Solo Card

Advantages: Safe and easy
Disadvantages: not for the young

...What is this solo card then? Well solo has 5.2 million card holders, its not a credit card its a cash card which means you pay in money to your bank/building society and you then can retrieve it from most cashpoints and your bank branch. Anyone from 11+ can get this card. What are the advantages then? Well you sign up through your bank/building society and you get some free gifts! ie with Barclays you get free ciniema vouchers, unfortunately i signed up through Natwest and i only got free a ringbinder which was disappointing! You then can access your cash anywhere you want, this is a good idea if you want to keep your cash safe, but still want to access it. You can also pay for goods with it in a shop displaying the solo sign. You also get a measly amount of intrest, i only got 0.2%! There must be some disadvantages, it can...

enturi 16.04.2001 · Read review
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Review of Solo

Solo Card is a must have!

Advantages: Free, accepted most places online, available to get when your 11
Disadvantages: Some shops don't accept it

...::::What is a Solo Card?:::: A Solo Card is a debit card available for teenagers (and adults? I think they get a Switch Card!) and is available from NatWest from the age of 11 and HSBC from the age of 13. Barclays and Halifax also offer a Visa Electron debit card, instead of solo (if your interested...). ::::How much does it cost?:::: The Solo Card is completely free. When you open a CardPlus account with NatWest when your 11 and over (or a "MySavings" account with HSBC when your aged 13). ::::What can i use it for?:::: You can use the Solo Card at LINK cash machines to check your bank account balance and top up your mobile from the cash machine. You can also use it for shopping Online and Instore! Play.com, Amazon.co.uk, MyPix.com just to name a few let you use your solo card to buy from them. And many instore shops like...

AndyGray2k7 29.04.2007 · Read review
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Review of Solo

Going Solo

Advantages: Can't get into debt, lots of shops take it, from 11 with some banks,
Disadvantages: Woolies don't take it!

...The Solo card is a debit card aimed at young people that works like a Switch except you can’t get overdrawn – in other words in debt. It’s a great idea and allows young people to shop through mail-order and on the internet without using their parents credit card. Though some adults also have it if they’re not too hot with money-management! The Solo card is accepted widely and most shops accept it, though it is not accepted as widely as Switch. Woolworth’s don’t take it which seems rather stupid considering many of their customers are young people. Though the Solo is accepted far more than the Visa Electron, which only a small minority of shops seem to take. Solo offers a cashback feature which you can use at all shops taking Solo. Most places won’t charge you, but smaller shops might. I was...

Disillusioned 18.06.2001 · Read review
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Review of Solo

If you are going Solo-theres no better card UPDATE

Advantages: No need to carry cash
Disadvantages: Not all shops accept it yet

...**UPDATE 26/09/02** It is worth saying that quite a few shops, although they don't advertise it, will actually accept Solo; Argos being an example - My three local stores do not have the symbols up, but will tell you if you ask. Another is currys.co.uk, they have the symbols up instore, but on the website have every symbol BUT Solo. So always ask instore before going to the cash machine! I do now.** I have my Solo Card with HSBC Bank (formerly known as Midland). You can only get this card(as far as I know) with the account for 16-17 year old's. *What is a Solo Card?* A Solo Card is just a Debit card. It is similar to a Switch Card, except that Switch also acts as a cheque guarentee card whereas Solo does not. All you have to do to get one is open the relevant bank account (in this case: Bank...

fords 14.10.2001 (26.08.2002) · Read review
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Review of Solo

  Flying Solo

Advantages: Almost universally accepted, makes you more financially aware
Disadvantages: Can't write cheques, not a lot really!

...Ah, the sweet smell of financial independence! When I?m older, I?m going to be an internet millionaire; I?ve decided that. Joining Ciao was to be part of the grand plan, but alas .. ah well, I still have my Solo card. ?What? You?re fifteen and you have your own credit card? Now I know you?re entrepreneurial Matt, but this..? Well, almost. You see, Solo shares many of the features of other debit cards such as Switch. The differences are that it?s been adapted for people who may not be eligible for a 'proper' credit card. Typically these groups are the under-18s, those not in employment, and those whose credit history doesn't merit a credit card in the opinion of the banks. So what is Solo? Well, Solo is an offshoot of Switch, the worldwide standard for debit card transactions. Essentially, a Solo card is just like a Switch debit...

mattwood 11.05.2003 (09.07.2003) · Read review
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Review of Solo

ITS A SOLO THING

Advantages: Great advantages and offers
Disadvantages: nothing!

