An Post PostFX™ prepaid MasterCard® currency card

Zeouterlimits · 21-08-2014 2:27pm

I get so much differing advice on weather to go mostly cash with visa debit backup, or a bit of cash and mostly PostFX card..

I need to decide quickly.

Fiskar · 21-08-2014 4:59pm

Would not use it again. PITA when we were in the USA recently, checking the balance on a tablet nightly, incorrect pending transactions continuously which were corrected when debited but none the less very annoying as you were not sure if the card was compromised. Add to that, in very few places was the pin requested which added furthewr security risk.
Go with the VISA, at least you are covered for fruadulant charges.

21-08-2014 5:25pm

Someone suggested this card might help with a problem I'm having. I'm trying to purchase stuff from the UK CeX site. Unfortunately they have a rather naughty condition that's stopping me:

We deliver within the UK, using the billing address of the payment card used or registered UK address of your PayPal account. We do not ship outside the UK.

I can't even use Parcel Motel as since both my debit card and PayPal account have my ROI address.

Would this PostFX card allow me to register the Parcel Motel address with it and therefore bypass this invidious restriction? Or even use the BT1 1AA address?

I'm probably barking up the wrong tree but as I said the PostFX card was mentioned when I asked for a solution over in the Online Buying forum. And before anyone asks, the CeX UK site has better prices and stock than the Cex IE site!

peckerhead · 21-08-2014 5:31pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Would this PostFX card allow me to register the Parcel Motel address with it and therefore bypass this invidious restriction? Or even use the BT1 1AA address?

I can't see it working, although I'd love to be proven wrong....

Bring a proof of address, any household bill or bank statement dated within the past 6 months

Might be worth ringing them up and asking, though?

Yggr of Asgard · 21-08-2014 5:33pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Would this PostFX card allow me to register the Parcel Motel address with it and therefore bypass this invidious restriction? Or even use the BT1 1AA address?

Once you have the £ card you need to register online (explained in the documentation of the card) and than in the online interface you can define a temporary address, enter the parcel motel address and voila your card has now a NI billing address.

This does not change the real address linked to the card, so on next load in the post office you won't have problems or need to provide proof. It's a temporary address (well as long as you define it) and it changes the billing address but not the registered address for AnPost purposes or money laundering purposes.

Hope that helps.

dede12 · 21-08-2014 5:41pm

Marylouise10 wrote: »

I'd like to find out the answer to this also because I'm going to be travelling to Boston in two weeks and head over quite frequently. This will be the first time I use the card. It's all a bit sketchy when you think about it I hope ALL shops accept it because ill be putting most of my finds on it!

I live in New England & wouldn't count on it working in the northeast at least. Myself and many of my family friends have had issues with those no-name cards in many places (havent used this one specifically but lots of similar ones, like the AAA travelcard which seems to be pretty much the same thing). Gas stations seem to be the worst but even normal shops have issues with it. Even choosing credit over debit doesnt always solve the problem. I'd say for most people the best option would be to use your regular bank card at an ATM & take cash out. If you're over there quite often it might be worth looking into a US bank account (esp if you have work or trusted relative's address you can use) & using that instead.

Gumbo · 21-08-2014 6:36pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Someone suggested this card might help with a problem I'm having. I'm trying to purchase stuff from the UK CeX site. Unfortunately they have a rather naughty condition that's stopping me:

I can't even use Parcel Motel as since both my debit card and PayPal account have my ROI address.

Would this PostFX card allow me to register the Parcel Motel address with it and therefore bypass this invidious restriction? Or even use the BT1 1AA address?

I'm probably barking up the wrong tree but as I said the PostFX card was mentioned when I asked for a solution over in the Online Buying forum. And before anyone asks, the CeX UK site has better prices and stock than the Cex IE site!

Just add the parcel motel address into your paypal account. Then before you pay, switch your paypal to the PM address as your main address. That's what do.

21-08-2014 6:44pm

Oh bloody hell! That simple?

21-08-2014 7:34pm

Do I just ignore the fact that when I go to add the address in PayPal that "Ireland" can't be changed for "Country"? I would kind of prefer to have "Northern Ireland" or "United Kingdom" in there. Or maybe it's different on your PayPal setup?

Sorry for being off topic guys!

Yggr of Asgard · 22-08-2014 8:50pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Do I just ignore the fact that when I go to add the address in PayPal that "Ireland" can't be changed for "Country"? I would kind of prefer to have "Northern Ireland" or "United Kingdom" in there. Or maybe it's different on your PayPal setup?

