I strongly encourage everyone to AVOID this card. YOU HAVE OTHER OPTIONS. I have been a customer for about 9 months. Two days ago, I transferred funds into my "setaside" account, which is basically a savings account. The funds are transferred in and available for transfer back out immediately. I had one transaction of $80.00 that was transferred in twice. So, $160.00 went into my setaside account. No problem, I thought to myself, I can just transfer $80.00 back into my regular account and I will be fine. That's where I was wrong. ALL of the funds I transferred into my setaside account were labeled as "pending - action required." What?! How are MY funds from MY account I transferred to MYSELF pending - especially when Bluebird states specifically they are available for transfer in and out of your accounts immediately?
No worries. I will call the ONLY contact number they have listed. (Note: this is the ONLY method of contact for Bluebird). So I wait on hold for 30 minutes and speak with a customer service representative that seems apologized for the inconvenience, and asks to put me on hold for a few minutes while he contacts a "support" person to find out what is going on. The customer service representative later comes back on the line and informs me that he is very sorry, but there is an update to the system that should be resolved by the next day and then my funds will be available to me again.
I waited a full 24 hours before contacting them again after - surprise! - my funds are still on lockdown. I cannot transfer them back into my primary account and they're not showing up in my setaside account. I have ZERO access to MY money. I cannot take it out of an ATM, I can't use my debit card, I can't transfer it back into my primary account, I can't even walk into a bank to have someone physically hand me MY cash.
I wait on hold another 30 minutes to speak with another customer service representative. He informs me that he is very sorry for my inconvenience, but yes, there is an issue in their system with people that have transferred their funds into their setaside accounts. It will be resolved today, and my funds will be deposited into my account. I ask him kindly for a estimated time frame, because this is MY money that I cannot access, and I can't imagine anyone there would be very pleased at experiencing this themselves. He asked to put me on hold while he called a support person. When he came back on the line he informed me, "it will be fixed in a day." I asked him for clarification. Did he mean it would be fixed TODAY, or WITHIN a day? He responded that it would be fixed by the end of THIS day. When I asked if he was sure - because I was told it would be fixed THE DAY BEFORE and it wasn't, he responded that yes, it would be fixed "today." He also informed me that in the meantime, my transfer from my primary account to my setaside account was considered "pending" while they resolved their system issues and I would not be able to access the funds at all, but I was welcome to add more money at a retailer or by check or direct deposit if I chose. I reminded him that I wanted access to my money that had already been deposited and not used for anything else, and he once again apologized for any incovenience. Inconvenience? I have to pay bills and put gas in my car, but I don't even know WHEN I will be able to now. I would call that more than an "inconvenience."
I am cancelling my card with them, and hoping that they will SOMEHOW figure out a way to return MY money that they are holding due to THEIR OWN ERROR. To not have any solution available to me other than "call back" if my funds aren't available when stated is absolutely ridiculous, and extremely negligent. It also does NOTHING to show you are "sorry" for my inconvenience" when I am repeatedly given incorrect information and there is absolutely NO alternate resolution to my problem, no one that can intervene- nothing.
This card is the worst mistake that I have ever made… I will make sure that everyone including my parents and brother-in-law and sister-in-laws that I recommended this card to DO NOT OBTAIN THIS CARD AND DO NOT ACTIVATE… There are so many restrictions on this card that you can’t even use this card and feel comfortable. Let me say that “THIS IS MY MONEY!!!!” I direct deposit and put my hard earned cash on this card and I am limited at every step as to how, where, and how much of MY OWN MONEY that I am allowed to get. I linked a bank account to this card and then after you shut my card down multiple times so that you can “verify” my bank account, I find out that I can only transfer $100.00 per day. For the number of times that I had to call and send information and you shutting my card down made the $100.00 per day not worth the trouble. Then, I direct deposit my check on the card and American Express has all of my money tied up on this card. After my first check was deposited I used the ATM for cash and of course it shut me down at $2500.00 per month!!! Funny how this is never mentioned until you need the money. But, I can deal with that as long as my card works.
