The British Airways Prepaid Mastercard thread

[Alex G]

davidbutcher wrote:

Top up still not working for me

Have you updated the app?

Latest Android version is 5.19.12

[AL]

Alex G wrote:

davidbutcher wrote:

Top up still not working for me

Have you updated the app?

Latest Android version is 5.19.12

I asked on live chat today whether top-ups still work, and was told ‘no’.
Seems we have mixed messages.

[xenole]

Definitely slower and clunkier in my opinion.
Top ups still work although require more steps.

Contactless fails every single time.

Taking longer to update things, show earned Avios etc.

[tw33ty]

The new app version doesn’t have the collect in store avios thing either on it.

[Alex G]

I topped up just now. Worked fine. Android phone. Latest version of the BA App.

[davidbutcher]

I finally got the top up to work and then tried using the card today. First purchase I made, the machine wouldn’t take contactless and told me to put the card in, and the transaction went through with my PIN – ok, not unusual when a contactless card is used the first time. But then I tried to use it twice more and it wouldn’t accept contactless or chip and PIN. So basically useless – I now have funds on the card that I can’t use. Looks like others are having failure issues with contactless. And it annoys me that the message that appears says “Declined” – embarrassing in my local pub.

Is this now the latest issue with this wretched card? I am certainly not going to be paying £2.99 a month for this shambles.

[Londonsteve]

Have these payment issues now been resolved? If not it’s the last straw for me and I’ll go to cancel, I won’t be keeping a card that randomly declines payments when the funds are there. Contactless not working is a real nuisance, but being unable to pay full stop is not acceptable. I stopped using it when the top-up problem first appeared and I won’t return until the basics are functioning.

[chrism20]

Londonsteve wrote:

Have these payment issues now been resolved? If not it’s the last straw for me and I’ll go to cancel, I won’t be keeping a card that randomly declines payments when the funds are there. Contactless not working is a real nuisance, but being unable to pay full stop is not acceptable. I stopped using it when the top-up problem first appeared and I won’t return until the basics are functioning.

I used it today for the first time since the issues. App registered a new DC no problem. Contactless didn’t work on the first txn in the co-op which I fully expected but I worked fine on the three other txns I made and also worked for the bus journey back home. From my experience today it seems to be working ok.

[davidbutcher]

I got through quickly to a helpful lady on the Chat function and she discovered that for some reason contactless had been disabled on my card – I have no idea why. She says she has now enabled it but that I will need to use Chip & PIN for a transaction first. I have now done that so the next usage will be the big test. I will try contactless and hold my breath!

[Londonsteve]

davidbutcher wrote:

I got through quickly to a helpful lady on the Chat function and she discovered that for some reason contactless had been disabled on my card – I have no idea why. She says she has now enabled it but that I will need to use Chip & PIN for a transaction first. I have now done that so the next usage will be the big test. I will try contactless and hold my breath!

I’ve never heard of contactless functionality being disabled on a card. Fair to say this product is springing all sorts of surprises we might have not known even existed in the world of consumer cards. It hasn’t worked properly from the get-go for many of us with constant challenges to overcome, which is surprising considering it carries the Mastercard emblem but it shows how much is actually within the control of the card provider rather than the payment company. Please let us know how you get on.

[davidbutcher]

Have now done a contactless transaction and it worked fine.

[findingnemo]

Does anyone here know if BA will reopen the British Airways Prepaid Mastercard new applications

[FearlessTraveller]

findingnemo wrote:

Does anyone here know if BA will reopen the British Airways Prepaid Mastercard new applications

I asked that question to the customer service, and they said they don’t have one.

[FearlessTraveller]

It seems that applications have reopened for the card, although it appears there is no sign up bonus like last time.

I might take up on the card, because I have some heavy spending over the summer,but for now it’s a pass

[sideshowbob]

My app now has the details of someone in my household account when I log in and I can’t do anything with it.

[Londonsteve]

FearlessTraveller wrote:

It seems that applications have reopened for the card, although it appears there is no sign up bonus like last time.

I might take up on the card, because I have some heavy spending over the summer,but for now it’s a pass

I’d disadvise anyone to hold this card, unless they’re happy to top it up without a guarantee it’ll work at the point of sale. I’ve found it very touch and go with online transactions with consistent problems with OTA codes. At first they would only come through sporadically, latterly while the codes themselves would be delivered promptly, the system sometimes wouldn’t accept them. Most recently I was in the ridiculous situation of wanting to pay for a BA flight on BA.com and I was unable to pay with their own BA branded prepaid card as the submit button wasn’t working after you put in the OTA code. Must have tried close to 20x with 5 separate payment attempts and I couldn’t get past this stage. They had problems with payments for physical transactions at the start of the year. It’s a basket case product that needs putting down.

