Note: On January 8, 2016 American Express sent out a notice to a large number of Bluebird & Serve cardholders informing them that loading capabilities on their accounts had been terminated. For more information, see: Amex kills Bluebird and Serve for manufactured spend
American Express updated the Bluebird Member Agreement today (July 1, 2014). Previously, each account was limited to $1000 per day of “cash reloads” (these are reloads via Vanilla Reload cards or at via debit cards at Walmart). The new limit is now $2500. The $5000 per month limit is still in place.
The double asterisk on the $2,500 per day limit states: **Up to $1,999.99 per day at Walmart registers.
I think that the big win here is for those who load Bluebird at Walmart and can now make fewer trips. No word yet on whether Amex will make a similar enhancement to the Serve card.
UPDATE: Serve also has this new $2,500 limit. The Serve User Agreement now says:
…no more than US$2,500.00 may be loaded to your Account using a Green Dot MoneyPak or Vanilla Reload in any one day.
Hat Tip: Paul
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All customer reps @my WG do not allow loading from nameless GC. Only debit cards with one’s name on it..what’s up with that?? Also the kiosk states the limit as 1K to any BB card… Any advice on the subject? thanks
@Greg The Frequent Miler
can i use my CC to fund someone else’s serve?
account got suspended.
any ideas please?
thanks
Probably. You would have to get an authorized user credit card for the other person to match the name on their Serve account.
Can someone please tell me which icon you use to load Serve? I have done bluebird easliy as there is a specific bluebird icon, but I am not sure which one to use for Serve.
Thank you
it’s the same one
@Greg The Frequent Miler
any disadvantage to loading serve with moneypaks vs. VRs(if you can find them)?
thanks!
Yes, there are a couple of disadvantages:
1. MoneyPaks cost more ($4.95 vs. $3.95)
2. If you load too many, GreenDot will stop allowing you to load MoneyPaks to that particular Serve card. I don’t know how many is too many.
[…] Thanks to the Frequent Miler who posted about this change. […]
[…] Hat tip to Frequent Miler […]
to answer my own question: I went today and loaded $2,000 at the MC and then the kiosk was actually working so I tried another $500 there and it loaded so I guess the $1999.99 is to address the velocity lock on the kiosk at that number but more can be loaded if you do it at least some at the register.
Thanks, Seth. Sorry, I guess somehow I missed your post… Will try to get back on tack soonest! THANKS for all the help!
I have had a similar experience – loaded $1,500 on the kiosk and $1,000 with a cashier, so $2,500 Bluebird load per trip to Walmart. Sweet!!!
I am not getting the daily blog posts in my email, I think I have mistakenly added that email address to my blocked list. Can someone please post the email that the daily blog comes from, I want to ensure I remove the right one. Thanks.
I came to the hobby at the wrong time (when WM shut the usual Bluebird reload routine) and have been a bit traumatized since, so probably back to basics… How do I reload Bluebird now? What is the simpler path to manufacture miles/point with my CC via Bluebird? Any quick help for a traumatized beginner at this?
[…] Bluebird and Serve increases daily load limit to $2,500. By Frequent Miler. A welcome move nevertheless. […]
Tim- my staples only sells 50-100-200 denominated visa gift cards. I have only had luck loading those issued by metabank. So, i only buy these.
If anybody else has had luck with other cards available at Staples- please let the board know.
I too use the $200 Staples Metabank variety and have yet to have a WM cashier say anything. I tell them up front that I have 5 $200 transactions to load and they go along with it. Announcing I now have 10 transactions should be a joy!
Would it not be possible to buy $500 Visa gift cards at Staples/Office Max with the 5X office supply category bonus with Chase Ink/Bold to reload BB at Walmart?
*** This was supposed to be a reply to Jeff in a previous thread.
Well – the kiosk may get suspicious :).
I am going to load via the kiosk $1999.99 to my Bluebird, walk around for awhile then come back and load $1999.99 to my husband’s card. This will take the number of trips to Walmart down from 5 to 3 and on the last trip I should be able to load without the waiting – I really hate going in there.
Well – the kiosk may get suspicious :).
I am going to load via the kiosk $1999.99 to my Bluebird, walk around for awhile then come back and load $1999.99 to my husband’s card. This will take the number of trips to Walmart down from 5 to 3 and on the last trip I should be able to load without the waiting – I really hate going in there.
I’m confused about the $2500 fording and the $1999.99 limit. Can I do a full $2500 if I use the money center or kiosk but only $1999 if I use the register? Is the limit $2500 at all of the other places you can load but Walmart limits it to $1999?
Re Aks: I just loaded two Metabank visa GCs from Ofc Max using WM kiosk yesterday. Worked fine. You can use the last 4 digits of the GC as the PIN, or you can reset the PIN at go wallet.com. Either way works for me.