AMERICAN EXPRESS LEFT ME STRANDED 4 HOURS FROM HOME WITH MY HANDICAPPDED WIFE AND 3 MONTH OLD INFANT IN FREAZING WEATHER BECAUSE I HAD SPENT THE MONTHLY LIMIT ALLOWED ON MY CARD!!!!!!! THIS IS MY MONEY!!!! HELLO!!!!
And for those of you at American Express that can only read fine print… how many time I heard that in the time that I dealt with you. Here the above statement is in fine print:
AMERICAN EXPRESS LEFT ME STRANDED 4 HOURS FROM HOME WITH MY HANDICAPPDED WIFE AND 3 MONTH OLD INFANT IN FREEZING WEATHER BECAUSE I HAD SPENT THE MONTHLY LIMIT ALLOWED ON MY CARD!!!!!!! THIS IS MY MONEY!!!! HELLO!!!! hOW DO THEY PUT A LIMIT ON THE AMOUNT OF YOUR MONEY THAT YOU ARE ALLOWED TO SPEND...
So, evidently, after I drove 4 hours from home to buy the food supplements that my wife needs LETS DON’T FORGET THAT MY WIFE IS HANDICAPPED AND HAS TO HAVE SPECIAL CARE. I find out that there is a $10,000 per month limit that you can spend of YOUR MONEY. After my card didn’t work at the store for my wife’s food supplements, I called AMEX and of course the reason my card didn’t work was because they had to verify my bank account ONE MORE TIME (this is the third time). While I had the representative on the phone I once again emailed my bank account info and she once again verified my account and said that my card will be good in 5 minutes. I went back in the store and of course my card didn’t work. I called back and after being on hold for another 10 minutes the representative answered and started going through the list of reasons that it might not work. Then she said, “Mr. McBride, the reason your card isn’t working is because you are at your monthly limit of $10,000 and your card will not work until December 1.” I explained to her that my ENTIRE pay check was direct deposited on that card and that AMEX had already limited me on ATM availability so that I had NO ACCESS TO MY CASH. I told her that we are going to have to figure something out because this is going to strand me and my family 4 or 5 hours from home and that they need to at least let the charge at the store I was at and for me to get gas to get my family home. She said, “Sorry, but there is nothing that we can do.” I asked for a supervisor and was on hold for 1 hour and 34 minutes and she never got back on the line one time to check on me or to let me know that she was trying to contact someone. 30 minutes into this call I called on my other phone to see why no one answered on the other line. This lady was nice and helpful and she came back and at least let me know that she was working on getting someone. After being on hold with her for 45 minutes she finally got someone on the line and they told me the same thing. That AMEX WAS NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING FOR ME AND HAD NO REGUARD TO LEAVING MY FAMILY STRANDED AWAY FROM HOME. DID I MENTION THAT MY WIFE IS HANDICAPPED AND SHE CANT WALK AND THAT WE ALSO HAVE A 3 MONTH OLD INFANT IN FREEZING WEATHER??? AND DID I MENTION THAT THIS IS MY MONEY THAT I DIRECT DEPOSITED FROM MY PAYCHECK???
I HAVE TO SAY THAT AS I MENTIONED ON THE RECORDED LINE THAT THIS IS MORE THAN “OH, SORRY YOU HIT THE LIMIT ON THE AMOUNT OF YOUR MONEY THAT YOU CAN HAVE ACCESS TO” THIS IS NOW AN ETHICAL ISSUE….. You can bet that I will do everything in my power to publicize this information and make sure that everyone knows the fine print that will leave your family stranded with NO HELP.
I purchased the Bluebird Card from Walmart to try it out. After creating an account and receiving the new card in the mail, I put $450 on the card. I was planning a road trip, so thought it would be a good idea to use it to buy gas and food while travelling. It worked fine for the first four transactions. After that the card declined at the next gas station. How ridiculous! I have more than $200 balance and it would not go through. Luckily I had cash and credit cards to use.
