Another Wave of Serve & Bluebird Shutdowns

Today there was another wave of shutdowns on Amex’s prepaid cards Serve and Bluebird, according to this Reddit thread.

For those keeping track, this is shutdown wave #5 by my count, the last one being in August 2016 (although I might be missing one).

For newer members to the hobby, Serve and Bluebird cards were an easy way to liquidate Visa/MC gift cards by using them to load these prepaid cards at Walmart. Sadly, one year ago, Amex began shutting down the accounts of those who used these cards to manufacture spend. The second wave of shutdowns came in March, the third in May, and the fourth in August. 

The moral of the story is that it wasn’t a one-time purge; rather, Amex intends to continue shutting down these prepaid cards for ‘abuse’. Time to move on.

Once banned, you can not get the an Amex prepaid card again. Some people like getting the card under a different SSN (e.g. a spouse) and using it for a few months for old time’s sake.

It’s still possible to load other prepaid cards or buy money orders with Visa/MC gift cards, but it’s not always easy to find a vendor or a card which allows it.

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Jared
Jared (@guest_344750)
January 27, 2017 15:50

Oppen account two years ago. I transferred money between my BB and my checking. I did $0 MS and stilgot hit. Don’t rely on BB, especially for DD.

howard
howard (@guest_337475)
January 11, 2017 21:58

so if my wife gets a Serve now since she never got one before (btw does the particular kind of Serve make a difference here?), can she still load $500 VGC onto it at Walmart? Thank you!

Axl
Axl (@guest_335862)
January 9, 2017 06:37

I never loaded gift cards, I loaded cash at Walmart onto BB, I would occasionally transfer money from my debit card. I made purchases and paid bills and they shut me down. I liked their bill pay feature and how it helped me budget, I did zero MS but still got hit.

jcable2
jcable2 (@guest_337870)
January 12, 2017 12:11

Same for me. I load money from my Walmart Moneycard once a month to use a BlueBird Check to pay rent. My card got shut down.I sent them a letter. Has anyone had any luck with contacting them with a letter and getting it reversed if it was a mistake?I have never loaded a gift card to it. Just cash, debit card and tax refund.

Matt
Matt (@guest_335098)
January 6, 2017 19:31

Is there a current wiki somewhere that lists the different MS options one has with serve? I have a OneVIP account that I keep losing $1/mo on, but don’t want to cancel it. Is the flow Buy GC > load to Serve at Family Dollar? Load online? at Post office? -Thanks

Jason
Jason (@guest_336841)
January 10, 2017 19:13

Load online

Recon Scott
Recon Scott (@guest_334158)
January 4, 2017 22:03

I wish I knew the rules on BB/Serve shutdown. My BB and wife’s serve are still alive (I think). I regularly MS of $1000-$1500 / mo to meet min spends on CCs by buying $500 VGCs at WTM and then loading them to the BB/Serve at WMT. I then I use the BB/Serves for small purchases like lunch or coffee machine at work — generally small purchases under $10. Every 6 weeks or so, I’ll empty all but $100 into bank account and then start over.

I suppose this is considered proper use of the cards by AMEX?

Jason
Jason (@guest_334035)
January 4, 2017 17:01

My BB and serve live well, loads $1000 from PPBDC per month, used for bill pay such as CC, mortgage, auto loan, utility but never deposit money back to bank account. Never swipe the card. Just add money and bill pay.

My other family member’s BB and serve are OK too, only use to add money then send all funds to my account. No shut down, have accounts since last August.

Allen
Allen (@guest_333902)
January 4, 2017 12:30

Article mentions other prepaid cards that can still be loaded with GC’s. I’m not familiar with any. Can somebody point me in the right direction?

Been preserving my Serve for DD bank bonus purposes, so the hit it hard and close Serve strategy prob isn’t worth it in my case..

Ed
Ed (@guest_333893)
January 4, 2017 11:46

Can I get a Serve if I have a RB without having to close it?

Nick
Nick (@guest_333856)
January 4, 2017 09:35

To confirm, those who load using those gift/rebate cards are being banned, or is it those who “abuse” the system and do it a lot?

Steve F
Steve F (@guest_334143)
January 4, 2017 21:46

I opened mine in September and loaded on average around 2k a month. I had about 10 regular purchases each month and bill payed the rest. I never loaded more than $400 at a time with most being $100 or $200. I still got shut down.

I think it’s because they can see a bunch of different card numbers for the loads.

My mann
My mann (@guest_333841)
January 4, 2017 08:25

Me too:(