...What is SOLO? SOLO is a debit card for people aged between 11-21. It has been around for quite a few years now, since 1997. I have one of these cards and I think there absolutely brilliant! I'm very impressed and happy with it. My SOLO card is based with my Natwest account but you can get them elsewhere too. I'm only 14 years old and I think its brilliant having my own personal card. Many folk think that we're too young to own our own personal debit card and we deserve too loose our priveledges for mis-using it and getting in debt. (Which happens!) but not all young kids and teenagers are like others are they? I always make sure that I'm NEVER in debt and am always very careful with my account. The thing about this account is that you can get in debt VERY EASILY and people think this is inappropriate to children as young as 11 years...

emu128 29.04.2001 · Read review
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Review of Solo

Flying Solo

Advantages: No worries about carrying cash
Disadvantages: Many well known stores don't accept them

...Switch, Delta, Electron, Solo - they're all basically the same. I used to have a Switch card - accepted by virtually every shop or service - a debit card by any other name. I now have a Solo card, due to recent financial difficulties it was all I could get. This works in much the same way as a Switch card - it's a debit card which you hand over in place of cash for payment and saves time and hassle writing cheques. Funds are normally debited from your bank account within one to two working days and you can also get up to £50 cashback with it where that facility is available. It will not allow you to go overdrawn on your account unless you already have an overdarft facility - unusual with accounts offering a Solo card to begin with. BUT, and it's a big but, not all the expected shops - including large, well-known stores, accept...

blurbubble 05.04.2001 · Read review
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Review of Solo

THAT'S ME SOLO AIGHT

Advantages: Absolute need for teenagers,
Disadvantages: Not sure,

...Hello everyone! You may know me as anytime03! But thats going soon! And me is officially back as 'fromthedarkside' Thanks Ciao! I’m not really that good on the topic of finance, but I am good at finance, which is to do with business. There are many credit cards out there today, but which one to get is a difficult thing, APR, blah blah!! But what about us who are under 18? We don’t need to worry about credit cards until we are 18, but we feel left out, knowing we can’t buy things on credit, or take out lump sums of money from major bank companies. BUT DON’T WORRY, why? Cos SOLO’s the name! The names card, SOLO CARD! (*Puts on Bond music*) Don’t attack me or otherwise I’ll pull out my SOLO card! ## Wait a min! I don’t understand you...

fromthedarkside 10.12.2002 · Read review
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Review of Solo

SOLO - THE ONLY CHOICE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Advantages: Accepted almost everywhere, Easy access to money, Beats cash
Disadvantages: Small charge for use abroad, Some places still won't accept it

...I am a student in secondary education, and before setting up my NatWest card-plus account I only had a National Savings Account. However, as time went by I became more and more annoyed at the pathetic service, inaccessible saving and hundreds of other things, so I decided to open a new account, and at the time it seemed as if the (new) solo card would be the thing to go for, as a lot of my mates had one, and they all struggled to think of anything bad about it. So, I strolled along to NatWest, and I now have on of these cards. Solo is a branch of the well known debit card ?Switch,? and it works in a similar way, except that it is meant for under 18s. There are several areas in which I have been particularly pleased with the Solo card, and I shall tell you about these below. One of the main bonuses of the Solo card to me is that it...

Jaxle 12.01.2003 · Read review
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Review of Solo

Dont be forced to switch to solo

Advantages: Stops you going overdrawn
Disadvantages: Nowhere takes it, embarrassing to use

...Do you like what I did with the title? Solo, for all its sins, may look like a switch card. But here the similarities stop. Yes. Im afraid Solo has been invented for all of the naughty boys and girls who cant use Switch properly. How do I know? Well, I was once one of them. I noticed that it is claimed to have been launched in 1997 but Im sure it was around earlier than that. However, if this is the date it claims, it must be right. For those of you that don't know, Switch and Solo are Debit cards. You can buy things from shops that accept Switch cards in the way that you buy things on your credit card. It is a little piece of plastic that comes as part of your current account options from your high street bank. The way it works is thus. You buy something and it is debited to your current account in the bank. Within...

andycharger 06.12.2002 · Read review
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Review of Solo