Visa Gift Cards / Cash

SALTY007

5-Year Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2009
Messages
123
Got Visa Gift card for Grad gift. Are they OK to bring and use, instead of bringing all cash...maybe bring both (1/2 & 1/2).
Can Visa gift cards be used at the stores?
 
The visa cards are fine, since he already has them. But I wouldn't purchase anymore because as you know there is a service charge when you purchase them. Cash is fine, they have a locked drawer to put things in. They will get debit cards with their bank accounts.
 
Thank you for reminding me to ask this:

Which account do the proxy cards go on? I'm guessing the same account where we will be "paid"?
 
I am sorry, I dont remember what the proxy card was? My son never mentioned it last year. Can you remind me?
 
At orientation, I didn't think I was going to get my boots early, but my cadet suggested that I do, so we went to the boot/shoe warehouse and picked up a pair. I only had cash on me, and they wouldn't accept it, so my cadet scanned his proxy card (the one used to get in the dorms and through the gates). And I gave him the cash.

He also scanned it when he got a replacement parade cap.

So I'm wondering, when the card is scanned, does the deduction come out of the same account as the one the Air Force uses to pay us? Or can we choose which account the money is taken out of? Like a savings account. That way our checks don't fluctuate depending on what we buy that month.
 
Ahh yeah. Proxy purchases come directly out of cadet pay not your checking account. So at the end of the month when you receive pay, instead of having $500 deposited and $100 deducted for whatever purchase, you will have $400 deposited.
 
Thanks. I kind of figured that, but wanted to clarify.

Will we get monthly statements saying exactly what came out, ie: computer payments, books, taxes, etc.?
 
Yeah, it really sucks when you pick up Parade Dress and things like that. You get paid up to $400 less that month. Plus there is the initial loan payback. Learn how to budget.
 
All military members have an online account named "MyPay" which lists how much they're getting paid, including what their base pay was and their deductions.
 
even though MyPay is great. I must say that there are deductions on there at times that do not give any information what they are for and my DS says he has no idea what they are for.

Most things you can look on the budget and see what they are for, but there are still the occassional deductions that just come out of nowhere and give no clue what they are.
 
there are still the occassional deductions that just come out of nowhere and give no clue what they are.

That's...strange.
I'm not trying to sound cheap or anything, but I like to know EXACTLY what I'm being charged for.

Maybe finance could better explain charges?
 
I don't think that there have ever been any charges taken from our cadet's pay that were just random and unexplained. Each deduction is documented either in your pay schedule, on MyPay, or in a wing-wide email explaining a special charge for something. Sometimes a cadet may not be sure of a deduction, but I am sure that a little research would provide an answer to what the deduction was for. Many times a cadet is very busy and may not have time to look at why something is being charged, but that doesn't mean that the charge is unexplained.

Stealth_81
 
I don't know how much I agree with you on that Stealth. I mean, most of what you say is true. Most things are either in your budget, so even if it doesn't say what it is for on mypay, you should know from your budget. example would be the yearbook charge taken out each year. It doesn't say a thing on the mypay stub, but if you look on the class budget for that month, you would know what it was for.

But here is an example from march. So maybe you are right and maybe a wing wide email was sent out and my DS missed it. I doubt that is the case, but maybe. But I can assure you there is nothing on the MyPay stub that gives any indication at all what these two deductions are for. Looking at the class budget there are no deductions listed for that month.

Most of the deductions that are unexplained are usually much smaller than these two. These are just two of the more recent ones that stuck in my mind.

NAF/XCHANGE DEBT CURRENT DEDUCT 24.00
TOTAL DEBT 24.00 BALANCE .00
NAF/XCHANGE DEBT CURRENT DEDUCT 38.00
TOTAL DEBT 38.00 BALANCE .00

Now I am sure if he wanted to take the time to call cadet pay and ask what the charges were for, he could probably find out. But I don't think that he really should have to do that. IMHO, if they are going to take a deduction, there should be something on the paystub giving details what it is for, like they do with the tailor, or barber or linens etc... They seem to handle the monthly deductions well, but the misc stuff not so much.
 
I agree with you bandit; it would set my mind more at ease if I knew EXACTLY what EVERYTHING was.

However, I don't think we have to worry too much about it. It's not like they're going to take advantage of us. If there's a deduction, I'd like to think it was something necessary.
 
Well I definately wasn't trying to make it seem like the deductions weren't legit.

Just that errors do happen and it is hard to know if something is an error or not if you don't know what it is for. Most of the "unexplained" deductions are usually very small. Which just serves to make it less worth the time to investigate.

In case anyone is interested. My DS tracks everything in a spreadsheet, so he has the information pretty handy. At the end of May of his 2 dig year, this is what he has earned and what has been deducted. Sorry, I can't figure out how to make it format all purdy.

BASE PAY $31,961.13
BAS $1,126.20
SCHOLARSHIP $1,000.00
ADVANCE DEBT $569.98
REFUND MEDICARE $0.06
REFUND SOCIAL SECURITY $0.03
TOTAL INCOME $34,657.40

Federal Taxes $861.91
Social Security $1,981.64
Medicare $463.49
State Taxes $948.00
TOTAL TAXES $4,255.04

Barber $313.50
Dry Cleaning $490.09
Laundry $370.28
Tailor $795.50
Linen $207.15
TOTAL PERSONAL DEDUCTIONS $2,176.52

Computer & Textbooks $3,200.55
SGLI $998.00
Clothing $3,847.11
Debt $569.98
Media Pubs. $205.00
Radio $8.00
Allied Arts $210.00
Athletic Assn. $250.00
AOG $5.00
Misc. $378.79
TOTAL OTHER EXPENSES $9,672.43

TOTAL EXPENSE $16,103.99

NET INCOME $18,553.41
 
Back
Top