Solo Card - A good way to manage your money (Solo Card Services)

Member Name: Dave2005

Product:	Solo Card Services
Date:	28/03/04 (1804 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Shop online and in shops, You cannot overspend, No charge for using the card

Disadvantages: Some places won't take the card yet

Solo launched in 1997 to be the sister card of Switch, offers anyone not eligible for other Debit or Credit cards the opportunity to get one. Anyone over 11 can apply for one and your credit history shouldn't matter because you can't spend more than you have in your account. Whether you choose to use Solo in shops, online or just to get cash at an ATM it offers many benefits:

* Shop without cash at many stores without any extra charge including, Sainsbury's, Argos, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer and more!
* Shop online at the biggest retailers including, Amazon, Play.com and many more.
* Get money out at any of the UK's 40,000 ATMS (most are free, but some charge and they must tell you if they do) or get local currency abroad in many countries using Mastercard's "Cirrus" network (small fees apply).
* Shop abroad in over 2,629,148 shops in Europe, 1,945,248 in North America and 451,297 in Asia (small fees apply).
* Get interest on the balance of your Current Account from Natwest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Halifax or HSBC.

I have had Solo for 8 months and have found it easy to use. Just give the card to the cashier, type in your card number online or insert your card at the ATM. I haven't experienced any difficulty in getting the card accepted where they say they take Solo. But there are some shops that don't accept it. When my local post office accepts it but WH Smith doesn't it really says something about the company. Often those shops aren't worth bothering about and you can find a better deal elsewhere, if you absolutely have to shop there then you can just get some cash from the ATM.

I chose to go with Natwest for two reasons: 1 - They are closer to home than RBOS. 2 - You must be over 16 to get a Solo card from HSBC or Halifax.
If you are worried that you will overspend, don't, you cannot spend too much (your bank will confirm this).

If you want to find out mo

re about where you can shop online with Solo see this site:
http://www.shopsolo.co.uk

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