After getting back home, I tried to call them for 2 days at the 877-486-5990 number, and due to the high volume of calls, no one was available, and the phone hang up. Went online it shows a total balance of $211.00, but $0.00 available. Tried calling them again, same thing. Went online the next day, then all the funds are available. Not sure what their tactics are, but for American Express to be such a large company, this service is horrible! This is the year 2012, you do not need 3 days to process debit transactions. My bank knows my balance and what's available immediately! PLEASE GET A CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR BLUEBIRD CUSTOMERS.
I would not recommend Bluebird to anyone and will close out this account.
American Express Bluebird card is full of CRAP!! When I first got the card I was fine for maybe the first 6 months. On Friday the 25 I went to an ATM machine to with draw some money out of it. It said unable to disperse transaction. I said well ok maybe its because I treis to take too much out because sometimes it gives you a limit as to how much you can get out. So I tried another amount it said Sorry we are unable to complete this transaction try again later. So I decided to go to the store and get cash back. My card was declined, I tried again at another store and it declined again. So I look on my phone at my balance and I see that I went from having almost 700 to -16.95 in my account. So I call American Express and they tell me that they are having problems with the ATM and that I have to wait 10-30 days before I can get my funds. UNACCEPTABLE! So then I was told by a girl named Alicia to fax the info to an incorrect fax number in order to recieve a temporary credit. Do I had to talk to somone else who gave me another fax number named albet who continued to tell me that they didnt recieve my fax until after I asked to speak to a manager. To make a long story short these people are telling me that I have to wait 10-45 days for a possible temporary credit to my account. Isnt the point of a temporary credit to the account to give you the credit and if they feel like you are at fault they will take the money back from you? All I have to say is if you enjoy having money dont use these pople because they will take all ya money and give you a BS runaround. I am EXTRMELY pissed.
Bluebird American Express Reviews
I strongly encourage everyone to AVOID this card. YOU HAVE OTHER OPTIONS. I have been a customer for about 9 months. Two days ago, I transferred funds into my "setaside" account, which is basically a savings account. The funds are transferred in and available for transfer back out immediately. I had one transaction of $80.00 that was transferred in twice. So, $160.00 went into my setaside account. No problem, I thought to myself, I can just transfer $80.00 back into my regular account and I will be fine. That's where I was wrong. ALL of the funds I transferred into my setaside account were labeled as "pending - action required." What?! How are MY funds from MY account I transferred to MYSELF pending - especially when Bluebird states specifically they are available for transfer in and out of your accounts immediately?
No worries. I will call the ONLY contact number they have listed. (Note: this is the ONLY method of contact for Bluebird). So I wait on hold for 30 minutes and speak with a customer service representative that seems apologized for the inconvenience, and asks to put me on hold for a few minutes while he contacts a "support" person to find out what is going on. The customer service representative later comes back on the line and informs me that he is very sorry, but there is an update to the system that should be resolved by the next day and then my funds will be available to me again.
I waited a full 24 hours before contacting them again after - surprise! - my funds are still on lockdown. I cannot transfer them back into my primary account and they're not showing up in my setaside account. I have ZERO access to MY money. I cannot take it out of an ATM, I can't use my debit card, I can't transfer it back into my primary account, I can't even walk into a bank to have someone physically hand me MY cash.
