Fargo — so it’s no small fry. But the delays can “go far”…. sometimes ten whole days of uncertainty. Sometimes two or three, but more often than not, a week or more… As such, I rarely use the feature any more — too unreliable. (and have no idea why) When in a pinch where timing matters, folks must instead go through the hassle of the cash withdrawals via an ATM, then deposit the cash to your bank. I suppose paper bb checks are an option too, but then you might get hit with a delay from your bank.

    Reply
    1. Grant

      Thank you for the data points, Scott. I only use the bill pay to pay my credit card bills, so payment usually posts within 1-2 business days.

      Reply
  30. Ama

    Hello. Grant, 1) Can i use Bluebird card for Amazon Mechanical Turk payment account? 2) Can i withdraw funds from Bluebird account to Paypal account ?

    Reply
    1. Grant

      I don’t know what an Amazon Mechanical Turk payment is, but you can transfer funds to your PayPal account by entering your PayPal routing info.

      Reply
  31. Valerie

    I’m Having My Federal Tax Refund Deposited To My Bluebird Card. I Don’t Have A Bank Account But I’m Planning On Getting One. Can I Deposit My Whole Check ($8,155) Into My Bank Account? And How Long Will It Take For It To Be Deposited?

    Reply

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