Camping Cheque changes
Comments
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It looks as if it's a change in name only and everything else remains much the same. I switched from paper cheques to a (free of charge) Silver Card a couple of years ago and this has always worked well throughout sites in France. As for the price of 16
euros, I've talked to seasoned travellers who book and pay on the Camping Cheque website using euros, so that's the way to save money! It's also worth buying an ACSI card as that gives you access to even more sites - and even to some that have left the Camping
Cheque scheme for financial reasons!! As always, it's a case of shopping around and not sticking to one particular method.0 -
I think it is just a rip off. Companies don’t normally buy such things in advance. They take an option to buy currency forward at a fixed rate. At the time they come to sell the commodity to us and have to pay the supplier they either use the option to
gain advantage or let the option lapse if the advantage has disappeared due to exchange rate movement, and use the market rate instead. As has been demonstrated and pointed out by others using the French site can save money, especially if you use a market
rate credit card.I can only go by what I recalled happened some years ago when the exchnage rate collapsed at the start of the season. (not sure whether it was FF or Euros) The CC carried on selling the cheques at the lower level whilst they had stocks only adding a surcharge
when they had to go back and buy more at the higher price. That suggests to me that had to buy in bulk before the season started?David
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As the OP was in regard to Camping Cheque changes I think ValDa's post was very useful and it was not the OP who first introduced the 'cost' issue.
Whilst I can readily agree that no one ,myself included, likes to think we are being 'ripped off' I am not sure what the options are if we want to use Camping Cheques? I always now buy mine as part of an ITX package, so that I can access the great reductions on the ferry prices this gives with some operators,and this incurs no admin charge.
However the admin charge is, at todays exchange rate,only 57 pence more,paid here rather than in Europe, so not really an issue of cost but more of feeling we are being treated differfently perhaps?
The cheques work out as app £3 more each, this can be avoided as many have said by buying on the French website,but as they can give you savings of over £20 a night on the pitch,as well as,in our case over £200 on the ferry price, you are still getting a good saving overall. I do not know if you would be able to get the same saving on the pitch price at the gate' but would not want to travel 1200 miles to Lake Garda to find out.
It is clear that this scheme has changed over the years,the number and choice of sites being the key thing for us, but still seems to offer some very good savings even taking currency differences,admin charges etc into consideration.
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Harry, Changes to the sites accepting Camping Cheques is just one of the major changes which has happened within the organisation, which is why I thought it appropriate to be part of this thread and not a separate one.
I agree that the discussion had moved on to cost, admin charges, and where to buy cheques. However, wouldn't you agree there is no point in buying any cheques at all if you subsequently found the site you were planning to stay at, using them, is no longer
accepting them.As none of us have yet received the guide for 2016 it seemed to me that information about site changes was a valid part of this discussion rather than a separate one which was just about to disappear on to page 2..
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As the OP of this thread I agree that the inclusion of changes to the sites accepting Camping Cheques is quite relevant to it. The 2016 guide, AFAIK, hasn't been issued yet although the website does have the 2016 details now. If someone is buying cheques
purely to stay on a particular site then it is very useful to know whether that site will still accept cheques in 2016.0 -
As it was my post which started the new debate re the insertion of closed cc sites I feel I would like to add further.
Firstly, can I say I have the utmost admiration and appreciation about what Val does. Her devotion and dedication in helping others in caravanning forums is without reproach and many people on those forums have benefitted from her knowledge, me included. However as a member of this forum I too feel that I have a helpful input towards this forum albeit in a very small way. It is for that reason that I gave my thoughts about Val’s post and I still stand by my post to bump the original post from Val back to the top. It would have more relevance on its own than lost in another post, such as this, which is what sometimes happens to posts that go off on another topic
So to answer Val’s question, “wouldn't you agree there is no point in buying any cheques at all if you subsequently found the site you were planning to stay at, using them, is no longer accepting them”. To a certain extent yes, in theory. Ok the new cc handbook for 2016 may not be out yet but as InaD says the web site seems up to date. So anyone buying cheques with a preference could and almost certainly would check there to see what if any changes had been made. However, if someone has cheques remaining then the list would be helpful. There are other reasons for checking a web site. I, for one, did not use camping cheques last year so didn’t have the book. Once I get a new book I would be none the wiser reading from the list. Also many people will have thrown the old book away so once again will be none the wiser after reading the list. Finally Val mentions that her first post on the subject is about to drop off the front page onto page 2. That is exactly what will happen to this post once the interest goes. Hence my suggestion.
So, like other posts offering relevant information on the Overseas Travel section, like “Euro Tunnel Changes and Open all Year Sites” why not keep Val’s information at the top of the page as a “Sticky” for the coming year.
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Perhaps if Val is willing to undertake this suggestion she could start a new thread entitled ACSI and Camping Cheque Sites 2016 where she could add all the work that she has already done. We could then close the thread as a read only sticky. Would this suit?
David
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I don't think another sticky is required. The information is only relevant in the very short term, until people get their new 2016 guides, which was why I posted it again in this thread. My post had a very similar title, and was posted in a hurry early
on Christmas mornning after I received it from 'Archie'. This post seemed to be attracting more views and more contributions.I just wonder how Harry would feel if he had ordered his cheap cheques from the French website, only to discover an hour or so later that the site didn't accept them for 2016 and whether he might then be asking
why I didn't post it in this thread, rather than starting another.Opinions about what is important in this topic oviously differ, but I personally still feel that site changes is just as important as the price of cheques in various countries or the change of name to
Camping Travel Club,However, I'll leave it to the moderators to make a decision.
