How to Meet Minimum Spending on Credit Cards - Bluebird

This is the third installment of "How to Meet Minimum Spending on Credit Cards." See the links for earlier installments.

How to Meet Minimum Spending Requirements for Credit Cards - Amazon Payments

How to Meet Minimum Spending on Credit Cards - Debit Gift Cards to Money Orders


Bluebird is a bank checking account alternative from American Express. Bluebird is a re-loadable debit card of sorts, but with many added benefits including:

• No fees
• Fully functioning Bill Pay
• Direct Deposit
• ATM withdrawals
• Online check deposits
• Reload ability at Walmart cash registers

Bluebird is a staple in the manufactured spender's wallet. The primary reason is that Bluebird allows loading your account with up to $5,000 per month from debit cards including debit gift cards. You can do this without any fees. Once you load your Bluebird at Walmart you can then login to your account and set up a free bill payment to pay your mortgage, student loans, car payment, or other expenses that you cannot pay with a credit card directly. I pay my mortgage and condo dues every month with my Bluebird. Its free to apply and open up an account. Do not bother with the $5 temporary Bluebird card sold at Walmart. You still have to apply for a permanent card online.

I frequently use my favorite credit card to buy debit gift cards and load my Bluebird. Then I immediately login to my Bluebird and set up a bill payment to pay off the credit card that I just used to buy the gift cards.

Before several months ago, you were limited to loading a maximum of $1,000 per day to your Bluebird. Now Bluebird has increase the daily loading limits to $2,500 per day. This means you only have to visit Walmart only twice per month to load the maximum monthly load amount of $5,000. My fiance is also signed up for a Bluebird card. I am able to bring both of our Bluebird cards two Walmart and I load $2,500 each to two Bluebird cards included $2,000 in money orders during the same visit. I am able to liquidate a total of $7,000 in one Walmart visit.

You are restricted to four card swipes per transaction at Walmart cash registers. This means the maximum you could load to a Bluebird account at one cash register is $2,000 with four $500 debit gift cards. It will be necessary to go to several check out counters to load $5,000 to two different Bluebird cards.

There are many places to buy gift cards to use to load your Bluebird, but you cannot just buy any gift card. You are looking for Visa or MasterCard gift cards that say "Debit" that allow loading up to $500. American Express Gift Cards will not work for this method. AMEX gift cards are never set up for debit transactions. Visa and MasterCard debit gift cards are the only ones that will work for this process. If they do not say "debit" than they will not work. 

All of the gift cards have a fee which varies from $2.95 to $6.95. Find the gift cards with the lowest fee possible. Grocery stores and department stores often sell gift cards with a $5.95 fee. You can buy variable load debit gift cards at some gas stations, drug stores as well. Look at the local stores in your area and see what is available.

Additionally, do not buy One Vanilla Visa Gift cards. I use to buy these frequently from Walgreens. These gift cards no longer work as debit cards at Walmart.

Recap: If you want to be able to pay your mortgage or other expenses where a credit card is not allowed. Purchase $500 debit gift cards at the lowest possible fee (shop around). Go to Walmart and load up to $2,500 per day to your Bluebird. Set up a bill payment to pay your mortgage or other expenses. This is a great way to make the minimum spending requirement for your credit cards.