Editors note: I know today’s post is obtuse, and one day we’ll be able to talk about it more freely. For now if none of this makes sense to you, you’re probably not caught up in it and you likely have nothing to worry about.
Sometimes when something in the hobby blows up spectacularly there’s both direct and collateral damage. Yesterday afternoon a wave of both types struck members tied either directly or indirectly to a particular fitness group (even those working through a ‘neutral’ a third-party) and the net effect was a flurry of PayPal shutdowns in a scene that was reminiscent of a post-battle shot that you’d see in Band of Brothers.
If you’re caught up in the shutdowns: First, I’m sorry, that sucks. Second, it is possible to get a new PayPal account going using techniques discussed in Dodging the Ban Hammer. So, recover from your bad workout and get back out there just like Matthew McConaughey’s acting career does over, and over, and over again. Like seriously, so many times.
Have a nice weekend!
Look, if Matthew McConaughey recovers from looking like this, you can recover from PayPal.
My first report of Safeway’s new money order policy came from CharlesA on Tuesday of last week when he spotted the now infamous sign at a Safeway in Arizona, and quickly thereafter reports from other states confirmed the updated policy. The sign and its corresponding memo clearly came from the corporate level and it appears to be at the behest of Western Union (but my guess is that Western Union is a scapegoat, not the instigator.)
The Past
Here’s the thing, this has happened plenty of times before at plenty of chains, a few examples:
Every single one of those stores still sells money orders purchased with a gift card, and I sincerely believe the same thing will happen at Safeway because:
It’s not hard coded
Staff turns over
8½ x 11″ sheets of paper wear out quickly
Other important policies will take precedence
Some employees just DGAF
Workarounds
Of course, always be probing. In the mean time though, you can still get purchases through with above board and/or ethically questionable techniques like:
Using a gift card inside of a mobile payment app
Using a real debit card when you’re asked to show a card
Sourcing gift cards that don’t look like gift cards
Buying non-obvious money order amounts so cashiers don’t check (maybe $496.40, then auto-draining the rest on left over valentine’s candy at the register?)
Good luck and happy Tuesday! (Thanks to Nathan for the linked policy photo)
Good (?) news: these things cost exactly $3.60 including tax.
The Citi Shop Your Way Rewards card has been sending a new rounds of targeted offers on both Friday and Saturday, and the offers stack with each other and with last month’s offers too. We’ve seen:
– $50 back on $750 in online spend by May 14 (me) – $75 back on $1,000 in online spend by May 14 (Tyler) – 275,000 points for $1,000 in online spend by May 14 (Zach) – 10% back in on gas, grocery, and restaurants for between $700 and $800 in spend once a month for the next three months (multiple)
Now if only there were a way to spend at an online grocery, restaurant, or gas station (oh wait, there is.)
Do this now:Register for Aeroplan’s promotion for 2,000 extra points in economy or 4,000 extra points in premium economy or business class for paid flights between the US and Canada through May 2. To qualify, you must fly a round-trip or two-one ways.
The world has gone nuts for Apple’s 4.15% interest rate high yield savings account for up to $250,000. Yes, that’s a great rate, but let this serve as a gentile reminder wecandobetter and still be FDIC, NCUA, or SPIC insured.
The Citi Shop Your Way Rewards Mastercard, an original MEAB Unsung Hero, now allows for points redemption to Visa e-gift cards at the same redemption rate as other gift cards, making this the new best points cash-out option and making the card even more valuable.
Lowe’s has an in-store promotion for a $15 Lowe’s gift card with the purchase of a $200 Mastercard gift card. The Mastercards are Pathward and have an activation fee of $5.95 to $7.95 depending on the variety, and the resale rates on the Lowe’s card are between 82% and 84% making this a profitable deal without considering credit card rewards.
There’s a limit of two per $15 Lowe’s cards per email address, but someone told me it’s possible to get more than one email address. I know, sounds weird right?
The action item on this one? Start thinking up new names for the Bilt rewards program and share them around your circles. I can’t wait to hear what you come up with.