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I should have added, ithat The Camping Cheques website is changing rapidly, day to day, and I wonder if anyone has actually tried to find site information in the last day or two. I certainly don't find it easy. At the moment you have to go through the 'Interactive Map' or 'Our campsites', then 'The Formulas: Bare Pitches and Rentals'. Click that then scroll down to 'Discover our stays on Pitches' and eventually you go back to the map, where if you know which department your proposed site is located, you can (perhaps) find it.
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David I think Val’s decision re the sticky is probably now the best idea because as she says her info will perhaps be short lived because she has confirmed the camping cheques web site for 2016 is up and running.
I do find the 2nd paragraph rather condescending from someone who I hold in high regard so I will leave it at that.
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We've been using Camping Cheques since they started in business, and the price has sometimes been in our favour, and sometimes not. Once buying on line became more common those of us 'in the know' started buying from the French or Dutch websites. At the moment the price is skewed in favour of European prices, but that may or may not be the case for much longer.
Perhaps it's worth taking up prices with those who set them in this country - (whoever that may be) - or at least suggesting that the prices are displayed with a 'conversion' rate which applies for that year, so it's transparent what forumula has been used to calculate prices.
As far as the website is concerned, it's now easier to click directly on the banner saying 'Stays on pitches' rather than going via the map headed "23 coutries" (their spelling not mine). I suspect that getting the website working properly will be an on-going job.
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Having had a look at the webiste, I too think it will take some time to get that right. Whatever "bare" pitches means is anybody's guess, mine is that it's presumably a touring pitch. Obviously translated, but not very well.
My initial concern was that paper cheques didn't appear to be mentioned; only if you go to the Order tab. If clicking on Payment Methods, the only methods there are the gold and silver card. Incidentally, I did see that it's now 8 Euros per year, for 3 years, for a gold card, I'm sure in the past it used to cost 3 cheques for 3 years?
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DD, ACSI certainly has a wider choice. I would only use Camping Cheques if particular sites I wanted to visit were members of that scheme, although for us they very rarely are. We go where we wish, and take little account of either scheme. But I accept
that other opinions differ.0 -
No idea DD, of the number of sites accepting both, I know of a few which did, then the following year dropped out of CC in favour of ACSI. I don't think most sites accept both though.
I prefer the ACSI scheme, no big outlay up front, and possibly feeling you have to use sites to use up any cheques before they expire. Yet some might say that paying for cheques up front spreads the cost of the holiday. Two ways of looking at it of course.
We've always got some cheques with us, as there are a few sites we really like and which only accept CCs. However, for 2016 one of those also accepts ACSI as well as CCs.
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Throughout Europe, ACSI offers 3292 sites and Camping Cheques offer 682. I will have a look at my lists later, and compare to see just how many sites are in both lists.
However, Deleted User User did mention that some sites were one euro cheaper using Camping Cheques rather than ACSI (if you take the 16 euro price rather than the price in Britain).
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We too have 6 Camping Cheques from last year they have to be used this year. When we purchase more this year they are good for this year and next ..Even though the Nmae has changed they will honour the old ones for the time Valid so no need to worry just
use them in the time limit and all will be ok .0 -
I dont think you should be concerned about name changes, it is really just a business decision. Think about it; we had Camping Cheques, then the old French owners introduced Holiday Cheques. Both of these are "products" but still used the title of
Camping Cheques. The new company has now introduced an umbrella title called "Camping Travel Club" which has these two products to sell. Makes sense to me.With regard to getting rid of paper cheques anytime soon, Adele would have to sort out hundreds of small sites who do not have the equipment to handle e-cheques, but it is inevitible that e-cheques will be the way forward. Camping Cheques are still big
right across France.For those of you who have not caught up yet and want to use Camping Cheques but not ferry deals, buy them off the French site and save money and when UK sales drop off the CC might wake up and do something about it. It is possible to buy cheques off the
French site without paying transaction charges and there is advice on that already on this site. Also, the points I earn everytime I use a camping cheque pay for the renewal of my gold card every three years and cheques last upto 4 years on gold cards.
The £6.50 UK admin fee is only €4 using a gold card.I have an ongoing email trail with my MP and MEP about this difference in pricing but these things only happen very slowly in the EU. I have 14 cheques left on my Gold Card and am not worried about losing them.
Happy Camping, BillC
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Quote from an earlier post of mine:
Throughout Europe, ACSI offers 3292 sites and Camping Cheques offer 682. I will have a look at my lists later, and compare to see just how many sites are in both lists.
Then a reply from Deleted UserUser:
Good points all.
Val, you must be a closet number cruncher
but the results will be of interest 
.Harry, we don't plan enough to warrant to much investigation but you idea seems good.
There are actually 325 sites which take both ACSI and Camping Cheques - many more than I would have guessed. I haven't done price comparisons, but if anyone would like the list of sites in order to compare which is the cheaper way of staying at a particular site, I'd be happy to send it. Email me at valdaathome@gmail.com
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