Bluebird from Amex?

[beb86]

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@navigatethis12 wrote:

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@beb86 wrote:

I signed up for it just to try it...keep adding a small bit for savings purposes....I do use my Chase checking/savings accounts primarily and my 401k. This is worth a try....As for the walmart comments...Really? I know millionaires who shop at goodwill's and salvation army's....why? Because the are rich and want to stay rich. Just because you are frugal doesn't make you poor...My mother in-law worked as an hourly employee at walmart for over 30 years until she just retired and is sitting on a nice nest egg not to mention that walmart store managers make between 200k-400k a year. IGNORANCE

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I think people are taking comments a bit too personally. Just because someone does not wish to shop at a place does not make them ignorant. So what if the manaers make that much, they still do not carry the brands I like to wear. There is actually not a walmart anywhere around here so I could not shop there even if I wanted to.

I know millionaires who shop an Neiman Marcus and are still rich. I would never buy second hand clothes because that is just not how I was raised and I have no need to buy it. I find it really saddening that any time people think that someone has money, they immediately see them as the enemy. I think the ignorance is not realising that everyone has different tastes. Maybe you think that Ralph Lauren or Macys is low class, but that would not stop me from buying things in their shops.

I am able to get shirts for around $25 by shopping in the boy's section at Macys. The same shirt in the men's section would cost 65-80. Just because I do not shop at walmart does not mean I just throw away money. There are other places with better prices than that place.

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What I am referring to is calling everyone who shops at walmart poor 

[lithium78]

Prepaid cards are targeted at individuals who -- for whatever reason -- don't have regular banking services like checking accounts.  As pre-paid cards go, the Bluebird isn't bad.  Its fees aren't as expensive as other cards and it has some nice features.  Some people who qualify for regular financial services use pre-paid cards to learn budgetary responsibility and that's fine, but these really are targeted at people facing financial challenges.

If you can avoid getting a Bluebird, that's probably best in most cases.  Credit cards have many more features and they are generally less expensive if you have decent credit.  Pre-paid cards don't help you build credit history (despite what Suze Orman says about her Approved card) and pre-paid cards don't offer a buffer between your bank account and the outside world like a credit card.

That being said, I think we all need to simmer down a little and leave the elitism off this board.  Almost everybody on this forum started out from some difficult times with their credit, so nobody should be throwing any stones.

[Burned2manybridgesB4]

@Conductor In the welcome packet, in big bold letters, it states " card will not work outside continental US"

[bmd0224]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have three Amex products, but am wondering if I were to sign up for a Bluebird account would it negatively effect me? I think this because its a service offered through walmart and I do not want to be associate with a low level economical social status as I am not. I spend a minimum of 3k on my Amex cards a month which include two charge cards and one True Earnings CC. I have other brand cards, but am worried that if I get a Bluebird account, Amex may use the information to negaitvely effect me as it is a walmart product; that I believe is in place for low income individuals. I like the idea of this banking system and while I will keep my major account with Chase, I do like all that the Bluebird has to offer, especially the free perks. Has anyone encountered or knows of someone with a an Amex account being target negatively for having a Bluebird account. 

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I have good credit and opened this account to purchase vanilla reload cards to fund my bluebird account to earn miles and points. Who would be too good for that? When I'm flying free to SE Asia it'll be worth it!

[djrez4]

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@bmd0224 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have three Amex products, but am wondering if I were to sign up for a Bluebird account would it negatively effect me? I think this because its a service offered through walmart and I do not want to be associate with a low level economical social status as I am not. I spend a minimum of 3k on my Amex cards a month which include two charge cards and one True Earnings CC. I have other brand cards, but am worried that if I get a Bluebird account, Amex may use the information to negaitvely effect me as it is a walmart product; that I believe is in place for low income individuals. I like the idea of this banking system and while I will keep my major account with Chase, I do like all that the Bluebird has to offer, especially the free perks. Has anyone encountered or knows of someone with a an Amex account being target negatively for having a Bluebird account. 

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I have good credit and opened this account to purchase vanilla reload cards to fund my bluebird account to earn miles and points. Who would be too good for that? When I'm flying free to SE Asia it'll be worth it!

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Indeed.  You can rack up insane points doing this.  5x points on a Chase Ink card at Office Depot for purchasing the Vanilla Reload for $3.95, withdraw from an ATM for $2 (free if you have direct deposit into Bluebird), deposit into your Chase account and pay off the card.  You can load up to $5,000 a month, $1000 at a time.  That's 25,000+ points a month!  Free business class ticket on your choice of airline to anywhere every 5 months!  It'll be brilliant until it gets shut down like the Mint trick.  I wish I had an Ink card.

It'll also make minimum spends for bonus points a breeze.

[TheConductor]

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@Burned2manybridgesB4 wrote:
@Conductor In the welcome packet, in big bold letters, it states " card will not work outside continental US"

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If that is the case, it is directly contradicting the terms and conditions on the Bluebird site:

"The Bluebird Card (and each Sub-Account Card) is a prepaid payment device which, among other uses, may be used to pay for goods and services at bricks-and-mortar and online retailers and other merchants that accept American Express® Cards, both within and outside the U.S., and to obtain cash from ATMs that permit American Express transactions within and outside the United States, in each case subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement."  (bold emphasis mine)

https://bluebird.com/legal/#a-general

I wonder if maybe the welcome packet accidentally contains some leftover language from the Serve card.  The Bluebird is based on the Serve platform, but Serve is not meant for use outside the US.

[Sarah]

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@lithium78 wrote:

That being said, I think we all need to simmer down a little and leave the elitism off this board.  Almost everybody on this forum started out from some difficult times with their credit, so nobody should be throwing any stones.

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This, absolutely. Elitist comments have no place here. Keep the discussions on topic, please.

[beb86]

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@Sarah wrote:

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@lithium78 wrote:

That being said, I think we all need to simmer down a little and leave the elitism off this board.  Almost everybody on this forum started out from some difficult times with their credit, so nobody should be throwing any stones.

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This, absolutely. Elitist comments have no place here. Keep the discussions on topic, please.

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+100

[ceejx]

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@Repo-ed wrote:

 

We have a 1% here folks!  Assume the normal positions

That has got to be some of the funniest stuff I've ever read - short of appbaars app spree post

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Don't you have a park or street to occupy somewhere? 

[Yj002]

I really don't think bluebird is targeted solely for a low-income individual. I have Pltinum and Gold Premier rewards Charge Cards and recently applied for a bluebird account and got rejected (which is quite strange, to be honest). I think a lot of users have used the card to rake up points, and this matter brings up to Amex's attention, I presume. I might be wrong about this, so any opinion might help me and other members.