Power company offers an “energy efficient” rebate for such things as replacement windows. Go thru the paces, and “get your cash” so they say.
So we go thru the paces and after saying (I think somewhere) credit on your bill, now they say they will send a prepaid debit card. What a crock! To my knowledge you cannot cash a debit card like you could a check. You must spend it on goods or services! I didn’t pay for windows with goods or services. I want the cash like they said. If I were to spend the $400 on gasoline, I would lose $20 in kickback money. So…
Does anyone know how to turn a debit card into cash?
He is talking about using a credit card with a cash-back reward. His example is getting a 5% reward for a fuel purchase. The PenFed Visa has that reward, as one example.
I had a similar situation a few years ago. I took the card to the post office and purchased a money order using that. There was a nominal fee for doing so, but the fee was less than what I would have gotten in cash rebates making a credit card purchase in the same amount. I then sent the full money order to my HOA as a payment for my monthly HOA fees, which I can not pay with a credit card without incurring a king-sized fee. That covered me for about three months.
Thank you wmj that is the sort of thing I am looking for. I do get 5% on fuel and 2.5% on almost everything else with extincted USAA card. Seems like a MO is around $7 these days so that is approaching the $10 I get at 2.5%. Oops I am wrong. Postal MO $1.95 up to 500 bucks.
Ironically, I cannot spend the card with the power company that is sending it to me and calling it cash, without using some dumb 3rd party clearing house to process it and collect a so-called “convenience” fee.
Mine was a few years ago and I don’t remember the precise details, but my prepaid visa was around the high ~$800s and the charge was around $1.60 or something like that. I remember comparing what it would cost me vs. what I would save by not using that for purchases that I could make with a credit card.
By the way, regarding the USAA 2.5% Limitless card that you mentioned, just curious, but do you still have that. I had read that USAA was discontinuing it.
Edit: I just read in the link below that they are giving you an extra 1% through the end of the year. Enjoy that while it lasts.
Edit 2: According to the USPS site, for a money order up to $500 it is a $1.45 fee. It is $1.95 for one between $500.01 - $1000. Inflation seems to be hitting money order fees too.
Yes USAA is softening the blow until 31 Dec with a top-up on the 2.5%. At that time their card goes in back of drawer because 1.5% is not competitive. Wonder what they will think when my 2-5 kilobucks a month goes to zero!
