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Bluebird

Last Day to Order Free Amex Bluebird Checks (Update: Extended Until 8/13)

May 21, 2013

Update: Seems like the fine folks at Bluebird have extended this offer until 8/13/13 and waived shipping fees as well! Since its introduction last year, the Amex Bluebird card – a reloadable prepaid card that is hybrid credit card-debit card-checking account – has been one of the most powerful tools in every points collector’s aresenal [...]

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Video SRQ: Does Amex Count Buying Vanilla Reloads as an Eligible Purchase Towards a Spend Bonus

May 19, 2013

Our first question this week is from TPG reader Tony who is looking to meet spend bonuses by purchasing prepaid cards: “Some credit cards, such as the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card from American Express, define eligible purchases as ‘Eligible Purchases means purchases for goods and services minus returns and other credits. Eligible purchases do [...]

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Fees Waived For Limited Time on Chase Prepaid Visa Debit Cards – Good Way To Pay Taxes

April 10, 2013

Note: I am not a tax advisor, so before you make any decisions, you need to consult your personal tax professional. Chase is now offering Visa gift cards of denominations up to $500 and waiving the $4.95 shipping fee. Just note, you need to be a Chase customer (meaning you have to use a Chase [...]

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Santa Came… And Allowed Me to Buy Vanilla Reloads at Walgreens!

December 26, 2012

Update: Office Depot no longer sells Vanilla Reload or American Express Prepaid cards. I hope everyone had a great Christmas holiday (whether you celebrate it or not). Whether you were doing last-minute mileage runs to attain elite status or just relaxing at home, this time of year is always a good time to reflect on [...]

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Maximizing Reload Cards for Points and Miles: Vanilla vs. Green Dot vs. PayPal vs. Reloadit

December 18, 2012

Update: Office Depot no longer sells Vanilla Reload or American Express Prepaid cards. Yesterday TPG contributor Jason Steele took us through the basics of Maximizing Prepaid and Reload Cards for Points and Miles with a series including Maximizing Prepaid and Reloadable Cards for Points and Miles: Reloadable Strengths and Weaknesses, and Maximizing Prepaid / Reloadable and Reload Cards [...]

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Maximizing Prepaid and Reload Cards For Miles and Points – The Basics

December 17, 2012

Update: Office Depot no longer sells Vanilla Reload or American Express Prepaid cards. I’ve asked TPG contributor Jason Steele to take closer look at the various prepaid and reloadable card options out there that have allowed him to personally accrue thousands of points cheaply in a series that I’ll be running this week. I hope [...]

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Top 10 Ways to Maximize Miles and Points With Pre-Paid, Reloadable and Gift Cards

November 27, 2012

It’s a well-known fact that getting credit cards for lucrative sign-up bonuses and then putting everyday purchases on your card will earn you points. However, when you try to use your card to pay big bills like mortgages, rent and car payments you’ll usually get hit with nasty processing fees, usually around 3%, which can [...]

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There Are More Flavors Than Vanilla: Maximizing Miles and Points With Green Dot & Paypal

November 26, 2012

Vanilla Reload cards can be difficult to find these days- and even when you do, some stores may mandate that you can only pay in cash. However, that doesn’t mean that you still can’t reap miles and points with the purchase of other pre-paid and reload able cards that allow other means of paying bills [...]

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Sunday Reader Question: Buying Vanilla Reloads at Walgreens- Worth It?

November 18, 2012

Update: Office Depot no longer sells Vanilla Reload or American Express Prepaid cards. TPG reader Ingrid asks: ” I found Vanilla Reloads at Walgreen’s and they let me use a credit card. I used my United card. Is that worth it? It’s my main card and I love United miles.” First, I also love United [...]

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Vanilla Reloads Now Available at CVS

November 14, 2012

While Office Depot is no longer stocking Vanilla reload cards (which work amazingly with Amex’s new Bluebird product) or American Express Prepaid cards, there are a bunch of new locations that sell them. I’ve been in Asia and Europe this past week, but I tasked TPG Director of Ops Kate with going out and finding Vanilla [...]

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Earning 5x Points on Everyday Spend With Visa and Amex Prepaid Cards

November 8, 2012

There’s currently a shortage of Vanilla reloadable cards on the market- many TPG readers are reporting their Office Depots are either sold out or no longer offering the card.  This is causing a lot of frustration for those looking to leverage Bluebird to earn miles and points by paying everyday bills with extremely low fees [...]

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Can You Take Advantage of Bluebird and Vanilla Without an Ink Card?

November 7, 2012

The resounding answer is YES. I’ve been getting an incredible amount of email questions about the Bluebird/Vanilla deal and whether it’s mandatory to have an Ink card, so let me explain why Ink is a “super amazing” deal vs. just an “amazing” deal using other cards. When you buy a $500 Vanilla Reload card from [...]

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My Permanent Bluebird Card Is Active… and the Points Are Flying!

November 5, 2012

Update: Office Depot no longer sells Vanilla Reload or American Express Prepaid cards. As I mentioned in my original post about the huge potential of the American Express Prepaid Bluebird card, you need to wait until you get a permanent card in the mail before you can start loading it with Vanilla reload cards. So, [...]

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Maximizing American Express Bluebird to Earn Miles and Points: FAQ

November 1, 2012

Update: Office Depot no longer sells Vanilla Reload or American Express Prepaid cards. Last week, I wrote about an unbelievable way to get miles and points at a very low cost by leveraging the new Bluebird card from American Express and Walmart. A lot of other bloggers have written about it and its a hot [...]

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Earning and Using Points For Hurricane Sandy Relief Donations

November 1, 2012

Not only did Hurricane Sandy throw everyone’s travel plans into chaos, but it also claimed dozens of lives, flooded cities and towns up and down the East Coast, left 8 million people without power and caused billions of dollars in damage. I know a lot of you are thinking of contributing to relief efforts, so [...]

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New American Express Bluebird Card – Huge Potential Points Earning

October 25, 2012

Update: Office Depot no longer sells Vanilla Reload or American Express Prepaid cards. American Express launched a new prepaid debit card called Bluebird and it presents some super exciting opportunities to rack up points, as I learned while sitting in on Frequent Miler‘s keynote speech at the Chicago Seminars. First take a look at the [...]

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