Update 6/3/14 at 8:00PM PST: Loading One Vanilla Gift Cards (OVGC) and other Visa/MasterCard Gift Cards at Walmart is slightly more challenging now. Please read this post for more information.
Load Bluebird with Gift Cards at Walmart Money Center ATM
To load Bluebird with a Visa, MasterCard, or American Express Gift Card, you will need:
- Bluebird Card
- Walmart Store
- Money Center ATM
- Gift card with a PIN (most gift cards have PINs, but not all)
You will have to experiment with different gift cards to find out which ones have PINs. To add a PIN to a gift card, follow the steps in Activate a Gift Card and Create a PIN. If you do not have a Walmart close by, please read Load Bluebird with Gift Cards without Walmart for an alternative way to load your Bluebird Card with gift cards. Assuming you have all 4 things listed above, go to your local Walmart and find the Money Center ATM (near the customer service department).
On the Home Screen, select Walmart MoneyCard to reload your Bluebird Card.
Select Reload.
The screen says you can load up to $1,100 per day on your Walmart MoneyCard, but your Bluebird Card has a $1,000 reload limit. Select continue.
Swipe your Bluebird Card on the credit card reader.
Swipe your Bluebird Card on the credit card reader. It won’t ask for your Bluebird Card PIN.
Type the amount of money you want to load onto your Bluebird Card and press enter. I always enter the amount of the gift card I am loading. For example, if I have a $200 gift card, I will enter $200 on the screen. I have to repeat all the steps for every gift card I want to load onto my Bluebird Card.
The screen will say processing for a few seconds.
If the reload amount looks correct, press finish & pay.
Select debit.
Swipe your gift card on the credit card reader.
Enter your gift card PIN. Hopefully you enter the right PIN. To minimize the chances of getting a declined reload, read Activate a Gift Card and Create a PIN (before visiting Walmart). Some gift card websites will let you create a PIN online. Some gift cards have PINs that can be created the first time you use them for debit. Also, some gift cards use the last 4 digits of the gift card number as the PIN.
Select no cash back.
if everything looks correct on the screen, press OK.
Your gift card authorization is in progress. Please wait a few seconds.
Congratulations, your reload has been successful! Your receipt is printing.
Your receipt will show you how much was added to your Bluebird Card ($200) and your current Bluebird Card balance ($800).
Press OK.
All Done. If you have other gift cards to reload, wait a few seconds for the Home Screen to load and repeat all the above steps.
After every successful reload, you will receive an email from Bluebird with the reload details.
After logging into your Bluebird account, you can see all the successful reloads.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.
can’t load the home improvement cards anymore! any suggestions?
That’s terrible Robin. Hopefully you don’t have much money tied up. I have heard suggestions of buying Amazon gift cards or other gift cards at Sears. Check out http://millionmilesecrets.com/2013/08/02/draft-post-21/ for more suggestions.
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Correct me if I’m wrong, but it appears Blue Bird has changed their maximums to $100 a day and $1,000 a month from debit cards. Is this correct? I don’t have a Blue Bird account yet, but if these limits are true with a $2 per $100 then the value has been diminished.
Unloaded my recent chase gift cards today for the first time. the ATM was acting real weird and not accepting my PIN for some reason so the lady in their moneycenter customer service desk called me over and helped me. She knew exactly what to do thankfully and quickly got my gift card value into my bluebird account. It was a snap! Gotta load the other $1000 tomorrow and the united credit card account will be ready to be paid! Thanks again for the informative posts couldn’t have gotten here without them.
Glad it all worked out for you. Bluebird is amazing. Let me know if you have any other questions.
I tried this at two Walmarts and failed miserably! Both had customer service people in their money centers who could not get my Vanilla Visa Debit Gift Card to load. It let me enter a pin number, but then declined. I also tried the kiosk. I selected “moneycard” swiped my bb card, entered the amount, and then it tried to authorize. It could never authorize the bluebird card as a moneycard. I did notice, interestingly, that there was a button to select for “bluebird” at the very beginning when I chose “moneycard” – so I tried that too. It didn’t work either. Any suggestions?
