Virgin Prepaid Mastercard

***WHAT IS A VIRGIN PREPAID MASTERCARD?***
It looks just like a credit card and you can spend on it just like a credit card, and you can use it where-ever MasterCard's are accepted. The Difference is you load it up with cash before you shop, rather than paying for it after you've shopped or a month later, when you receive your bill!

***WHY BUY IT?***
For a start its not a credit or debit card, although you can use it ...
...* When you buy something, virgin money take the price from your balance, along with a 2.95% transaction charge.
* When you run low on funds, simply top up again!

***BUT HOW CAN I ADD FUNDS TO MY CARD?***
* At any Post Office for free - Funds take 1 working day to reach your card.
* Any shop or Garage which have the PayPoint sign - Funds are on your card immediately but you are charged 2.75%.
* Debit card ... more

***WHAT IS A VIRGIN PREPAID MASTERCARD?***
It looks just like a credit card and you can spend on it just like a credit card, and you can use it where-ever MasterCard's are accepted. The Difference is you load it up with cash before you shop, rather than paying for it after you've shopped or a month later, when you receive your bill!

***WHY BUY IT?***
For a start its not a credit or debit card, although you can use it in the same way shop on-line pay for goods in shops and use it over the phone to pay for things. You load the money onto the card so you can keep track of how much your spending.

Lose your pre-paid card and the money on your card is protected by your pin number. Customer Services are a phone call away and will send you a replacement. If your card is lost or stolen you are protected against fraudulent use the moment you let them know!

Because you know how much you have loaded onto the card you can keep track of how much you spend, and if you run out of money on the card it means you can't over-spend and its also simple to add funds to your card again!

You don't even need to have a bank account to get one of these cards, it makes it easier for those people (like me), who don't wish to have a credit card! As it's a MasterCard its accepted pretty much everywhere including abroad.

You can also add 4 additional card holders to your account, which is handy when it comes to giving pocket money, birthday money or money for school trips. Each card is protected by their own unique pin.

***WHY DID I PERSONALLY BUY IT?***
I don't have a very high credit rating, and can there-fore not even get a debit card. Well you can imagine the issues I have with this, especially when it comes to Christmas and I need to order things from the Internet or need to pay for large bills when I am out doing my Christmas shopping. I don't like carrying lots of cash around with me, and I thought this would be a great idea, and would enable me to use this card online as well as over the counter and I also know how much I'm spending as well, so its easy to keep track! Plus I know I won't get into debt with this card as I can't spend unless I put funds onto the card!

***HOW DOES IT WORK?***

• Buy the MasterCard online for £9.95
• You put money onto it to shop later.
• When you buy something, virgin money take the price from your balance, along with a 2.95% transaction charge.
• When you run low on funds, simply top up again!

***BUT HOW CAN I ADD FUNDS TO MY CARD?***

• At any Post Office for free - Funds take 1 working day to reach your card.
• Any shop or Garage which have the PayPoint sign - Funds are on your card immediately but you are charged 2.75%.
• Debit card at virginmoney.com - Funds take 3 working days to go on your card and its Free!
• Credit Card at virgin money.com - Funds take 3 working days to go on your card and you are charge 2.5% (with a minimum fee of £2.00)
• Direct Transfer from your bank account - Takes 4 working days to reach your card, but is free!

***DO I HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS CARD?***
Yes you have to pay for this card, but you only pay £9.95 and there's no monthly management fee.
To order a replacement or additional card it will cost you £4.95 and for a Paper Statement it costs £3.50.

***RESTRICTED CARDS***
If you are not registered on the Electoral Role, you will be sent a restricted card, which has a total spending limit of £1,600 a year, up to £600 of this can be withdrawn from a cash machine.

***APPLYING FOR THE CARD***
I applied online for a card at www.virginmoney.com, simply click on the prepaid card tab at the top of the webpage and it will talk you through the rest.There are different ways to pay the card fee, you can do this by:

• Credit/Debit Card
• Swap cash for a 360money e-voucher which you can use online (you can get these from shops with a PayPoint.
• Pay by text message, and they will send you a unique code for you to use.

I paid for my card my text message and they charged my phone £5.00 and then take the other £4.95, from the next time I put funds onto my card.Simply fill out your details such as Name, Address, etc. They won't ask for a passport number or anything like that!

You also get to choose what colour card you would like, out of Pink & Red.

***HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO RECEIVE THE CARD?***
I took approx 2-3 weeks for my card to come through the post. I then had to ring the phone number which came with the card and letter to activate my card and to find out what my pin number was. As soon as you have activated your card and have your pin, its ready to use.

***TOPPING UP***
I put some Money on my card on a Friday, which was done at the Post Office. As this takes approx 1 working day, the money should hopefully be on my card by Tuesday latest. I checked my account today (Monday) and the money was on my card this afternoon.

***CHECKING BALANCE***
When you receive your card you can register at www.virginmoney.com which will enable you to view your statements online and also add funds to your card online as well. This is a great way to keep a regular check on your money/account and saves on paper-statements as well.

***WHAT IF I'VE GOT A BAD CREDIT RATING?***
I've got a bad credit rating but I still got one of these cards. Getting a pre-paid card isn't like getting a credit card when they check your credit history.

***OVERALL OPINION***
If you are unable to get a debit card this is a great way to pay for things online, in shops or over the phone. Because you put money on it, only you can control how much you are spending. There's many places to top the card up which is convenient and its great for emergencies if you go to pay for something and realise you have run out of cash . . As long as there's money on the card you can spend on it! it's a great alternative to a credit card as you can keep an eye on your spending and you can avoid the shock each month when your credit card bill comes through the post. 

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