You’d better sit down for this, because I think you’re going to be blown away, err, wait. The opposite actually:
Staples will be selling fee free $200 Visa gift cards in-store starting Sunday and running through the following Saturday, limit eight per transaction. As usual, try for multiple transactions back-to-back to minimize the time spent in a 12,000 square foot store manned by two employees, one of whom is in the back room watching TikTok.
American Express’s Delta co-brand cards have increased sign up bonuses:
– Personal Gold: 75,000 SkyMiles after $2,000 spend in six months – Personal Platinum: 75,000 SkyMiles and 10,000 MQM after $5,000 spend in six months – Personal Reserve: 100,000 SkyMiles and 10,000 MQM after $5,000 spend in six months
AmEx used their random number generator with these offers so if you don’t see them, switch browsers, go incognito, connect to a VPN, try mobile, yell at Richard Kerr between lawsuits, or something similar until you do see them. (Thanks to rep-swe)
Have a nice weekend!
The real surprise isn’t Staples, it’s what’s at the bottom of the slide.
It’s been an open secret that certain types of debit cards give cash back, and a slightly less open secret that some cash-back debit cards are friendly to manufactured spenders by design. Yesterday, one of the recent favorites was nerfed for nearly all useful plays and now small spenders and heavy hitters are wandering through the stages of grief from a lost revenue source. Once you’ve moved through the stages, take stock and do the following:
Realize that the same plays work with other similar products
Remember what worked here for future probing
Look for alternative plays that work with the nerfed product under its new constraints
I’m sure there are still opportunities with the nerfed debit card, and I’m sure that other debit cards will step up and take its place. Keep looking, and have a nice Thursday!
Remember that even the lessons of being Bonvoyed can lead to new opportunities.
The Citi Shop Your Way Rewards Mastercard, an original MEAB Unsung Hero, now allows for points redemption to Visa e-gift cards at the same redemption rate as other gift cards, making this the new best points cash-out option and making the card even more valuable.
Lowe’s has an in-store promotion for a $15 Lowe’s gift card with the purchase of a $200 Mastercard gift card. The Mastercards are Pathward and have an activation fee of $5.95 to $7.95 depending on the variety, and the resale rates on the Lowe’s card are between 82% and 84% making this a profitable deal without considering credit card rewards.
There’s a limit of two per $15 Lowe’s cards per email address, but someone told me it’s possible to get more than one email address. I know, sounds weird right?
The action item on this one? Start thinking up new names for the Bilt rewards program and share them around your circles. I can’t wait to hear what you come up with.
You’d better sit down for this, because I think you’re going to be blown away, err, wait. The opposite actually:
Staples will be selling fee free $200 Visa gift cards in-store starting Sunday and running through the following Saturday, limit eight per transaction. As usual, try for multiple transactions back-to-back to minimize the time spent in a 12,000 square foot store manned by two employees, one of whom is in the back room watching TikTok.
American Express’s Delta co-brand cards have increased sign up bonuses:
– Personal Gold: 75,000 SkyMiles after $2,000 spend in six months – Personal Platinum: 75,000 SkyMiles and 10,000 MQM after $5,000 spend in six months – Personal Reserve: 100,000 SkyMiles and 10,000 MQM after $5,000 spend in six months
AmEx used their random number generator with these offers so if you don’t see them, switch browsers, go incognito, connect to a VPN, try mobile, yell at Richard Kerr between lawsuits, or something similar until you do see them. (Thanks to rep-swe)
Have a nice weekend!
The real surprise isn’t Staples, it’s what’s at the bottom of the slide.
There’s been recent discussion on both reddit and MEAB slack about American Express no-lifetime language (NLL) links, but information is scattered and not always consistent. So, let’s discuss:
Generic No-Lifetime Language Links
There are a few different flavors of no-lifetime language (NLL) business links out there. First, the generic versions which are always around and were last discussed here in April of last year:
The generic links are worth checking periodically, sometimes not a single one will work for a given account one day, and then all of them work the next day; American Express’s targeting changes quickly. It’s easy to pick out a generic link because the full URL is readable, something like:
I consider generic NLL links as completely safe for any account because they’re targeted, and American Express will prevent the application from processing if you’re not targeted.