I haven’t used a Walmart ATM in a few weeks, so maybe they changed the reload process. Were you able to add a PIN online or by phone before you went to Walmart? I usually wait a day after a create/set my PIN before reloading the card onto my Bluebird card.
God bless you! I went to Walmart since I had a Gift Card and after trying all the steps as you detailed here and tried to load the BlueBird Card, the transaction was declined. My Gift Card had a Pin on the back. I talked to a supervisor at Walmart and she told me that the BlueBird card can’t be loaded with any Walmart Gift Card. That the transaction is really impossible that way. Trying to load the BlueBird with anyWalMart Gift Card was not acceptable. I was in shocked. I praise the Lord for what He did at Walmart. All, all glory and honor to the Lord.
I have no problem using visa gc at the walmart register. But at the ATM, when I enter the PIN and hit enter, it clears the PIN and promps me to re-enter the PIN,and it keeps on doing that. Any suggestions?
I’ve only used the Walmart ATM once, so I’m not sure what is going wrong.
I am suspecting the worse is coming…
For the past 2 weeks all Walmarts in my area (4 to be exact) have Kiosks, when you choose bluebird option, it’ll take you all the way to choose the amount you want to load, I type 200$ as usual, and now I’ve been getting this message: “unable to complete transaction, see associate for assistance” ..
I have used all those Kiosks in the past 6 months without problems, same transaction.. Now I have to go to the customer service which is a pain in the rear to load 5 GC , and mostly have to do 1 card at a time..
My last one tonight the associate asked to see the card, it was in my hand and he saw it was a GC and told me it is illegal to use a GC to load the BB..
P.S: the kiosk screen is now updated and has a separate option for bluebird.
1) anyone else got the same problem?
2) is it rally illegal?
3) any way around this kiosk problem?
Good evening Squallo, thank you for sharing your experience. What type of gift card did you try to load to your Bluebird Card? It is not illegal, that is what they tell people to scare them. I have been loading gift cards at Walmart without a kiosk/ATM machine for months by going to a cashier or to the customer service department. Most associates never ask to see the card.
It was a Visa GC. Since WM upgraded the kiosks and having a seperate option for BB things haven’t been the same..
I know what you mean. It is frustrating when stores update their software on their equipment.
If I had a ton of Amazon gift cards (not purchased from Walmart), would I be able to use those to load my Amex Bluebird? Thanks!
You can only use gift cards with a PIN to load onto Bluebird. Amazon gift cards won’t work.
Hi Grant,
I was curious whether the Wal-Mart money center machine can be work with Paypal Business Debit Card? after reading another blog http://millionmilesecrets.com/2013/01/28/pay-pal-debit-card/#more-22849 the person was able to withdraw $1000 from Paypal debit to BB. I don’t know if this will raise the flag with the paypal since they’re pretty strict.
Other question is that is it correctly to assume if you purchase Paypal cash load, VR, and Visa VR. the limit for money transferring into BB is different for each?
thanks
If you use your PayPal Business Debit Card and enter a PIN, you will not earn any cash back. I believe the limit for the card is $400 cash back or PIN-based transaction. You can load as much as you want, depending on the amount loaded onto the card.
Hi grant. I tried to do as you said but when I typed in my pin it kept on asking me to put it in again and again.
Any error message pop up on the screen? What gift card did you try to use? Did a receipt print out with a message on it?
I used a visa gift card that I bought from staples. I called the number to activate it and set up a pin but the atm kept asking me for the pin over and over.
You won’t be able to use the gift cards at ATMs, even after setting up a PIN. You can load the funds onto your Bluebird Card though.
How?
The atm I’m referring to is the Walmart moneypass.
