Right, but I unfortunately (or fortunately) don't have any...

KChengCL said:Student loan rebates are the preferred method of redemption:

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/596403/

Nah, they're always made payable to your "lending institution," (aka pretty much whatever bank you designate)...I know that thread isn't exactly short, but it's a pretty good discussion. Basically as long as your bank accepts checks made out to the bank itself, it's as good as cash. I have had zero problems with my Wachovia 'loan rebates.' Hope I'm being clear enough, while still maintaining a level of vagueness

Edit: Reading through some of the more recent posts in my link, it looks like there MAY have been a recently policy change, potentially making it a little more difficult to redeem. My advice is just to get the smallest one, $25, and see if it works with your bank. Like I said, Wachovia has treated me just fine with these over the years (I deposit via ATM).

lray said:Thanks,

I just read through the thread. I might just use it to pay off my CC bills.

Just don't use it to pay off your Citi card

This looks dead (link not working and google MTVu card shows not 5% at restaurant anymore).

Thanks for the link. I was looking at something different. OP's linke no longer working (https://www.accountonline.com/ACQ/Chooser/LearnMore?siteId=CB&CARD_KEYS=4C7CW035-V).

turkey79 said:FYI: I am sharing single experience of mine: to generalize or not up to you. I received the student loan rebates made to Wachovia, I tried to deposit at 6 different branches. No go!, then deposited it at ATM, No go, yesterday I received the check I deposited via USPS!

I wouldnt request student loan checks if this is the first time you are doing this.

Can you give more information? Is there something different on the check than before? Can you look on the back side of the check and tell where in the clearing process it was turned around?

palswim said:Anyone know if Jamba Juice and places like that qualify for the 5%?

I just went back to my statement from October 2008, and it lists Jamba Juice (NYC) as: "Restaurants - FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS" so it looks like it does qualify.

The latter part of your question, "places like that" is too broad. There are a lot of quirks with how some things are categorized, so it's best to find out on a store-by-store basis.

Remember, if you're questioning previous transactions, you can view your 'Purchases' online, and what category your merchant is under (details on Quick Summary page - Page 1).

eh, I'm happy with MTVU, i've had it for three years now and see no reason to convert. But yeah, for the majority of people (who aren't students), citi forward beats out mtvu.