[…] Bluebird increases daily load limit to $2500 per day. It can now be loaded up to $1,999.99 per day at Walmart registers, cutting required Walmart visits in half. […]
I tried loading MetaBank visa debit card (from OfficeMax deal) on WM kate. But after putting 4 digit pin, i get prompt for 9 digit pin. I tried both Blue Bird and Rapid Reload option on kate. am i missing something?
This just keeps getting better and better. I’ve avoided the WM option, as it is the longest driving tactic for me, but these developments are changing the game for me. Thanks for sharing.
Was able to load $2500 to BB today at the kiosk. Did that as $1500, take a walk around the store and get stuff, then load $1000 fifteen minutes later.
That’s not suspicious at all…
It’s a kiosk, having a hard time seeing how this any more suspicious than doing what we do generally.
Thanks to you guys I grabbed another $2k from my local simon mall today, and I was able to load $1999.99 onto my Bluebird at walmart. What I encountered the other day must have been a fluke denial.
Loaded 3 cards an hour ago. The CSR cannot do more than 1k so she did 1k and then, 999.99. This worked for all the cards. I did not try 2500.00 as I thought that was just for KATE and I do not have any WMs that have KATE anywhere near me,
I am so happy I do not have to go to WM as often, I hate that place.
I don’t see clear information regarding how many swipes Wal-Mart will accept. The kiosk at my local Wal-Mart seems to always be closed. So I usually load at a cash register. In the past, when the load limit was 1K per day, the swipe limit was 3 debit card swipes. Most VISA and MC debit cards come in $500 denominations. So when using the register (or the Money Center), will we now be able to make more than 3 debit card swipes? If I can do 4 swipes, I could do 500 + 500 + 500 + 499.99. If the swipe limit at the register is still 3 swipes per day, that would mean 500 + 500 + 500 for me. (This is going to drive the cashiers crazy – some of them already have a hissy fit when I say I want to load 500 + 500.)
[…] Frequent Miler first reported yesterday that American Express has raised the daily load limit on both Bluebird & Serve cards from $1,000 to $2,500 (With a maximum of $1,999 per day at Walmart registers). Unfortunately the monthly limit is still $5,000 so this only helps to reduce the overall number of trips to Walmart. It is still a positive development. […]
[…] to Frequentmiler, the daily load limit for the American Express Bluebird and Serve card has increased from $1,000 […]
I loaded 2k with Simon cards June 30 as well.
This was supposed to be a reply to Fred above.
[…] just learned from Frequent Miler that Bluebird has changed its terms and conditions yesterday to increase the daily load limit. Up […]
For those that have done this, have you been able to use the kiosk at the money center to swipe more than $1,000 without the intervention of a Helpful Smile?
This is awesome. Monday night I tried my first deposit at money machine. The closest Walmart with a machine is still out of the way, so this will be perfect and should reduce my planned trips to just 2.
Am I the only one that thinks this is terrible news? Likely a matter of time before clerks will get fed up with customers holding up their lines to do 4 swipes at a time for however many BB/Serves they hold, and walmart puts the kabosh on this too.
I agree…unless they reconfig the machines, this will be another nail.
In addition to grocery stores, you can buy Metabank Visa GC’s through GCM as well using AMEX GC’s that you bought through a cash back site!
I have used Metabank GCs to reload BB at WM. I can get them at grocery stores. But I wonder if anyone knows where $500 Visa GCs that work at WM can be bought at gas stations using credit cards for use w/ Freedom and Discover this quarter. Thx.
I can verify that I can load $2500 per day to BB. I did it this morning.
@ Edward. Can you please tell us which cards you used and how did your reloads. Seems like Vanilla visa dont work anymore.
Yes, Edward, please explain more please!
Can someone please provide info on which visa gift cards from CVS or other places are still working at walmart for reloads. Seems like the Vanilla Visa from CVS are no longer working at Walmart for reloads to Bluebird. Thanks
Any Visa/MC cards that are not branded as Vanilla should work
For those that loaded $1999.99 at a kiosk, did a WM employee have to come assist after you loaded $1,000 or did it work fine loading the full amount without intervention?
I have a BB for me, and one for my wife. I have tried to apply for a Serve, but the application has been pending for two months; apparently you cannot have both.
Is there a way to get both the Serve and the BB?
Should I drop one BB and get a Serve…or switch both?
Is there a way to do so fairly easily w/ a call to AMEX?
You can only have one or the other. The way to switch is to call and cancel one, then buy a temporary card of the other one, try to register it with a different email address, get an error, then call for resolution, then spend hours on hold.
You can only have one or the other. The way to switch is to call and cancel one, then buy a temporary card of the other one, try to register it with a different email address, get an error, then call for resolution, then spend hours on hold.
@Fred I loaded $1000 using Simon giftcards last weekend at Walmart to my BlueBird with no problem.
