New year, new participant, new card. Now what?
If you’re a Beniversal Card newbie, you’re in the right spot. Let’s go over the basics of what to expect, shall we?
Activate your card.
First things first: If you’re a new participant and just got your card, activate it now.
All of your plans are conveniently housed on this one card.
Between credit and debit cards, your driver’s license, membership cards… oh, and that expired department store credit card you don’t use anymore– the average American wallet contains over 12 various cards and other forms of ID. So you really don’t want to add more. Thankfully, any and every plan that you have through Benefit Resource (BRI) is on one card: the Beniversal Card.
How it works. Let’s say you have a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and a mass transit Commuter Benefit Plan (CBP). Both accounts are linked to your card. And you don’t have to worry about accidentally paying for your monthly transit pass with your FSA dollars. Your card automatically knows which account to pull from. #YAYforconvenience
Your card has a very specific job.
The Beniversal Card will only for pay eligible expenses. To minimize frustration, read the terms that come with the card.
At the very least, when you first open the envelope with your card, you will notice a section on the back of the card that goes over what it can be used for.
It specifically states “By using this card, I agree to be bound by all provisions of my Benefit Plan and the Beniversal Cardholder Agreement. I understand that this is a limited access card and must be used only for eligible expenses at qualified merchants as defined in my Plan. No cash or ATM access”.
Like we said– your card has a very specific job.
Your card has built in identity theft protection.
Your privacy is our number one priority. As a new participant, your card is backed by identity theft protection from Mastercard.
Protecting your identity can be a challenge and really goes beyond guarding your data. BRI has a solution for you. Through our partnership with Mastercard International, all new participants have access to free comprehensive ID Theft Services*.
If you want to know more about ID theft protection, check out this article or this overview page.
Sign up for FREE Beniversal ID Theft Services
Your card only pays from one health account at a time.
This only applies if you are enrolled in more than one pre-tax health account with BRI.
There are three health accounts: a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), a Health Savings Account (HSA), or a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA). (If you have commuter accounts, the card will pull from the account you need depending on if the purchase is for parking or mass transit). Generally, most people will only have one of these accounts. In some instances, you may have a Limited Purpose FSA with an HSA.
So, say you did sign up for a Limited FSA and an HSA. On the back-end, your card will mostly likely pull money for eligible purchases from the FSA first, because of two reasons:
- It knows that FSA funds end up being forfeited.
- Your employer requested the funds be pulled in that order.
Once your Limited FSA funds were used up, your card would begin pulling from the HSA.
Your card can be used for auto payments.
This feature comes especially in handy if you’re using the card for commuting.
If you pay for your commuting pass online or through an app, just link your Beniversal Card as the payment method.
See more about setting up recurring commuting payments in your city through BRI’s Commuting Resource Center.
Connect your card to your preferred digital wallet.
Enable your card for contactless payments through Google Pay®, Apple Pay®, and Samsung Pay®. Once you have set up your card, you can pay for eligible expenses at healthcare or commuting locations from your mobile device.
Find out more about using digital wallets (including how set it up) on our FAQs page.
Want more tips on how to save with your card?
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*NOTE: Clicking the “Sign up” button will direct you to a site hosted by Mastercard International. To begin the set-up process, you will need to enter the first 6 digits of your Beniversal® Prepaid Mastercard®. You determine what information, cards and accounts you want to have monitored.
