Have you ever tried to purchase something with your meal money and gotten an "insufficient funds" error, even though you know there is enough money on your account?

A House Officer may have two separate Blue Bucks accounts tied to their M-Card. The House Officer Account, where meal money gets loaded, and a Student/Regular Account. The Regular Account is where you can put your own money to spend, and is also where things like student dining plans are loaded.

If you have a non-zero balance on your Regular Account, it will be used before your House Officer Account at places with no cashier. If the regular balance is too low to cover your purchase, you will receive an "insufficient funds” error, and the transaction will be canceled instead of checking your House Officer Account. This is a quirk of the system's programming, which cannot be resolved without causing additional issues.

The solution is to make a small purchase at a location with a cashier, such as the UH Cafe, and ask the cashier to use the balance of your Regular Account first. Once your Regular Account balance is zeroed out, your House Officer Account will begin to work at locations without a cashier.