Boomerang Prepaid Card

asb23uk

Forgive me if this is the wrong board for this!

I have been sent an email about the launch of the Boomerang Prepaid card, supposedly designed for students.

It pays cashabck on certain purchases, but there are some fees for cash withdrawls and other things. It only costs 10 pounds with 5 pound reward for signing up, so as a student myself, does anybody know any more about them as i think i might get one!

Thanks

mummytofour

I have looked at this and I will be getting one as it seems really good. In addition I really want a visa card as I dont have one and they are handy to have so I will def be getting one of these.

username

I wouldn't bother, take a look at the fees:

http://www.boomerangprepaidcard.co.uk/fees.html

Initial Load2.3% initial load at point of application
Top-up fees and limits
£1.00 for loads by Bank Transfer
£1.00 for loads by Standing OrderMaximum single load £250.00

So let's say you want to stick £250 on there. £6.75 gone in fees JUST for putting your own money on.
Most, if not all, personal current bank accounts charge £0 for depositing your own money.

Cash withdrawal Fees (UK)75p per ATM withdrawal in the UK

Want to get a tenner out for some drinks? It'll cost you £10.75.
If you have a normal personal current account, then again, the fees for withdrawing from a non charging (i.e. bank) ATM are £0.
If you happen to be desperate for cash, they don't take cards and grudgingly use one of those fee charging ATMs, it'll cost you 75p plus whatever they charge for using their ATM (anything from £1.50 - £5.00). So your £10 withdrawal could cost as much as £15.75, if you used the top end of the fee charging machines scale.

Replacement card fees£10.00 per card to replace lost or stolen card

Say you lose your wallet on a night out, you leave it somewhere or it gets nicked? £10 please.
No other bank charges to send out a new bank card if it has been lost or stolen.

Renewal Fee£10.00 per renewal card

Again, no other student/personal current account charges to renew the bank card.

The cashback is a small amount, so let's take an example and say you buy a CD for £9.99 from HMV. Cashback @ 2% cashback. Around a 19p return. Certainly not enough to even balance out one cash withdrawal fee.

I would simply stick to the normal banks, and ignore all of these prepaid cards, unless of course you want to be throwing your money away.

Retro82

Alx_B wrote: »

That looks like a horrible deal IMHO, why on earth would anyone want one of those when it's charging for services that most standard current accounts provide for free!

Agreed, what is the appeal? What's their selling point?

Sol00

I didn't know about the fees! I was considering getting one, but if they charge for top-ups they can forget it.

brightonman123

is there a comparison site, for prepaid cards?

asb23uk

I think the appeal is the cashback you get on purchases in a variety of stores - althought this is vague. And apparently the cash is instantly put onto the card??

JackP_3

Not sure what the major problem is with the Boomerang Prepaid Card. I have signed up for it but not to use a debit card but for the rest of the features. You have misquoted the fees as the initial load was anything from £10 - £100 Max which cost me 23p (2.3%) as I only did a tenner. (Not £6.75) Personally, this is ideal for me as my parents have agreed to send a regular allowance and they are paying the £1 charge for the load!. So so far, its cost me 23p in fees and through the rewards scheme I have already made that back!

I'll only use cash withdrawal as a last measure (or had too many) but it is free to purchase (which is what I will be doing) so I know when my overdraft goes over again, at least the bank want swallow up the money that I get from my parents or work!:cool:

brightonman123

tesco and the postoffice do prepaid cards now, too..

Quietgirl

I have just ordered that new Paypal pre paid card and its free to load if you do it from your Paypal account. They only charge if you do it anywhere else. It's £4.95.