Fee-Free Visa Gift Cards for AAA Members [Mid-Atlantic]

Contents

1 The Offer
2 The Fine Print
3 Our Verdict

The Offer

For a limited time, purchase Visa gift cards of up to $500 each with no purchase fee at any AAA location in the Mid-Atlantic.

It appears on the Mid-Atlantic AAA web page and does not seem to be available for AAA locations in other areas. It is possible that this deal is in other areas as well, but the two I checked were not advertising it on the website.

The gift cards are issued by MetaBank and the last 4-digits would be the default PIN.

The Fine Print

Valid from 5/1/15 – 6/30/15
Must be AAA member to purchase

Our Verdict

This could be a nice way to rack up some credit card points or to meet a minimum spend requirement. The deal usually comes up in May-June and in Nov-Dec.

The problem is that AAA gift card purchases are tracked to your name and MetaBank studiously blocks ‘abusers’ from continuing to purchase. See more about this from FreequentFlyer here and here. He gives a guess in the comments of his blog that to buy $1,000 per week is safe if you wait a couple of days before unloading.

HT: valedecem on Flyertalk

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11 Comments

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Justin (@guest_117886)

May 11, 2015 11:45

#117886

I went to one branch this morning but they did not sell VGC. My wife went to another branch and was told that VGC can be purchased with cash only. I should have thought to try my Double Cash when I was in the first branch as they were willing to accept credit after a disclaimer. I will try another branch near work this week.

mark (@guest_117228)

May 10, 2015 06:39

#117228

@Justin – any update?

Justin (@guest_115167)

May 6, 2015 09:44

#115167

I went into my local AAA and was told that a credit card purchase would be considered a cash advance

Author

Chuck Sithe(@chucksithe)

May 6, 2015 12:32

#115268

Justin

I haven’t seen anyone report that. Maybe ask FreequentFlyer on his experiences. It’s common for CSRs to say these types of things, even when they aren’t true.

Justin (@guest_115289)

May 6, 2015 12:53

#115289

Chuck Sithe

this morning the plan was to purchase with my Arrival+ to see if it would code as travel but may try another branch with my Double Cash as Citi allowed me to set my cash advance to $0

May 6, 2015 13:38

#115319

Good idea. Let us know how it goes.

Justin (@guest_117959)

May 11, 2015 20:08

#117959

I went to another branch at lunch and was successful in buying a $100 VGC with my Double Cash card. Citi categorized the transaction as “AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATIONS” and the amount was $104.95. I should note that I am not in AAA’s mid-Atlantic region.