The main distinguishing factor is the number at the end of the URL, an offer or marketing code. These links fall on a range from safe to scary.
It can be tricky to tell where a given link lies on that spectrum, but the scariest ones are “post-targeted” links, meaning that the link bypasses the targeting check part of an application workflow. You can typically tell if a link is post-targeted because the application flow doesn’t have anywhere for the popup to appear, it’s a single page with a submit application link at the end that doesn’t even need you to login.
Clawbacks and Shutdowns
What does unsafe mean when you’re using a link? It means one of two things:
A single card or your entire card portfolio is closed
I’m unaware of any shutdowns from using generic NLL links, ever. I am aware of of shutdowns for using offer code specific post-targeted NLL links, but the last confirmed data point is a couple of years old, which seems to mean that American Express cares less about post-targeted links than they used to for some unknown reason.
Going Plaid
This wouldn’t be MEAB if we didn’t discuss the possibility of a bit of shenanigan-like behavior, so let’s dive in friends: If you stumble upon an offer code specific NLL and you’re targeted for a generic NLL at the same time, you can probably be approved for both on the same day. Additionally, if you stumble upon a few different offer code specific links, you can probably be approved for both of those on the same day too. Always be probing!
As I’m sure you’re all quite aware, 2022 is turning into either a pumpkin or into a potato in the next week and a half (depending on your preferred metaphor), and that means you’re nearly out of time for finishing off annual spend thresholds, bonuses, and credits. So, mind the following gaps:
Spend through any of your remaining American Express, Chase Ritz Carlton, Bank of America, or PenFed Pathfinder airline fee credits, and consult this post for ideas if you’re not sure how to use them. If United TravelBank is your preferred method, do it today because last year TravelBank went offline in the last week of December and it could happen again this year.
Check for any annual fees that posted and call the bank for a retention offer, or just chat online if it’s is American Express. I usually say something like: “I’m thinking of closing this card because of its high annual fee, but before I decide what to do I was wondering if there are any retention offers or spend bonuses.” If you get an offer, don’t forget to add: “Are there any other offers available?” Sometimes there are better offers if you keep asking.
American Express specific note: If you accept a retention offer, plan on keeping that card for 12 months to avoid getting popups that deny credit card bonuses in the future.
Spend any $10 American Express Personal Gold dining credits. My go to is the local coffee shop for a coffee and a crepe which jumps just north of $10 on GrubHub. Buying physical gift cards at a ShakeShack or Cheesecake Factory is another option.
Cancel any cell phone burner accounts that you’re done with (and for which you didn’t use a virtual credit card number that already expired).
Finish off any Q4 5x bonused spend on Chase Freedom cards, Discover IT cards, US Bank Cash+ cards, Citi Custom Cash cards, or similar, and don’t forget the emu farm option.
Book any American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts (or The Hotel Collection) stays with your $200 Platinum credit for upcoming travel next year, even if it’s speculative. Historically American Express’s systems lose some of their memory after the calendar turns; it’s not guaranteed but it’s worth a shot at gaming.
Use your Chase Sapphire Reserve $300 travel credit with a refundable travel booking if needed. Yes, this credit is now tied to cardmember year instead of calendar year, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t knock it out now if you haven’t already done so.
Check for any credit card spend bonuses that you may want to hit before the end of the year, like:
– World of Hyatt Visa free night certificate after $15,000 spend – American Express Hilton Surpass and Honors Business free night certificate after $15,000 spend – American Express Hilton Aspire and Honors Business second free night certificate after $60,000 spend – American Express Delta Platinum MQM boosts after $25,000 and $50,000 spend – American Express Delta Reserve MQM boosts after $30,000, $60,000, $90,000, and $120,000 spend – British Airways Visa companion ticket after $50,000 spend – JetBlue Visa Mosaic status after $50,000 spend – AA status with Loyalty Points
