Greetings Gang, This post is probably more suitable for new ones who haven't decided how they will receive their payments from amazon, although it's timely for everyone. I went to Walmart and purchased the American Express Bluebird debit card because I "heard" around the forum that I could receive my payments to it-which indeed, I could. Here's where it gets muddy.... I didn't read the fine, fine print because frankly I don't own a telescope strong enough to see the rings on Saturn-which is basically what it takes. Unless you're Superman or the Six Million Dollar Man...or was that The Bionic Woman..? Anyway I had no trouble setting it up etc. and was thrilled to see my money tickling onto the card. Then one day I used the card at the gas pump. And was promptly charged a $99 holding fee by the gas station. Granted, the money would be returned in 8 days, give or take; but I don't enjoy having my funds that I labored so intensely for, tied up. Especially for a $15 purchase. Word to the wise: Do NOT use this card for gas! I called AMX and the nice lady was sympathetic and refunded the money immediately. The ATM fees for this card are outrageous. So if you do need to take money out, make sure it's a significant sum. Paying $3.50-$6.00 for a withdrawal of $40 isn't worth it. Apparently (supposedly, according the the fine, fine print) you canreceive your money from your card at your local Walmart, for free. The ATM machine at mine was down today so the nice cashier told me to buy a candy bar or something and just get cash back. Guess what? You can't GET cash back on purchases with this card-even at Walmart. You also cannot.... Pay your bills online unless you register the company's mailing address and phone number first. Then you can go into your AMX account online and request they send a check (about 4 days for this to take place) to whomever you want to pay and THEN, if you have no pending transactions, they will issue and mail the check for you. What it costs, I have no idea. After I got raped at my local ATM taking out money, I was terrified to ask how much it would be for them to actually WORK in my behalf. So don't be mislead by the "YOU CAN PAY BILLS ONLINE!" claim because it doesn't mean to them what it means to me/us. Shop online unless you register the websites you plan to make purchases from. Or use it at most businesses other than Walmart unless you want to risk being shaken down for some hidden fee that will bankrupt you. and of course the merchant isn't going to tell you to your face that he's worse than a loan shark. It's a good card only in the sense that it's pain-free to set it up with amazon. Beyond that it's basically useless. Also, this card is NOT FDIC insured! You might consider looking online for a VISA debit/check card that actually IS what it claims to be, issued by an insured bank with a good reputation; or simply go to the bank you use now and set up a second, low to no fee checking account to be used strictly for online endeavors such as turking. That way, your main account won't be vulnerable to fraud and theft and you won't be stuck without any way to access your funds until they straighten the mess out.
Its not just the Bluebird that has this problem with the gas stations. I learned pretty quickly that if you have a prepaid debit card - do not pay at the pump! Go inside and let the clerk swipe your card. If you pay at the pump, there is an automatic hold that goes on your card and it takes a few days to fall off - and you can't touch your money til it clears.
The trick to using these types of cards at gas stations is to prepay for the specific dollar amount you want instead of trying to “fill ‘er up.”
Yeah, there is a hold like that for any card like this for pay at the pump. Same thing for renting a car, hotel stays, etc. Shego, if you want to use a prepaid like for this purpose, just get a WalMart prepaid debit. I actually just got one and started using it instead of my checking, because my local bank is ridiculously slow at processing my withdrawals. I have used the Wal Mart prepaid (the blue Visa) for my last three withdrawals. I did a little test, to see how late in the day I could submit the withdrawal and have it process to be available the next morning. My last one I did at 7PM eastern, and it was on the card when I woke up the next day. A couple things to be aware of with it...same thing with pay at the pump gas and the other things I mentioned, there will be a hold placed on the card. Also, if you don't deposit 1,000 in a month, you get charged a 3 dollar fee. One more thing, if you withdrawal at an ATM, be aware that you get charged the stated fee on the ATM machine, and the card adds an additional dollar fee, which I just discovered. If you take it to Wal Mart, and ask them to take the money off, it is $3. The best way is to buy a candy bar and get cash back, and it only charged me $1. In the end I think it is best to just use your checking account. However, with my small credit union that I use for checking, it always took an extra day or two before it showed up, no matter what time I submit it for processing. With the Wal Mart visa, like I said, it's always been on there the next morning...but not on weekends.
