Tag Archives: Debit Cards

Some more American Express Serve Guides

AMEX Serve Logo

Some more American Express Serve Guides

Besides Easter Egg hunts this weekend, I have been busy working on some more guides for the American Express Serve Card.  I still have some more work to do, but here are all the finished posts:

AMEX Serve Current Posts

You can view them all by clicking on the AMEX Serve header and selecting a post.

I still need to work on the AMEX Serve home page, show how to use the Check Capture feature (perfect for $3.50 Staples rebate checks), and a bill pay post.  Do you have any posts that you want me to create?  Please let me know in the comments section below.  Have a great Monday everyone!

Free Money Program Updates: Bluebird Reloads, Great Bridge Group, Plink Points, and Orbitz Rewards (& Free Checked Bags)

Shopping Cart Money

Free Money Program Updates: Bluebird Reloads, Great Bridge Group, Plink Points, and Orbitz Rewards (& Free Checked Bags)

Tis the season for giving and all through the house internet browser, not a penny was wasted, not even a mouse (what rhymes with browser? schnauzer?).  All rhyming aside, these 4 free money opportunities are out there for you.  I’m sure you got your fix of Small Business Saturday $10 statement credits, $25 Amazon statement credits, and whatever else American Express offers are out there.  Here are some of the lesser known options:

1 – Earn up to 1.5% cash back on all Bluebird online reloads by using a PayPal Debit Card (not a PayPal Prepaid MasterCard).  In November, I earned $17.22 in cash back ($1,148 x 1.5% cash back = $17.22) – read here

PayPal Bluebird Cash Back

2 – Earn cash back from Great Bridge Group for providing “shopping data” to their marketing agency.  They pay 1/10th of 1%, so you earn 1 penny per $10 you charge… on everything.  You are going to spend money on your credit and debit cards, why not earn a little bit extra?  I get more cash back spending money than my brother gets saving his money in his Wells Fargo savings account.  So far I have earned $60.08.  How much have you earned? – read here

Great Bridge Group Update

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Calling Bluebird to Verify Debit Card and Bank Account Information

BB Card

Calling Bluebird to Verify Debit Card and Bank Account Information

If you have tried to load your Bluebird Card with a debit card online (see this post), you may have seen the following error messages.

BB Message

Recently I have started seeing this error message show up in my Bluebird account when I try to load my Bluebird Card with my PayPal Debit Card.  I called Bluebird customer service last night and they needed to verify some of my personal information and accounts.  They needed proof that my PayPal Debit Card was registered in my name and to my mailing address and some information with about my bank account.

When I called last night, they informed me that they would need to conference in PayPal and my bank (OC Credit Union).  Since PayPal is open 24/7 but my bank is open at 8am PST, they told me to call back in the morning.

This morning, I called the direct Bluebird account verification department (1-800-660-2454).  You do not get a friendly Bluebird customer service agent, but an agent that sounded similar to the American Express Financial Review department.  They speak very strictly, so you have to be on your game with all your accounts and numbers in order.

Anyways, after I called Bluebird this morning, the agent called PayPal and after a 10 minute hold, I was finally able to speak with the PayPal representative.  The PayPal representative was unable to find my PayPal Debit Card in PayPal’s system, even after giving her the entire 16 digit card number.  At that point, I could sense that the Bluebird agent was very skeptical of me.  I pushed the PayPal representative to double check and to log into my PayPal account and look at my current PayPal Debit Cards.  At that point, that PayPal representative was able to find my PayPal Debit Card and verify my name and mailing address.

One down and one to go.

Next, the Bluebird agent called my bank.  After a few minutes on hold, the Bluebird agent stated that she was able to verify my bank account information and she restored full access to my Bluebird account, including online debit card funding.  I attempted to load my Bluebird account with a $100 online reload and it worked perfectly.

BB Load

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.

A Bunch of Random Credit Card News

CCs

A Bunch of Random Credit Card News

On Thursday, Chase started issuing new Chase Sapphire Preferred credit cards with the new EMV (chip and signature).  To request your new card, call the number on the back of your current Chase Sapphire Preferred (no chip and signature for the Sapphire basic card).  They will UPS Next Day Air the card to you.  The account number, expiration date, and 3 digit CVV code on the back all stay the same.  Chip and Signature is slightly better than a regular magnetic strip card, but not nearly as good as true Chip and Pin.  Because the Chip does not contain a PIN, you will need to sign for every purchase with a signature, hence the name Chip and Signature.  In some cases, like train stations in Europe, the Chip and Signature card actually works when a normal credit card would not.  For example, in Amsterdam, my Chase Hyatt Credit Card (with Chip and Signature) worked in the train ticket machine when my Chase Sapphire Preferred card (pre Chip and Signature card) did not.  Also, since I recently downgraded to the Sapphire basic card, I am literally the only one in my house that doesn’t have the new Chip and Signature card :(

CSP Chip Sig

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PayPal now lets you Pay with Prepaid Debit Cards

PP_Logo

PayPal now lets you Pay with Prepaid Debit Cards

I was using PayPal over the weekend to do some shopping and noticed that new link in the right corner of the screen that said “Now accepting prepaid gift cards.”  I had never seen that before and was curious about the new feature.

Prepaid Gift Cards PayPal Home

Apparently, you can now add a prepaid gift (debit) card to PayPal and use it like a normal credit card to pay for things through PayPal.  I though PayPal verified your name and billing address when adding a card to your PayPal account, but this looks like that is not required anymore.

Prepaid Gift Cards PayPal

I am not sure how this matters to anyone, but thought I would share anyways.  There are lots of smart people out there who might find a way to benefit from this new feature.  If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.

P.S. – I am working on a post on how to get Amazon Prime membership for a fraction of the full price, how to get Amazon Prime for free, and how to make money with your Amazon Prime account, so stay tuned til after Halloween to  find out.

Also, I will show you how you can turn any hard drive into an external hard drive used for back up (it is a lot easier than you probably think).