I wait on hold another 30 minutes to speak with another customer service representative. He informs me that he is very sorry for my inconvenience, but yes, there is an issue in their system with people that have transferred their funds into their setaside accounts. It will be resolved today, and my funds will be deposited into my account. I ask him kindly for a estimated time frame, because this is MY money that I cannot access, and I can't imagine anyone there would be very pleased at experiencing this themselves. He asked to put me on hold while he called a support person. When he came back on the line he informed me, "it will be fixed in a day." I asked him for clarification. Did he mean it would be fixed TODAY, or WITHIN a day? He responded that it would be fixed by the end of THIS day. When I asked if he was sure - because I was told it would be fixed THE DAY BEFORE and it wasn't, he responded that yes, it would be fixed "today." He also informed me that in the meantime, my transfer from my primary account to my setaside account was considered "pending" while they resolved their system issues and I would not be able to access the funds at all, but I was welcome to add more money at a retailer or by check or direct deposit if I chose. I reminded him that I wanted access to my money that had already been deposited and not used for anything else, and he once again apologized for any incovenience. Inconvenience? I have to pay bills and put gas in my car, but I don't even know WHEN I will be able to now. I would call that more than an "inconvenience."
I am cancelling my card with them, and hoping that they will SOMEHOW figure out a way to return MY money that they are holding due to THEIR OWN ERROR. To not have any solution available to me other than "call back" if my funds aren't available when stated is absolutely ridiculous, and extremely negligent. It also does NOTHING to show you are "sorry" for my inconvenience" when I am repeatedly given incorrect information and there is absolutely NO alternate resolution to my problem, no one that can intervene- nothing.
This card is the worst mistake that I have ever made… I will make sure that everyone including my parents and brother-in-law and sister-in-laws that I recommended this card to DO NOT OBTAIN THIS CARD AND DO NOT ACTIVATE… There are so many restrictions on this card that you can’t even use this card and feel comfortable. Let me say that “THIS IS MY MONEY!!!!” I direct deposit and put my hard earned cash on this card and I am limited at every step as to how, where, and how much of MY OWN MONEY that I am allowed to get. I linked a bank account to this card and then after you shut my card down multiple times so that you can “verify” my bank account, I find out that I can only transfer $100.00 per day. For the number of times that I had to call and send information and you shutting my card down made the $100.00 per day not worth the trouble. Then, I direct deposit my check on the card and American Express has all of my money tied up on this card. After my first check was deposited I used the ATM for cash and of course it shut me down at $2500.00 per month!!! Funny how this is never mentioned until you need the money. But, I can deal with that as long as my card works.
AMERICAN EXPRESS LEFT ME STRANDED 4 HOURS FROM HOME WITH MY HANDICAPPDED WIFE AND 3 MONTH OLD INFANT IN FREAZING WEATHER BECAUSE I HAD SPENT THE MONTHLY LIMIT ALLOWED ON MY CARD!!!!!!! THIS IS MY MONEY!!!! HELLO!!!!
And for those of you at American Express that can only read fine print… how many time I heard that in the time that I dealt with you. Here the above statement is in fine print:
AMERICAN EXPRESS LEFT ME STRANDED 4 HOURS FROM HOME WITH MY HANDICAPPDED WIFE AND 3 MONTH OLD INFANT IN FREEZING WEATHER BECAUSE I HAD SPENT THE MONTHLY LIMIT ALLOWED ON MY CARD!!!!!!! THIS IS MY MONEY!!!! HELLO!!!! hOW DO THEY PUT A LIMIT ON THE AMOUNT OF YOUR MONEY THAT YOU ARE ALLOWED TO SPEND...
