Poll: Do you Manufacture Spend when you Travel?
Based on the responses from my recent poll (voting still open), it seems like this is a pretty popular topic. I think I may have misled you with the question; I was more interested in seeing if most people do manufacture spending while they travel, either for work or while on vacation. Since it is an interesting topic, I will share my view on MS while traveling.
The topic comes up frequently at travel conferences, especially at FTU events and the Chicago Seminars. Last year when the FTU was held in Tampa, Florida, I remember hearing many people visit the CVS close to the host hotel to load up on Vanilla Reload Cards ($5,000 at a time). Of course this happens often, but it is talked about less frequently.
I always find it fascinating when I travel, especially internationally, and I see some of my favorite stores abroad. During my trip to Cabo San Lucas a few weeks ago, I recalled passing two Office Depot stores and an Office Max store. I did not get a chance to go inside any of those stores, but it would have been interesting to see what their gift card rack looked like. Since there are many international Walmarts and Super Walmarts, I have always wondered if they have a similar Money Center with the ability to load Serve or Bluebird. Has anyone checked these out?
Granted, manufactured spending is much easier and more available in the US, but it would be interesting to hear if there is any similar MS going on outside the US. I personally *do not* MS away from home for a few reasons:
- I have so many MS opportunities near my home that there is really no reason to MS outside my local area (you may be in the opposite boat though).
- If you have a regular MS routine, the stores/cashiers/managers you see weekly recognize you and trust you (hopefully). When you travel, it may be hard to convince the new store/cashier/manager to allow you to make the same purchase that you normally do.
- If you have problems using the gift cards or reloadable cards you purchased while traveling, you may have to return to that specific store to resolve the issue (this is probably my biggest worry).
- The credit card companies may be suspicious of large purchases made outside of your local area and freeze your account until they can verify it was you making the charges (usually a simple call before traveling is enough).
- Lastly, when I travel, I try to enjoy myself and not have to worry about MS “work” taking away time from my vacation (weak argument, but still true).
With all that said, I want to hear what you guys think:
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone!
P.S. I am working on my next post regarding my strange Chase Ink Plus approval after closing my Chase Ink Bold. Stay tuned!
P.P.S. I am a hypocrite. Frequent Miler just posted a deal (link) for a $20 Staples gift card after purchasing more than $300 in MasterCard gift cards (offer starts this Sunday). Since I will be up in Seattle this weekend, I will try to stop by Staples for some “souvenirs”.
One of my favorite vacations was Maui last October. Not only did we have a fabulous week on island time, but I also came away with $10,000+ in VRs from Long’s Drugs (they haven’t let CVS take over on Maui!!). I was in heaven.
We used to have Long’s Drugs in SoCal as well, but not anymore. Glad you loaded up for your trip back to the mainland.
I would agree with Lauren. When doing domestic travel, it’s interesting to check out the manufactured spending opportunities in different parts of the US. I’m originally from San Jose, CA, and I now go to college in Tuscaloosa, AL. Two opportunities I found are free Green Dot prepaid cards and free Rush cards at Rite Aid. Also, in Tuscaloosa, I found that they have money orders at K-Mart and Publix. So, those are both good back-up options in case Walmart ever stops allowing gift cards at the Money Center. Also, I haven’t tried it yet, but I thought I saw Vanilla Reloads at Kangaroo Express. Are there any manufactured spending opportunities unique to Orange County?
It would be cool to see you, Grant, or another blogger do a cross-country road trip, and explore the manufactured spending opportunities in different regions of the US. Once I get the chance, I would definitely want to try that someday.
Thank you for sharing. In OC, the only think unique is the fact that there are several CVS, Walmart, Target, Office Depot, and Staples stores nearby. That’s about it, no secret MS cards that I know of though.
its hard enough to MS at home, running around like a headless chicken, while traveling its even harder. the opportunity to buy at different locations are sometimes hit and miss on travels but the unloading that is even harder to do while on the road
I am in the same boat as you in that I have I have so many MS opportunities at home that I would not need to do it while traveling. The only exception would be if I could find a place that would allow me to purchase Vanilla Reloads with credit cards.
Unless you have a time machine, it is going to be hard to find a place that has Vanilla Reload Cards. My fingers are crossed that VRCs become available with credit cards from another retailer.
VR are on cash/debit only are hard coded on Longs or on CVS or there is just a Memo that says so?
I haven’t tried to buy a VRC at Longs, but CVS should have them hard coded.