The gas thing is a pain. But it isn't just this card. Almost all prepaid and some banks still do this. I've never had them hold the amount more than 2 business days so far. Since I tend to fill up @ $70-80 a pop an extra 20 isn't a big deal. If I do a partial fill up the local station will let you leave your license at the register until your done. The bill pay is free but it is like using bill pay at my bank 10 years ago. I don't use it and probably won't. Amazon deposits count as a direct deposit so I don't pay any withdrawal fees at about 20 ATM's in my area. If you go to an out of network ATM it is just like any other card.. fees, fees & more fees! I actually pay no fees for using the card since I researched it. All the other cards I found had monthly fees or per use fees. Or a combination of both.
I don't pay any fees for ATM withdrawal at US Bank and Bluebird doesn't charge anything. Kind of surprised me the first time it was free.
Prepaid debit cards like that are FILLED with fees. It might make more financial sense to just open a second checking account for your turk money.
Not Bluebird, at least in my case. I've had zero fees for purchases and withdrawals. Only thing is not everyone accepts AE, like my electric company or health insurance.
I closed my bank account when I had to quit working, because of my health. No point in having one when I had no money to put into it and then had to pay $12 a month just to keep it open. I've never had a hold put on my debit or pre-paid debit cards in the past. I was told the reason it's standard practice with the AE Bluebird is because it's used as "credit." Which makes no sense at all to me, but whatevs. I just won't use it at the pump. I tried to buy something at Walmart and get cash back--it didn't work. The cashier at customer service told me to just buy an item in the store that was the amount I wanted to withdraw and bring it straight back to her and she would take it as a return and give me the cash. From now on, since there are ATM fees etc., I will withdraw only large amounts at a time-which is wise anyway considering the AEB card is not FDIC insured.
I had the same problem with the hold when I used my card to get gas, but was soon told my the woman at AE to pay inside for a direct amount rather then paying or an unknown amount at the pump. Maybe this solves your problem too. As for the rates, I have no idea what your talking about. I don't have any outrageous rates coming off my card. And where I live we have thousands of free Atm's for the Blue Bird. I withdraw from First State Bank, I believe it is, but their atm is free for the Blue Bird.
I've had the Bluebird card for awhile and I haven't had any problems. I don't get why you tried to get cashback as the register.. Since Amazon payments that go to the card count as direct deposit the Walmart Money Center/ATM won't have any fees, and if you use the WM ATM you can withdraw any amount of money you want in multiples of $1. And it states on the Bluebird website that you have to prepay for Gas (pay inside before pumping gas), which is like any prepaid card. I've had no problem shopping online with this card I've bought things from Facebook, Target.com and other sites without having to register. And with the online bill pay I haven't needed the phone number or address I just found the companies name and entered my account #, I've had no late payments or anything like that. I really like this card and I think it's better than every other prepaid card out there. There are almost no fees, and when I withdraw money from Amazon it's there the very next day ready to spend.
Well, I hope I didn't speak to soon. 500.00 Withdraw from yesterday still hasn't hit this morning. It usually hits before 8 and it's now 9:30, I'm getting kind of nervous.
Yeah. That's the biggest problem. I linked it to a checking account for that reason and I use it to pay my car insurance. The reason I got the Bluebird card was to avoid over draft fees at the bank when the balance gets low. If the money's not there the card will decline it, unlike the bank that will pay it and charge me fees. I'd rather be a day late on most of my bills (I set them up to pay early anyway) and pay their late fee if they have one. That and I use it for monthly subscriptions. If I can't watch netflix or hulu for a few days it doesn't matter... But the fees from the bank would really hurt! Now that I have more money on hand regularly it's not a big deal but since the solution works I keep it around. If only I could find a VISA with no fees.
I forgot to withdrawal yesterday. But funny thing was I did a withdrawal on Sunday and it showed up on Monday. It's never done that before.
Couldn’t you just decline overdraft protection at your bank? That’s what I did. On the rare occasion that I don’t have enough balance, the transaction simply fails.
Sorry, just noticed this. Yeah, my withdrawal from yesterday (around 4 pm CST) posted this morning. Had the email in my inbox when I woke up.