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You Can No Longer Fund Target Prepaid REDcard With Debit Cards, What to Do Now

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    Update:   One or more card offers in this post are no longer available.  Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers.  You can no longer load Target Prepaid REDcard with debit cards or gift cards.

    This is bad news because lots of folks bought gift cards to meet minimum spending requirements on new credit cards.  And then loaded the gift cards to Target Prepaid REDcard to pay bills like rent and Homeowner’s Association fees.

    Target No Longer Allows Debit Cards or Gift Cards to Load the Target Prepaid REDcard. But You Have Other Options!

    But you still have other choices!  I’ll explain!

    What’s Going On?

    Link:   Target Prepaid REDcard

    I was excited when the Target Prepaid REDcard came out, because it was an easy way to earn miles and points with credit cards.  When AMEX stopped allowing account loading directly with credit cards, a workaround was to buy gift cards, and load them to the Target Prepaid REDcard.

    Target PrePaid REDcard Was a Great Way to Earn Miles and Points. But Now You Can Only Load It With Cash

    But that’s over, too.  Readers reached out to me with the bad news.  And Frequent Miler even secured a copy of the official memo to Target employees.

    Now, the only way to load your Target Prepaid REDcard is with cash.  So it’s no longer useful as a way to earn miles and points.

    What Else Is There?

    Link:   AMEX Serve One VIP

    Link:   AMEX Bluebird

    AMEX has 2 similar prepaid debit card options, AMEX Serve One VIP and AMEX Bluebird.  Read my guide about which 1 is best for you.

    Load Your AMEX Serve Card With Gift Cards at Family Dollar

    AMEX Serve recently split their prepaid debit card into several options.  But AMEX Serve One VIP is most like the original card, and has few fees and free reloads.  Lots of folks report you can still load gift cards to Serve at Family Dollar.

    Get this card soon if you’re interested, because I don’t know how much longer they’ll allow new sign-ups.

    You Can Still Fund AMEX Bluebird With Gift Cards at Walmart
    AMEX Bluebird is the other option.  And folks say you can still load it with gift cards at Walmart. Which card you pick depends on how near you are to a Family Dollar or Walmart, and how easy it is for you to purchase the right gift cards with a credit card (keep reading for a tip on where to buy them!).

    Also keep in mind you must close your AMEX Prepaid REDcard account before you can open a new AMEX Serve One VIP or AMEX Bluebird card.

    Complete Your Minimum Spending Requirements

    Link:   40+ Powerful Ways To Complete Your Credit Card Minimum Spending Requirements

    Staples just added $300 gift cards to their website.  You can purchase these cards to meet minimum spending requirements, and use them to load AMEX Serve One VIP and AMEX Bluebird.

    Then you can use the bill pay feature of either AMEX Serve or Bluebird to mail checks to your landlord, pay tuition, etc.  It’s much easier to meet credit card minimum spending requirements when you have a way to include your largest bills!

    Buy Gift Cards at Staples to Help Meet Minimum Spending Requirements

    You’ll pay ~$9 in fees for each card, but they’re cheaper than buying gift cards in-store.  And ordering online saves you the hassle of going out to get them.

    Plus, you’ll save even more when you pay with AMEX SimplyCash because it earns 5% cash back at US office supply stores.

    Be sure to read about 40+ ways to meet your minimum spending requirements.  These will help you earn sign-up bonuses on new credit cards while you’re switching from AMEX Prepaid REDcard to AMEX Serve One VIP or AMEX Bluebird.

    What’s Next?

    In our hobby, deals come and go all the time!  Even though this deal is over, we’ll look forward to the next big thing that comes along.

    It’s a great reminder to take advantage of good deals while they’re available.  And of course I’ll always let you know when something new develops!

    Bottom Line

    You can no longer load your Target Prepaid REDcard with a gift card at Target stores.   You can still use gift cards to load AMEX Serve One VIP at Family Dollar or AMEX Bluebird at Walmart.  Here’s how to decide which card is best for you.

    If you’re interested in AMEX Serve One VIP, sign-up soon because I don’t know how much longer it will be open for new accounts.

    In the meantime, you can purchase $300 gift cards at Staples.  And there are lots of other ways to meet minimum spending requirements.

    If you’ve had an experience with any of these AMEX prepaid debit cards, let me know about it in the comments!

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)