Sorry for being off topic guys!

You are out of luck there, paypal recently changed the way they allow to add addresses (be it via profile or associated credit card), you can now only add another address in the same country. For those of us with historical out of country addresses, they still work, you just can't add new ones.

Now a way arround that is if you check out in a store which uses paypal, they might allow you to add a new address there that is not in Ireland and the address is stored in your paypal account.

Otherwise you are out of luck beside creating a UK paypal account, however that is against policy (only one account per person) so you might run into problems there.

Using the AnPost card with a temporary address without paypal is possibly the best way, alternativly if you have a good irish bank, they can add Parcelmotel as approved address to your credit card.

22-08-2014 8:56pm

Thank you for taking the taking to post such a comprehensive reply

. I was with Ulster Bank and I remember ringing up only to be told I could have only the one address associated with the card. I'm now with AIB so I might give it another whirl and failing that grab me a PostFX card. Also Ulster Bank are pretty ****.

Rowley Birkin QC · 06-11-2014 3:07pm

Have been considering this for Vegas. Planning to bring 1/4 cash and 3/4 on the An Post card.

Anyone have any specific problems using it in that neck of the woods?

squonkie · 06-11-2014 5:50pm

Rowley Birkin QC wrote: »

Have been considering this for Vegas. Planning to bring 1/4 cash and 3/4 on the An Post card.

Anyone have any specific problems using it in that neck of the woods?

Used one last year in Vegas with zero issues. Going to Vegas again next week and plan to use it again.

Rowley Birkin QC · 06-11-2014 6:40pm

squonkie wrote: »

Used one last year in Vegas with zero issues. Going to Vegas again next week and plan to use it again.

Sweet. I think I'll go with that so. I got a few hundred dollars in cash to have it to hand but going to put the bulk of the war chest on the card.

Thanks.

squonkie · 06-11-2014 10:43pm

Rowley Birkin QC wrote: »

Sweet. I think I'll go with that so. I got a few hundred dollars in cash to have it to hand but going to put the bulk of the war chest on the card.

Thanks.

Technically you are not supposed to need ID with you to use it like you would with a normal credit card but I was asked for it a couple of time in stores so I normally carry my passport on my just in case

danger_mouse_tm · 06-11-2014 11:26pm

If I got my wife one of those while she's traveling would I be able to top it up from here either in the post office or online?

Stillnotworking · 07-11-2014 12:02am

Also used it fine in NYC and Vegas last year. Handy to control your spend, but I'd always still bring cash

borderlinemeath · 07-11-2014 9:08am

I got one of these for a recent trip to the states and had no problems using it in the North East (well, NYC, Upstate NY and Philadelphia to be specific). The reason I decided to avail of it was because when I was in the states 5 yrs ago I got my card skimmed, and while BoI were quick to stop it and I wasn't charged for the flights booked to Oman :rolleyes:, I was left without a credit card for a weeks holiday. I had to rely on the small amount of cash I had brought and use my sister and my nieces card. So it was a great option to have as back up.

willah · 07-11-2014 9:23am

danger_mouse_tm wrote: »

If I got my wife one of those while she's traveling would I be able to top it up from here either in the post office or online?

No. Only the person who registers the card can top it up.

Cheshire Cat · 07-11-2014 12:05pm

willah wrote: »

No. Only the person who registers the card can top it up.

Depends. You could get the second card they offer and give your wife one and use the other one to top the card up at the post office. As there is no name on the card it doesn't matter who is using it.

We got the second card on the advice of the lady at the post office. My husband and I have used our respective cards with no problems.

The lady at the post office said that many parents get the two, give one to their J1 son/daughter and then top them up from Ireland.

chopperp · 11-11-2014 2:21pm

cant top up online

Kenpo · 11-11-2014 6:17pm

Hi,

Has anyone tried using this card in other countries which accept the dollar, such as Cambodia?

Cheers
K

strife · 12-11-2014 5:03pm

I'm just back from the states and had a poor experience with the an post prepaid card.
Having only used it twice for small transactions i decided to pay for a hotel with it, 3 days into my holiday the receptionist said my card was declined, which should have been impossible because i had over a thousand dollars in the account.
After this I got on to the helpline, I was told that there was an "invisible transaction" on the card, i asked what could that be? I was told they couldn't see hence the word invisible!
Anyway to cut a long story short the company claimed there was a lean, for a substantial amount on the card for a transaction they couldn't see(which didn't actually exist), in the end I got my money after waiting for a week but only because i called up and demanded to speak to a manager, and even at that i had to tell them i was completely out off money.
would not recommend this service, luckily enough i had access to funds but if i hadn't i was have been up sh1t creek.