Now you have “bluebird Card” option in money center express kiosk
Nice catch RBN. I haven’t been to a Walmart with an ATM since I wrote this post.
Has any one experience difficulty loading OV visa to either BB or Gobank? I was at walmart and try to load $500 to my Gobank (my BB is at max today. tried both options money card and repaid reload) everything was fine til when ask me for pin I enter for the first time then. It ask me to enter “my pin for payment” (not exact quote) I didnt know what to do. Tried few more time just show the same thing. Does go bank has monthly limit? Or walmart’s atm gotten smarter and caught was this? Anyone have any idea?
It could be anything. They have limits, I think around $5,000 per month. Were you using a 4 digit PIN? I would wait until after May 1 and try again.
Yes, i used the 4 digit pin when it asked me. I put it and then it ask me again for the pin “for payment”. I thought GoBank has higher monthly load, but i guess it could change. I’ll try again in May. thanks.
I check my Go Bank transaction i only loaded $2500 this month.
I’m not as familiar with Go Bank’s limits. I think waiting until May 1 is the best thing to do.
Went to Walmart and tried to load bluebird with my one vanilla Visa card. Traction declined at both cashier and the walmart kiosk. I was told that they were recently informed to take only real debit card aka check card. Not the gift card that says gift card without the name. Looks like something big is on the way…
Are you sure you didn’t already max out your $5,000 monthly reload limit?
BlackHill wat was the error msg when you tried to reload onto your BB card at the kiosk?
Has anyone used GoBank to load their VISA GC or OneVanilla recently last 2 or 3 days. I check my GoBank account that i only load $2500 this month of April. We all know that GoBank has unknown monthly max reload. but if anyone read my comment, i received a 2nd request to enter the pin which i cant get past. I agree with Grant say, i will wait til May 1st which is coming this week and tried to load onto the BB which it should reset. I’m praying it won’t change a thing.
I loaded Go Bank probably 10 days ago and didn’t have any problems. Probably won’t do much more since I have 2 Bluebird (mom and dad) and 1 Serve Card.
I got a question about Amazon Payments: If friend “A” sent me a $1000 payment in April, is it safe for me to send back to friend “A” him this month?
Ya, that should be fine, as long as you don’t do the same thing with friend “B”, “C”, “D”, etc.
I don’t understand, what is the difference if it’s A, b or c?, I am sending to the one who sent me last month
I was trying to say that as long as you are only sending money from one account to the other account once every month you should be fine.
Can I load my Serve Card with Gift cards at a MoneyPass ATM (non Walmart)
I doubt it, but I have never tried. If there is a MoneyPass ATM nearby, go check it out and let me know how it goes.
Can I load the bb using vanilla visa gift card? I have not tried that, but I think I will
Yes, I’m not sure if you have to set a PIN before using those, but I would call the number on the back of the card and set a PIN before loading it to your Bluebird Card.
has anybody have trouble loading at wamart with bb as of today? I got rejected at two stores . clerk told me they no longer accepted prepaid visa from their updated software
can you give us more detail like what does the screen said??
I had the same issue in one of the walmart,. Screen says “Tender not accepted”. Same store I was able to load $50 with my real debit card. When I reported this month back or so,people were calling names now that its spreading they will realize the end is near
It’s too soon to call it dead, we will just have to see what happens (kinda like VRCs at CVS), let’s try to keep all of the success/failure stories on this post for now: http://travelwithgrant.com/2014/05/30/rumor-walmart-updates-point-of-sale-pos-software-making-bluebird-serve-go-bank-reloads-difficult/
I’m not saying its dead just yet but looks like they are making improvements to block this loophole. Enjoy while it last. After all nothing is meant forever:)
@grant
my WM $center show “bluebird” as well as “WM $ card” on the initial screen (compared to your 2nd photo)… any difference if i select “bb” or “wm $ card” at the kiosk?
thanks
My pic is from last year, so they probably updated the user interface. Either option should work as far as I know.
