Re: [pct-l] Postal Money Orders from a Credit card

[Brian Casey <bnc@macsch.com>]

At 12:48 PM 3/15/99 -0800, you wrote:
>	I have asked two different postal clerks at our small post offfice about
>purchasing money orders with a credit card and they tell me that it can't
>be done. They tell that  I can pay for stamps and for postage with a credit
>card, but to get a money order I need cash or a debit card.  I doubt that
>my post office is different than other post offices, but I haven' t asked
>elsewhere.

It's generally not possible to buy a cash-equivalent (like a money order
or traveller's checks) with a credit card.  Many credit cards have bonus
programs - free gas, rebates, frequent flyer mileage, etc. - and before
the current restrictions were put in place, opportunistic people would use
their credit cards to buy traveller's checks, which they then cashed to 
use to pay off their credit card balance.  There was a long story in the
LA Times about 18 months ago about a man who bought $1000's worth of 
traveller's checks each month at various AAA offices using his frequent 
mileage credit card (at the time, AAA didn't charge a fee for traveller's
checks).  He was able to travel the world with his friends and family - 
all for free - using the rewards he earned along the way.


--
Brian Casey
bnc@macsch.com
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