One of the most common questions I get related to my weekly manufactured spending activities is about depositing money orders. A lot of people ask me which bank I deposit my money orders into and how I avoid getting shut down.
Unfortunately, there isn’t really a magic formula. I’ve been using just one bank for a few years. While my manufactured spending doesn’t always run into five figures a week, it certainly gets close.
I haven’t been shut down for money order deposits yet, though that could very well change. If you’re concerned about depositing large quantities of money orders into your bank account, I’d recommend the following:
Separate Everyday Banking from Manufactured Spending Activities
Shut-downs are bound to happen, in which case you want to minimize the impact. The best way to do this? Use a separate bank account for money order deposits. This way, if your bank account gets shut down, it won’t disrupt your normal banking activities.
You won’t have to worry about re-routing automatic payments like your mortgage and credit cards.
I always treat everything in the points and miles game as temporary, with the understanding that it can all get shut down in a heartbeat. We’ve seen it happen with rewards programs (hello Marriott Bonvoy) and credit cards (RIP Barclay Arrival Plus).
So I try to mitigate my losses by not depending heavily on one program or bank. That’s why diversification is important and why I deposit money orders into a different account. Which brings me to my next point…
Avoid Rewards-centric Banks
I have no doubt I’ll eventually get shut down by my bank for depositing too many money orders. Which is why I chose one that doesn’t offer any good rewards credit cards. In other words, I’m not using a Citi or Chase checking account for money order deposits.
If that checking account gets shut down, so will all of my credit card accounts. And then I’ll really be out of business.
The last thing I want is to be Sapphire-less for the foreseeable future. It may happen anyway, but I don’t want to increase the likelihood by depositing money orders into a Chase checking account.
When it comes to depositing money orders and paying off credit cards, I recommend going with a bank that you don’t mind getting shut down with. Avoid Chase and others that have the best credit card line-ups. These could become off-limits if your checking account is shut down.
Choosing The Best Bank for Money Order Deposits?
Lots of people use small banks and credit unions for money order deposits. That’s been hit-or-miss. But that’s how most things related to manufactured spending are.
Nothing is guaranteed and even the best hacks could come crumbling down. That’s why you’ll want to think ahead and figure out how to handle a potential shut-down.
As for the bank I personally use, I’ve shared that in the comment section of some of my posts. I don’t want to bring more attention to it here. If hordes of people start moving their manufactured spending activities to one bank, they’ll notice and that could lead to a shut down for everyone.
I will say, I’ve used Bank of America for money order deposits in the past and that worked fine. The reason I stopped was because I was also using Bofa for regular banking activities. At the time, I was also churning gift cards in large quantities, increasing the likelihood of a shut-down (at least in my mind).
How do you choose a bank for your money order deposits? Have you experienced a shut down yet?
Thank you for sharing. Could you please share your thoughts on indirectly sending MOs through chase. Example- deposit MO at BOA then write check to yourself and deposit to chase or wire transfer.
That sounds a little convoluted. Why would you transfer the funds to Chase?
Because Chase offers free transfers to banks. I have a HELOC with a credit union bank (part of velocity mortgage strategy). So I make MO deposits at BOA and other banks, then transfer them to Chase deposits, and then transfer to HELOC (free transfer).
But isn’t it easier to just deposit it into one bank and use that to pay off your credit cards? I don’t see a benefit to transferring to another account.
Just to add an additional layer of keeping under the radar
I also like to keep my CCs on autopay and not have to deal with manually making the payments everytime.
Are you aware of any safe banks that allow money order deposits through mobile apps?
I have no problem depositing Western Union MO’s through my bank’s mobile app. Moneygram MO’s will not deposit, however. I use a very large regional bank, so maybe it’s best to stay away from big nation wide banks?
Where is the US region? I was thinking of using Regions or Truist (BB&T/SunTrust). Just starting so haven’t tried yet.
How do you sit in line with 10 gift cards and swip away in 500 increments. That looks suspicious
You can swipe four at a time.
How do you sign the money orders? Do you put your name on both the “Pay to the order of” and “Purchaser signer for drawer” lines?
Yes.