[Alex G]

I haven’t been charged a fee yet, but I will be happy to pay £5 to get 1300 Avios from this card every month.

I have sometimes had problems with OTA codes not coming through. I never top up with more than £300 so if things go badly wrong I can withdraw the balance as cash.

[lambshank13]

Alex G wrote:

I never top up with more than £300 so if things go badly wrong I can withdraw the balance as cash.

Apologies – hit the report button by accident!

But yes, this seems sensible. I too don’t feel comfortable leaving any sizeable balance on the card, especially after the fiasco last year with cash fees. They did eventually resolve my complaint – FOS ordered them to give me compensation back in November but this was only recently paid in March after much chasing. A shambles.

[Londonsteve]

Alex G wrote:

I haven’t been charged a fee yet, but I will be happy to pay £5 to get 1300 Avios from this card every month.

I have sometimes had problems with OTA codes not coming through. I never top up with more than £300 so if things go badly wrong I can withdraw the balance as cash.

That makes sense and I’ve not had a problem taking money out of an ATM (usually after the transaction attempt has gone pear shaped like my experience with buying a BA flight recounted above!). Problem is some transactions you might want to do, like buying a long haul flight or booking pre-pay accommodation might significantly exceed £300. If you can’t pay with the prepaid card, anything over £300 is then stuck until you can spend it elsewhere or withdraw in £300 chunks spread over however many months. It’s vast hassle for a handful of Avios. I’d rather sign up to an Avios subscription if I wanted to earn Avios in this magnitude monthly, it’s hassle free and guaranteed. The fact is the card should work at the point of sale, whether in person or for an online transaction and it just doesn’t.

[xenole]

Problematic yet again for me.

Topped up fine, went into Sainsbury petrol station to pay for some petrol, used contactless and nothing. Put the card in, enter the pin 3 times and declined.
100% the correct pin, so just now went to the app to get my pin by SMS and message was sent as “Format of the message is incorrect, please check it and try again” (twice now).

If I do get it working, I’m going to zero the balance and ditch this once and for all. Just now worth the hassle / randomness for the few Avios I’m getting from it.

[Alex G]

xenole wrote:

Problematic yet again for me.

Topped up fine, went into Sainsbury petrol station to pay for some petrol, used contactless and nothing. Put the card in, enter the pin 3 times and declined.
100% the correct pin, so just now went to the app to get my pin by SMS and message was sent as “Format of the message is incorrect, please check it and try again” (twice now).

If I do get it working, I’m going to zero the balance and ditch this once and for all. Just now worth the hassle / randomness for the few Avios I’m getting from it.

Its the end of the month. Would that purchase have put you over the £2600 monthly limit?

[xenole]

Alex G wrote:

xenole wrote:

Problematic yet again for me.

Topped up fine, went into Sainsbury petrol station to pay for some petrol, used contactless and nothing. Put the card in, enter the pin 3 times and declined.
100% the correct pin, so just now went to the app to get my pin by SMS and message was sent as “Format of the message is incorrect, please check it and try again” (twice now).

If I do get it working, I’m going to zero the balance and ditch this once and for all. Just now worth the hassle / randomness for the few Avios I’m getting from it.

Its the end of the month. Would that purchase have put you over the £2600 monthly limit?

Nowhere near it. Doubt I’ve even spent £100 on it this month.

It’s refusing to work online as well.
No luck connecting to an agent.

I’ve got “You cannot use Mastercard features at present. Your card has expired, to continue using Mastercard wallet, you have to activate your new card”
Expiry date is 12/25.

[xenole]

Added: Eventually got through on the chat, and my card had been blocked as I entered the wrong pin number 3 times (even though I know fine I entered the correct pin number).

[zapato1060]

Anyone wishing to extract the funds from this wretched prepaid mess can do so via Revolut top up. Then BACS to your standard accounts.

[Alex G]

I think the party is over for the BA prepaid debit card? All my attempted profitable transactions are now being declined 🙁

Time to close I guess. Was good while it lasted. I’ve picked up more than 16000 Avios from them, and have not been charged a fee.