Using T-Mobile & Reloadits Cards To Manufacture Credit Card Spend

Update: This card has been discontinued.

Manufactured spending is the practice of accumulating frequently flier miles and points without spending excessive amounts of money. In this page we will look at how to use T-Mobile & Reloadits to manufacture credit card spend.

 

Be careful with manufactured spending.

You should always do your own research and only do amounts that you are comfortable with. Accounts are often shut down without warning, making it impossible to immediately access your funds. Start with a small amount so that you know it works and build slowly from there.

T-Mobile & Reloadit

Earlier this year T-Mobile introduced the T-Mobile® Visa® Prepaid Card. This card came with a few features that make it perfect for manufactured spending:

  • Card can be purchased for free at all T-Mobile stores (even if you purchased elsewhere the cost will be refunded). Find your closest T-Mobile store
  • Monthly account service of $5 is refunded if you load more than $500 per month (no account service fee for wireless subscribers)
  • Reloadit fees of $3-$3.95 are refunded for reloads of over $300
  • No fees for direct deposit or ATM withdrawals for in network ATMs (you can withdraw a maximum of $500 per day)

How To Turn This Into A Free Manufactured Spend Opportunity

  • Get your T-Mobile prepaid card from a T-Mobile store: $0
  • Go to a retailer that accepts credit card payment for reloadit cards and purchase a reload of over $300, the fee of $3.95 will be refunded by T-Mobile
  • Use your T-Mobile account for expenses that you can’t normally use a credit card for. If you have additional funds you can withdraw these from an in network ATM for free. You can also do BillPays up to at least $5,000. You can also transfer to your bank account.

What Do Reloadits Look Like?

There are two different versions of the reloadit cards, the new version which doesn’t contain the language “cash only” in the top right corner and the old card which does contain that wording. Examples below:

This is what the new reloadit cards look like. These do not say “cash only” on them. These are the ones you’re looking for

This is what the old reloadit cards look like. In the top right hand corner they say “Cash only” you don’t want these ones as the cashier is less likely to process them with a credit card. Image credit: mooper, Flyertalk.

At the moment, the new cards only appear to be showing up in California. You may have success purchasing the older cards with credit card, but if you’re in a state with the new cards it’s recommended to attempt to purchase those instead.

Where Can You Purchase Reloadits?

Below we’ve got a list of stores that sell reloadits and whether they accept credit card payment or not. We also suggest using the reloadit store locator to check all of the stores near you that stock them. If you find another store that accepts credit card payments, let us know so we can add it below.

If for some reason the one of the stores listed below  (or a particular cashier) refuses to accept credit card payment, do not make a scene – just try to use a different location or store.

By doing so you draw less attention to this manufactured spend technique and make it more likely for it to continue to be open to all. You should also never call to ask, as in most cases they’ll say no even if it is possible. This also draws unwanted attention.

Here are some other locations that sell reloadit cards and whether they accept cash or credit card payments:

  • Safeway (also called Pavillions & Vons): Most Safeways will accept credit card payment.  [Found in: AK, AZ, CA, CO, DC DE, HI, ID, MD, MT, NE, NM, NV, OR, SD, VA, WA, WY]. Find your closest safeway/pavillions/vons location
  • T-Mobile: Their registers are hardcoded to not accept credit card payments, so even if you get a cashier willing to sell you the reloadit card on credit card they will not be able to process it.
  • Home Depot: Varies from location to location, try for yourself and report in the comments below. Find your closest home depot store. [Country-wide]
  • Stop & Shop: Most will accept credit card payment.  [Northeastern United States only: CT, MA, NJ, NY, RI]. Find your closest store.
  • Harris Teeter: Most will accept credit card payment. [Only found in: DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, TN, VA]. Find your closest store.
  • Winni-Dixie: Varies from location to location, try for yourself and report in the comments below. [Only found in FL]. Find your closest Winni-Dixie store.
  • Casey’s General Store: Most will accept credit card payment.   [Only found in the midwest: IA, IL, IN, MO, SD, MN, KS, NE] Find your closest Casey’s store.
  • Hy-Vee: Most will accept credit card payment. [Only found in the midwest: IL, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, SD, WI]. Find your closest Hy-Vee store.
  • Giant Eagle: Will accept cash or debit card only, will also accept Visa/Mastercard giftcards. [PA, MD, OH, WV] Find your closest store
  • Walgreens: Hard coded to only accept cash.
  • Albertsons: Hard not to only accept cash.
  • Getgo: Will accept cash or debit card only, will also accept Visa/Mastercard giftcards. [PA, MD, OH, WV] Find your closest store.
  • Wawa: Will accept credit cards, but usually only have $50 or $100 cards. Remember, the fee is not refunded if you reload less than $300.  [Only found on the East Coast: NJ, PA, DE, MD, VA, FL]. Find your closest store
  • Meijer: Will accept cash or debit card only, also possible to purchase with Visa giftcards. [OH, KY, IN, IL, MI only] Find your closest store
  • Starter Bros: Varies store to store, cashier to cashier some will accept credit cards. [CA only] Find your closest store.

Reloadit packs usually come with a $3.95 fee, but T-Mobile will refund this if you load more than $300. Making this method fee free.

Where Will I Find The Cards In These Stores?

