Also see:

• List of AMEX Cards NOT Issued by American Express

I haven’t fallen off the earth or anything like that. Real estate in NYC is heating up, and my past few days have been pretty crazy with gearing up for the busy summer season.

I still intend to post the remaining 2 reviews from my recent NOLA excursion and have a few other things in the pipeline for ol’ Out and Out. And of course I’ve been keeping up with the latest points and miles news.

And here is a post in which I clutch at straws.

REDbird Part 2

After having a terrible time reloading the REDbird card at my local Target in Brooklyn, I brutally dumped it and opened a new Serve account.

So, I was pretty dismayed when I found out they were going to restrict credit card reloads to only include American Express cards starting April 16th.

“Manufacturing spend” in New York City is already hard enough, and this is definitely an added blow. But there are 2 things I can find here that still might make Serve worth it for some people.

1. Even without earning points, this is a great way to pay bills that would not otherwise accept credit cards

2. There are at least 2 Amex cards that are NOT issued by American Express that may still earn points

The first point. Although there are better ways to pay rent than with Serve, if you need to float your payments through a charge card for a month or so, you can still use your Serve account to pay your bill and give you a little extra wiggle room, which could help a lot with cash flow from month to month.

The second point. It is up to the individual card issuers about whether or not to issue points for a purchase. American Express has decided they will not issue points for their own credit cards. But what about Amex cards that are not issued by American Express?

FIA and Citi + others

Two that I can think of right away are the FIA Fidelity Amex and the Citibank Platinum AAdvantage Amex. Both banks do not currently impose cash advance fees for Serve reloads (someone correct me if I’m wrong here), and both banks should continue to issue points since the reloads code as a purchase.

American Express may not give you points, but FIA and Citi still might. And this might continue to be a good way to get either 12,000 AAdvantage miles per year for minimal effort or $240 free dollars contributed toward an IRA with Fidelity.

Then, going back to the first point, you’d still earn miles and/or points for loading up your Serve card, and then can pay rent, student loans, mortgage payments, etc. to merchants who wouldn’t otherwise accept credit cards.

List of Amex cards not issued by American Express, by issuer

Bank	Name of Card
Bank of America	AAA Rewards American Express
Bank of America	Accelerated Rewards American Express
Bank of America	Asiana Airlines American Express
Bank of Hawaii	American Express Card with MyBankoh Rewards
Barclays	Travelocity Rewards American Express (no longer offered)
Citibank	Select / AAdvantage American Express (no longer open to new applications)
FIA	Fidelity Investment Rewards American Express (no longer offered). Read my review of this card.
First National Bank of Omaha	American Express
PenFed	Premium Travel Rewards American Express
USAA	Cashback Rewards Plus American Express
USAA	Cash Rewards American Express
US Bank	FlexPerks Travel Rewards American Express
Wells Fargo	Propel American Express - Learn more here
Store Card	Bloomingdale's American Express
Store Card (Issued by Wells Fargo)	Dillard's American Express
Store Card	Macy's American Express

This list may not be complete. If anything is missing, let me know, and I will add it. (Source: here.)

Bottom line

If, like me, you don’t have a reliable Target at which to load a REDbird card, there might still be a chance you can earn some extra points and miles with Serve and Amex products not issued by American Express. Be aware that you are at the mercy of each issuer, as they will each have their own policies regarding cash advances, how they code the transaction, and whether or not to issue points. I’m pretty sure Citi and FIA are good to go.

Of course, I will post new, definite data after April 16th. Until then, I am going to earn a few extra AAdvantage miles thanks to a recent spend bonus I got with Barclays while the gettin’ is still good.

The points game marches onward. Stay scrappy!

* If you liked this post, consider signing up to receive free blog posts in an RSS reader and you’ll never miss an update!