Grant… When I take a $200 gift card in to load onto Bluebird, is it possible to only load $100 and get the remaining $100 as Cash Back?
I can’t seem to find any answer to that on the web. Just wondering….
If that’s possible you could buy more than $5000 a month in gift cards but only load $5000 and get the remaining card value as cash back?????
Thanks,
Bill
Good question, I’ve never tried. I suppose it is possible. I think it will only work with OVGCs and MasterCard gift cards since those will give you the option for cash back. Give it a try and let me know how it goes.
I always get the cash back option with the Staples GC’s I load.
I guess I would choose the amount to load as $100, then at the cash back screen select the remaining $100. Will try in Sept. All loaded up for this month!
Thanks
You must be using the MasterCard GCs from Staples, right?
No, the Visa GC’s
Interesting, mine go straight to the PIN box with no option for cash back.
Kiosk’s must be programmed differently???
Perhaps, I only go to the Money Center Department.
Looks like this won’t work anymore. I had been using gc to load bluebird all the time. But from last week onwards my transactions are getting rejected. :(
Which gift cards are you using to load at Walmart Kiosks?
Do we know if the gift cards starting with “4358” and an expiration date of 03/22, bought from Staples, still working to load Bluebird?
I haven’t tried to load any of the $200 Visa GCs from Staples at Walmart in a few weeks, but they were working. Have you had any problems?
Loaded 2 cards yesterday, 10/28, with no problem!
Excellent, thanks for sharing Bill!
New to this. I purchased two $500 VISA debit Gift Cards from Safeway. Went to Walmart. There was not a kiosk, so went to Money Center. Told clerk I wanted to load my Bluebird card using a debit card. She said that Walmart does not allow that. What gives? I live in San Jose, CA.
That is strange. If that happens, I always go to the checkout lane and load up there.
Hey Grant,
It seems I have no problem loading the Visa gift card at Walmart, but when I try to load the Vanilla Visa gift card, that is a different story. It keeps saying debit declined. I just wonder if you have the same issue or anyone have the same problem.
I believe Walmart blacklisted all Vanilla issued gift cards. I have no problem using Metabank or US Bank issued gift cards. Just stay away from Vanilla issued gift cards and you will be fine :)
Hi
I tried yesterday at Walmart in Alpharetta, GA using Simon Mall Gift Card ( NetBank ) and system will not allow it.
Which Bank Gift Cards are allowed now ?
Thanks.
I believe gift cards issued by US Bank and Metabank still work. You can usually buy those at grocery stores and office supply stores.
Hi Grant, I tried Metabank Visa Debit gift card yesterday at Walmart Kiosk and it didn’t work.
Where did you purchase your Metabank gift card? Did you set a pin before you tried to use it?
I bought it at http://www.giftcardmall.com and yes, I set a PIN before trying to use it. I registered the gift card with my info as well.
I see, that is not good. Has anyone else had any trouble using Gift Card Mall gift cards at Walmart?
Anyone having problems with US Bank MC gift cards uploading to Bluebird. My 2 recent cards (from the Staples deal a few weeks ago) went like this. 1st card – used Kate and had no problem at all. 2nd card – tried 3 different Kates and 2 different cashiers at the Money Center and none of them worked. Any great solutions?
MasterCard GCs are always more difficult than VGCs. Try to set or reset the PIN and try again. Good luck!
Does this still work
Yes, you can still load GCs to your Serve Card at Walmart. But not all GCs work.
HI grant great post can i use the new VIP one serve card instead of the bluebird does this work the same as bluebird??
thank you
You should be able to use the AMEX serve VIP the same as a bluebird or regular serve card. I don’t know about loading, but using it online should be the same.
Ok thanks I have a walmart not to far so that’s good. But I notice that I can load these serve cards online via a debit card so there for can I use a gift card as a debit card?
You can’t use a gift card to load and they serve card online, American Express will let you do that.