So, evidently, after I drove 4 hours from home to buy the food supplements that my wife needs LETS DON’T FORGET THAT MY WIFE IS HANDICAPPED AND HAS TO HAVE SPECIAL CARE. I find out that there is a $10,000 per month limit that you can spend of YOUR MONEY. After my card didn’t work at the store for my wife’s food supplements, I called AMEX and of course the reason my card didn’t work was because they had to verify my bank account ONE MORE TIME (this is the third time). While I had the representative on the phone I once again emailed my bank account info and she once again verified my account and said that my card will be good in 5 minutes. I went back in the store and of course my card didn’t work. I called back and after being on hold for another 10 minutes the representative answered and started going through the list of reasons that it might not work. Then she said, “Mr. McBride, the reason your card isn’t working is because you are at your monthly limit of $10,000 and your card will not work until December 1.” I explained to her that my ENTIRE pay check was direct deposited on that card and that AMEX had already limited me on ATM availability so that I had NO ACCESS TO MY CASH. I told her that we are going to have to figure something out because this is going to strand me and my family 4 or 5 hours from home and that they need to at least let the charge at the store I was at and for me to get gas to get my family home. She said, “Sorry, but there is nothing that we can do.” I asked for a supervisor and was on hold for 1 hour and 34 minutes and she never got back on the line one time to check on me or to let me know that she was trying to contact someone. 30 minutes into this call I called on my other phone to see why no one answered on the other line. This lady was nice and helpful and she came back and at least let me know that she was working on getting someone. After being on hold with her for 45 minutes she finally got someone on the line and they told me the same thing. That AMEX WAS NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING FOR ME AND HAD NO REGUARD TO LEAVING MY FAMILY STRANDED AWAY FROM HOME. DID I MENTION THAT MY WIFE IS HANDICAPPED AND SHE CANT WALK AND THAT WE ALSO HAVE A 3 MONTH OLD INFANT IN FREEZING WEATHER??? AND DID I MENTION THAT THIS IS MY MONEY THAT I DIRECT DEPOSITED FROM MY PAYCHECK???
I HAVE TO SAY THAT AS I MENTIONED ON THE RECORDED LINE THAT THIS IS MORE THAN “OH, SORRY YOU HIT THE LIMIT ON THE AMOUNT OF YOUR MONEY THAT YOU CAN HAVE ACCESS TO” THIS IS NOW AN ETHICAL ISSUE….. You can bet that I will do everything in my power to publicize this information and make sure that everyone knows the fine print that will leave your family stranded with NO HELP.
THEY HOLD ON TO YOUR FUNDS!!!! WATCH OUT!!!
I purchased the Bluebird Card from Walmart to try it out. After creating an account and receiving the new card in the mail, I put $450 on the card. I was planning a road trip, so thought it would be a good idea to use it to buy gas and food while travelling. It worked fine for the first four transactions. After that the card declined at the next gas station. How ridiculous! I have more than $200 balance and it would not go through. Luckily I had cash and credit cards to use.
After getting back home, I tried to call them for 2 days at the 877-486-5990 number, and due to the high volume of calls, no one was available, and the phone hang up. Went online it shows a total balance of $211.00, but $0.00 available. Tried calling them again, same thing. Went online the next day, then all the funds are available. Not sure what their tactics are, but for American Express to be such a large company, this service is horrible! This is the year 2012, you do not need 3 days to process debit transactions. My bank knows my balance and what's available immediately! PLEASE GET A CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR BLUEBIRD CUSTOMERS.
I would not recommend Bluebird to anyone and will close out this account.
American Express Bluebird card is full of CRAP!! When I first got the card I was fine for maybe the first 6 months. On Friday the 25 I went to an ATM machine to with draw some money out of it. It said unable to disperse transaction. I said well ok maybe its because I treis to take too much out because sometimes it gives you a limit as to how much you can get out. So I tried another amount it said Sorry we are unable to complete this transaction try again later. So I decided to go to the store and get cash back. My card was declined, I tried again at another store and it declined again. So I look on my phone at my balance and I see that I went from having almost 700 to -16.95 in my account. So I call American Express and they tell me that they are having problems with the ATM and that I have to wait 10-30 days before I can get my funds. UNACCEPTABLE! So then I was told by a girl named Alicia to fax the info to an incorrect fax number in order to recieve a temporary credit. Do I had to talk to somone else who gave me another fax number named albet who continued to tell me that they didnt recieve my fax until after I asked to speak to a manager. To make a long story short these people are telling me that I have to wait 10-45 days for a possible temporary credit to my account. Isnt the point of a temporary credit to the account to give you the credit and if they feel like you are at fault they will take the money back from you? All I have to say is if you enjoy having money dont use these pople because they will take all ya money and give you a BS runaround. I am EXTRMELY pissed.