  • Gift card rack
  • Check out aisles
  • Customer service desk
Load less than $500 and you won’t need manager approval.

Most stores that sell reloadit cards require manager approval if you load more than $500. By loading less, you can get on with your transaction and arouse less suspicious. If you require manager approval it is unlikely they will give it, as the risk of them getting in trouble is too high. Remember, the fee is refunded as long as you load more than $300.

Limits

  • You can load a maximum of $2,500 per day onto your prepaid account
  • Maximum value of your card is $10,000 (e.g you cannot have more than $10,000 on your card at any one time)
  • Each card can be loaded with either up to $500 or up to $950 depending on the card, the fee of $3.95 is the same regardless (and remember T-Mobile will credit you this fee)
Some cards will state cash only.

If the store your in accepts credit card payments for reloadits, it’s best to still leave these cards alone as most cashiers will either refuse to process them with a credit card or get their manager over. This draws unwanted attention.

F.A.Q’s

Will T-Mobile shut down my account if I do this? 

T-Mobile may shut down your account if you do this, there are several reports of this happening. Most people that have been shut down have been putting at least $5,000 per month in spend through their account.

Is there a hard pull on my credit report when I apply for the T-Mobile prepaid card?

No, this card is designed for people with bad credit and as such they don’t do a hard pull on your credit file.

Is this card fee free for pay as you go/prepaid customers?

It should be free for all wireless customers, double check at your local T-Mobile shop to make sure.

How quickly will T-Mobile refund the $3.95 fee?

T-Mobile will generally refund the fee the following day. For example, if you purchase the card on a Monday – you’ll receive the refund on the Tuesday.

Where does the $3.95 fee get refunded to? 

It gets refunded to the T-Mobile prepaid visa account

Do you get the $3.95 fee refund even if you’re not a T-Mobile customer?

Yes, as long as the reload is above $300.

How long does it take to process a BillPay?

T-Mobile states that Bill Pay can take up to 15 days, but most people report that it’s much quicker than that, around 5 days (Bluebird is usually 2 days as a point of reference).

Hat tip to my Girlfriend for finding a Safeway that sells reloadit cards with a credit card & flyertalk for the rest.

View Comments (55)

  • Bummer. The T-Mobile Prepaid Visa Card (“T-Mobile Card”) will be discontinued effective July 27th, 2016. After June 27th, 2016 you were not able to reload your T-Mobile Card or access the T-Mobile “Mobile Money” app. Please be sure to remove any recurring debits or direct deposits being sent to your card no later than June 27th and spend down any available balance remaining by July 27th. You will be sent more information regarding your account at a later date. Thank you very much for using your T-Mobile Card. We regret any inconvenience you may experience. ...

  • Looking for a non-amex account that can be used to pay bills onlien and loaded using visa prepaid debits (or ideally credit directly as a non-cash advance transaction.) Just now learning of the T-Mobile and kicking myself for not have learned about it earlier (and I am a t-mobile customer.) Would have been perfect.

    Looks like they are closing the program down completely in another month or two?

    Anyone able to point me towards reliable (cost effective) options?

  • I have $2500 in VGC's to unload since my BB was frozen. Ordered a T Mobile card online. Got email last month saying it was on the way but called today to say it never got here. A new one is coming. I want this for BP. Some of the money may sit in the account for a while as I set aside money monthly to pay a bill which is due quarterly or annually.

    With BB I would occasionally send my husband a check when I was moving money to pay a credit card.

    Does anyone see this as a problem?

  • Midwest, went to a T Mobile and tried to get a prepaid debit card. Cashier attempted to put $20 cash on, but he said system said it was an "invalid card." He said he wasn't able to activate the card, and said he heard they are probably cancelling this program, and they probably just need to take the cards down. All hearsay of course, so who knows! Good luck out there.

  • Nate, its an opinion based question, but if they catch you pocketing reloadits and walking out with them, are you willing to deal with the consequences (whatever they may be)? Personally I am not.

  • Does anyone know or have thoughts on this:

    Have a store (#1) in my area that accepts cc for reloadits but usually runs out of stock quickly and doesn't always refill. Another store (#2, same chain) always has them, in stock but 2 of the 3 CSR seem to have major problems/attitudes with GC's and have always rejected even trying to run them (was told don't accept, but caught another csr who tried and it worked fine).

    My question is: are there any issues with taking the cards from store #2 and walking in to store #1 and loading them? I can see the moral argument for both sides ("stealing" vs "they are worthless, and you are ultimately paying for them". Does anyone have any experience or horror stories with this?

  • @jcb,
    Yes, the credit card number would be your payee account number on the T-Mobile billpay site.

    Routing number is for a bank. If you pay a Chase credit card on Chase website using a bank account then you need a routing number and bank account number. Here you are using T-Mobile's bill pay system which is similar to billpay systems that many banks have where you enter your credit card number as the later account number.

    • Thanks. For the bank, it says above that funds can also be transferred to a bank account. Wanted to figure out how to do that but I don't see any option

  • Just picked up a T-mobile card at Albertsons after T-mobile's website said it couldn't process my app and after the T-mobile store told me they discontinued the card.

    My question is how to do the bill pay. Is the account number your CC number? If I do a bank don't I need the routing (which they don't ask for)?

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