Fred Swanson · 12-11-2014 5:08pm

This post has been deleted.

L1011 · 12-11-2014 5:10pm

strife wrote: »

I'm just back from the states and had a poor experience with the an post prepaid card.
Having only used it twice for small transactions i decided to pay for a hotel with it, 3 days into my holiday the receptionist said my card was declined, which should have been impossible because i had over a thousand dollars in the account.
After this I got on to the helpline, I was told that there was an "invisible transaction" on the card, i asked what could that be? I was told they couldn't see hence the word invisible!
Anyway to cut a long story short the company claimed there was a lean, for a substantial amount on the card for a transaction they couldn't see(which didn't actually exist), in the end I got my money after waiting for a week but only because i called up and demanded to speak to a manager, and even at that i had to tell them i was completely out off money.
would not recommend this service, luckily enough i had access to funds but if i hadn't i was have been up sh1t creek.

That would have been a pre-authorisation from the hotel.

This is effectively a debit card in credit card clothing as such needs to be treated as a debit card - useless for pre-auths for hotels or hire cars.

DrJFF · 12-11-2014 6:03pm

I had one of these cards on my recent trip to New York. I wouldn't recommend them as they put a hold on the card when you use it in a restaurant and it takes a couple days for it to clear. Support is bad and the system for checking balance online is very dated

It is also not accepted everywhere and can be random enough.

borderlinemeath · 12-11-2014 6:07pm

I was told by the post office clerk at the time of purchase that it wasn't accepted by most hotels or car hire companies due to racking up an unseen bill on room service or crashing a car and not having the security to pay for it. If you read the T&Cs on cashpassport.com it recommends that you don't use your card for the very purpose you described as it will tie up all your funds. Not the cards fault if you didn't read through it properly.

http://www.cashpassport.com/1/en/us/Budget-Calculator/

strife · 13-11-2014 11:26am

borderlinemeath wrote: »

I was told by the post office clerk at the time of purchase that it wasn't accepted by most hotels or car hire companies due to racking up an unseen bill on room service or crashing a car and not having the security to pay for it. If you read the T&Cs on cashpassport.com it recommends that you don't use your card for the very purpose you described as it will tie up all your funds. Not the cards fault if you didn't read through it properly.

http://www.cashpassport.com/1/en/us/Budget-Calculator/

I spoke to the customer service department and asked if the hotel would have had something to do with this and they told me it was an issue with their system, nothing to do with the transactions that I had made. They told me that if the hotel had lien on the card it would show up with the hotels details. However the "invisible transaction" issue was a known glitch in their system(this is from the horses mouth)
You can say what you want but the fact is through no fault of my own and no miss-use of the card I could not access MY money.

borderlinemeath · 13-11-2014 11:45am

strife wrote: »

I spoke to the customer service department and asked if the hotel would have had something to do with this and they told me it was an issue with their system, nothing to do with the transactions that I had made. They told me that if the hotel had lien on the card it would show up with the hotels details. However the "invisible transaction" issue was a known glitch in their system(this is from the horses mouth)
You can say what you want but the fact is through no fault of my own and no miss-use of the card I could not access MY money.

.

The horses mouth in this case seemed to be making it up as they go along, understandable if they have an irate customer on the line looking for answers. While I don't doubt you were told this, by perhaps an inexperienced customer service rep, it states clearly in the "before you go" section that I linked to on their website that it is NOT recommended for hotels for the exact reason that you had problems. And I was told by the post office that hotels most likely wouldn't accept them and car hire companies certainly wouldn't. Perhaps if you read the through the website before you tried to use the card in the hotel it wouldn't have been such a problem.

There has to be some safeguards, particularly in the case of a car hire, where a company has let you drive away in a car worth tens of thousands, to be secured only by a card with a finite amount preloaded onto it? And from a hotels perspective, what's to stop the room getting trashed, or a huge room service bill racked up that can't be paid for with a finite amount? They have no comeback whatsoever.

Rock Paper Scissors · 01-02-2015 3:10pm

Hey guys,

My mother is traveling to the UK next weekend and needs some sterling.

Does anyone know where i can get her the best rate for sterling?

Should I get one of these cards or is there some other way I can ge the best rate?

Thanks

An Post PostFX™ prepaid MasterCard® currency card

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