topic Re: Do Vanilla Reloads trigger Amex Financial Review? in Credit Cards

Do Vanilla Reloads trigger Amex Financial Review?

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 04:20:53 GMT

I've just got my BCP and want to satisfy their minimum spending requirement for sign-up bonus.

I plan to buy two vanilla reload cards, several days in between, from CVS.

Does anyone know if Amex will FR me just because of two Vanilla Reload cards?

My CL is 4000. Reported annual is 30000.

THanks in advance.

Re: Do Vanilla Reloads trigger Amex Financial Review?

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 04:25:14 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I've just got my BCP and want to satisfy their minimum spending requirement for sign-up bonus.
I plan to buy two vanilla reload cards, several days in between, from CVS.
Does anyone know if Amex will FR me just because of two Vanilla Reload cards?
My CL is 4000. Reported annual is 30000.
THanks in advance.

Vanilla reloads can trigger FR.

In most cases, 2 VR should not trigger FR, but there's always an underlying risk that you're taking.

With a brand new account, customers are usually under a lot more scrutiny from the lenders, which is evident from all the SPs lenders usually do for new clients.

Avoid VR reloads as your first few purchases on your card, just to be on the safe side.

Re: Do Vanilla Reloads trigger Amex Financial Review?

FinStar — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 04:25:38 GMT

Go ahead and try and see how they react. Others will chime in shortly...

Re: Do Vanilla Reloads trigger Amex Financial Review?

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 04:27:10 GMT

So I'll just be a good citizen and keep vigilant with Amex. Thank you for the info.

Re: Do Vanilla Reloads trigger Amex Financial Review?

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 04:27:53 GMT

Good point. I may be little bit selfish, though.

Re: Do Vanilla Reloads trigger Amex Financial Review?

Chaos122 — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 04:49:19 GMT

anything is possible with amex. I used to use my amex to buy vanilla prepaid cards all the time because there are alot of places I go to that dont take amex. Not sure why that would be a problem, but i stopped after someone on here said amex doesnt like it.

Its wierd that people have to curtail their spending because they are scared Amex and their funny policies, there was some guy that posted about not using his amex at walmart because it may triger f/r. LOL If you have a card and your scared to use it because of the issuers policies It renders the card useless in my opinion,

Discover seems like a better choice, but I have never had any issues with amex personally so i cant complain.

Re: Do Vanilla Reloads trigger Amex Financial Review?

09Lexie — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 04:51:30 GMT

Even though a FR will only give them accurate information, I wouldn't like anyone but my mortgage banker and acct to see all my business. So, I just bypass the whole VR thing and satisfy spend requirements with my usual bills.

Re: Do Vanilla Reloads trigger Amex Financial Review?

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 04:52:43 GMT

With a 4K limit, I would probably avoid it as well (and I am a strong advocate of manufactured spending). You are going to use a significant part of your CL, and best not to do that with stuff that Amex doesn't like. Also, not much gain with this card unless you can buy them at a supermarket (you can get My Vanilla cards, but they are more of a pain to cash out).

Consider something like ChargeSmart, which takes American Express, to pay for a car loan, mortgage, student loan etc. It costs a little (2.5%?) but has no AA risk, it's just a purchase.

Re: Do Vanilla Reloads trigger Amex Financial Review?

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 04:56:37 GMT

@09Lexie wrote:
Even though a FR will only give them accurate information, I wouldn't like anyone but my mortgage banker and acct to see all my business. So, I just bypass the whole VR thing and satisfy spend requirements with my usual bills.

In this particular case, it's not just a privacy issue, Amex T&Cs exclude points on cash equivalents, so in theory an FR may end with you having to repay some points.

That said, on the BCP/BCE, Amex has mitigated the Manufactured Spend issue by putting on the $6K cap, So they may care less than say Citi!

Re: Do Vanilla Reloads trigger Amex Financial Review?

Open123 — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 05:16:16 GMT

Usually, if somone gets FR'ed within 3 months of cardmembership, it's rarely a "single" event which causes it. If everything is fine with what Amex has on you, charging two VRs shouldn't be an issue, except for maybe setting off a fraud alert.

Re: Do Vanilla Reloads trigger Amex Financial Review?

jenn_bar — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 11:04:28 GMT

Yeah, I would watch how you spend the first few months; however you're entering the awesome world of manufactured spending!!

If you have another card, I would suggest doing this for your loans that do not accept credit card, as this is a great way of getting points for what you spend. There is a great forum on Flyer Talk that can get you way more information, but I use Blue Bird and Vanilla Reloads, which go onto my My Vanilla Debit.

I spend about $2k/month on giftcards and swap them between the cards I have used. I have used my AMEX before to buy a reloadable giftcard (only $500 worth), and no harm was done, but it would not be something I would do monthly just because I have a small limit.

I think being practical is the best answer. Some people do go overboard and solely use the system for their sign-up bonuses. However, if you have legitimate reasons for buying the giftcards, there is no harm or shame. IE I have no problem explaining to Chase or AMEX that my apartment complex/utiltity company does not accept CC, so I use Blue Bird (which is through AMEX) to pay with them.

Re: Do Vanilla Reloads trigger Amex Financial Review?

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 16:15:25 GMT

1 or 2 $500 VRs probably won't trigger an FR, but you never know. Make sure there are plenty of "legitimate" transactions on your statement, not just VRs.