Are there more types of Vanilla or other reloadable cards that can be loaded to Bluebird than to Serve or are they the same?
What’s the monthly limit on Serve loading? (I do $1000/month on a credit card), but haven’t ventured into Vanilla or other reloadable cards.
Can you load serve card online or does it have to be done at Walmart?
Any fees to load Serve?
Serve and Bluebird have nearly identical limits and features. Serve does have a few advantages:
-can be loaded online via credit card (up to $1k per month or $1.5k w Isis)
-can be loaded with MoneyPak cards as well as vanilla reloads
Anywhere to buy moneypak or vanilla reloads online (that can later be loaded to serve online) and get 5x, 3x, or 2x category bonuses? I have a couple dozen credit cards between the wife and I.
No, unfortunately, you can’t buy these online at all let alone with a category bonus.
FM, that $1999 limit at Walmart comes from the Walmart \compliance limit\. Basically if someone in front of you loads a thousand (or more), then you come up and try to load your thousand, the machine locks up and notifies a store employee. They have to put a password in to let you keep going. It’s been there for a long time, well before this happened today.
Surely Walmart will change that limit now that BB has changed theirs? Keep an eye out for us on news, will you?
Yeah, I’ve experienced that pain.
I was wondering this same thing since I load up my Bluebird and my wife’s Bluebird. Once I get to the 4th $500 gift card, the kiosk locks up. Would be nice to know how this new policy affects that.
It’s always been like that. So, on your 4th card, you can do $499 to avoid asking a walmart associate to help you out. Then wait 10 minutes before you start loading again.
I tried loading a simon gift card a few days ago at Walmart Kiosk and the register and they both failed. I had to call simon customer service to get my funds released again as they were approved for walmart, then walmart reversed the charges. Very weird.
Has anyone had luck loading Simon gift cards in the last couple of days? Maybe I just had bad luck?
On Jun.30 night in CA the simon gift card is still working fine. I guess it’s just bad luck.
I loaded Simon cards at a Walmart Kiosk on July 1 – my first time actually. Be sure to hit the “Reload” button below the “Bluebird” button to load the funds. Not the best user interface, but that’s how they have it programmed.
Could you please expand on when you hit the reload button?
You do this at the very beginning?
I have never been able to download to BB at a machine and have read every blog i could find to see what i was missing.
Could you explain how you were able to load them. Thanks
Just to clarify, I loaded 1999.99 because I thought that was the limit. Looks like I could have loaded the full 2000. When I ran into issues the first time with loading the Simon cards on Bluebird, I selected Bluebird from the main menu of the kiosk. The next time, I selected Walmart Card or something like that, and swiped my bluebird and it worked great. I read those directions on some blog, but I can’t find the link.
Click on the “Rapid Reload” button at the start – not the “Bluebird” button. Doesn’t make sense, but it is what it is.
http://www.traveladdicts.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Walmart-Bluebird-Kiosk-Welcome-Screen.jpg
What’s the difference between the “Rapid Reload” feature and the Bluebird button? Is the limit the same?
Doesn’t mean much. If they increased the $5000 then that would be something.
i have had my bluebird card for some years you used to be able to hold 10,000 on your card at one time or it was unlimited but because of the money laundering money they cut the limited to 5,000 that is what was told to me and sent out new agreements a few years back
I just loaded $1999 to Serve using a kiosk.
Great!
What is the limit of blue bird
[…] Miler (link) reported that Bluebird has increased the daily reload limit from $1,000 a day to $2,500 a day, […]
What am I missing here? I thougt loading at Walmart kiosks was basically over now with the new changes on the Incomm side of things. I’ve expierimented with a few different cards and everything seems to be dead
There are other gift cards that still work at WM MC or ATM. You won’t find them at CVS or Walgreens though.
Only loading with Vanilla brand gift cards is over. Other brands of MasterCard and Visa gift cards still work at Walmart
what $500 gift cards are available replacing the vanilla would work at WM?
US Bank Cards bought from a grocery store work for me.
[…] other news, Frequent Miler (link) reported that Bluebird has increased the daily reload limit from $1,000 a day to $2,500 a day, […]
Serve also is updated to the new limits. Just did $1999.99 for Bluebird and $1999.99 for Serve at a Walmart Kiosk
How much is the limit of blue bird
What is the limit of blue bird
Looks like Bluebird updated the online debit card funding terms to match Serve’s online debit card funding daily limits:
*Debit Card(s) (in aggregate) – Up to $200 per transaction – $200 per day; and $1,000 per month
* May be further limited in circumstances in which we have not verified all of the identity and other personal information you have provided.
@FM, any idea why Bluebird would change it from $1,000 to $2,500 per day?
Does this effect Serve
the article is FOUR sentences. You couldn’t read until the FOURTH sentence?? UGH….people….