Male living in London, working as a 'Freelance Webmaster' [Available for hire | Special rates for Ci...
Male living in London, working as a 'Freelance Webmaster' [Available for hire | Special rates for Ciao members | Website under construction] and a moderator in various locations (forums, websites, etc). Feel free to contact me at any time!
Member since:05.08.2005
Reviews:21
Members who trust:4
***** UPDATE ADDED AT THE BOTTOM *****
360Money, for those of you who may not know, is the replacement for Splash Plasticcards. While the card does say "Splash Plastic" on it -- it's really called 360Money now.
This card is what you could call a "prepaid debit card" but there is NO bank account attached to the card. It's like a mobile/cell phone where-by you can only spend what you have topped up onto the card. For example, if I topped up £50 then I could only spend £50.
However there are charges involved. With the old Splash Plastic card, you only paid to apply for the card and then that was it but with this card you pay differently.
There
are actually three types of cards;
- A Pay As You Go card - A Pay Monthly card - A Premium Card
~ Pay As You Go ~ This card costs £6.99p to apply then £6.99p annually plus £0.25 per transaction and also a £1.50 charge for topping up the card online via Credit/Debit Card. This card CANNOT be used in a cash/ATM machine.
~ Pay Monthly This card costs £0.00p to apply then £0.00p annually plus £0.00 per transaction and a £1.50p charge for topping up the card online via Credit/Debit Card. However this card has a £1.49 charge per month -- even if you don't use it. Again, this card CANNOT be used in a cash/ATM machine. There is also a £3 fee payable if 2months+ membership fees are missed.
~ Premium Card ~ This card costs £0.00p to apply then £0.00p annually but comes with a transaction fee of 2.5%. Therefore if a transaction was £50, I would have to pay a £1.25p fee. Again it costs £1.50p to top up online via Credit/Debit Card and you pay £1.99 per month to use it -- still even if you don't use it. However, this card CAN be used in cash/ATM machines but at a cost of £1.50p but also can be used to get Cash Back / Cash Advance for the same cost of £1.50p. There is also a £4 fee payable if 2months+ membership fees are missed. THIS PREMIUM CARD IS ONLY VAILABLE TO YOU IF YOU ARE AGED 18 OR OVER.
When topping up each of these cards (at a PayPoint location) you must top up by a MINIMUM of £10 and a maximum of £499.99p.
The Pay As You Go card and the Pay Monthly card are available to children as young as 10 years old but only with parental consent. So if a 13 year old boy wanted the card he would need his parents consent and 360Money would contact the parent(s) first. This happens between the age of 10 and 14, therefore if a 15 year old girl wanted the card she could just get one.
Each of the three cards can be used anywhere displaying the Maestro or Solo sign. In terms of making a transaction, when in a shop you just sign for it (no Chip&PIN) and that's it. If online or via the telephone then you must enter your 18 digit card number along with the name on the card, the expiry date, the issue number on the card and your three digit CVV number located in the signature strip on the back of the card.
I myself selected the Pay Monthly card since it's the most cost effective. Even if I don't use the card I can just stick on £10 and leave it on there for the £1.49 charge. In total, per year you would pay £17.88 for use of the card. As you have already seen (well actually "read") there is no transaction fees since they are included in your monthly membership fee.
So to finish up this review I would strongly suggest getting this card but carefully consider the fact that each one is somehow different. I personally suggest the Pay Monthly card but it's upto you really.
If you have any questions about the card, it's use or anything else, please either leave a comment on this review or ask your question directly in my private guestbook.
***** UPDATE -- Saturday 10th June 2006 ***** For those who can and/or have made comments on this review, I have this response for you.
Whilst a Credit Card has some beneficial features, this 360Money card can reduce the risk or totally abolish fraudulent use since you need to have money on the card to make a purchase.
Another advantage is that if your Credit Card gets stolen, you may be held responsible for any transactions on the card that a thief has completed therefore costing you more money. In order to be protected you normally have to notify your card company BEFORE the transaction actually does take place.
With this card, although you still have to notify the company as soon as possible, if you don't have money on the card then you are seriously protected since they just cannot make transactions anywhere.
Clearly it may not be easy for some people since you have to actually go to any PayPoint shop (or pay £1.50 to top-up using credit card online) to top-up with a minimum of £10 to make any purchase online or in a shop.
I only top-up my card when I need it to make a purchase or to pay the small monthly fee but that's fine -- but the important thing is that I feel safer with this card since it's like got no money on it at all at the moment therefore I couldn't care less if someone stole it right now.
Pictures of 360Money
The card -- not me in picture.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Discounts on Virgin products, smart looking. Disadvantages: More suitable for now and again use than regular shopping sprees due to transaction fees.
chocolatepotatox 21.10.2007 (21.10.2007)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of 360Money
Advantages: Discounts on Virgin products, smart looking. Disadvantages: More suitable for now and again use than regular shopping sprees due to transaction fees.
chocolatepotatox 21.10.2007 (21.10.2007)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of 360Money
Advantages: No credit checks, can only use when you top the card up, accepted worldwide Disadvantages: You may get a restrcited card, charge fees (but thesearen't too high)
kiss_me2070 01.10.2008 (01.10.2008)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Virgin Prepaid Mastercard
Jun 6th, 2006
(Jun 10th, 2006)
very helpful by (85%):
helpful by (15%):
