Camping Cheques

[Cliffy]

 

 

Going on our third trip to France in September.

 

We have used ACSI sites on the previous trips. This time I am thinking of using Camping Cheques, it appears to save 1 Euro per night on the highest ACSI rate which seems to becoming the most common.

 

I would appreciate any comments on the advantages and disadvantages along with any tips and pit falls to look out for please.

 

Thanks

 

Cliff

 

 

[mel wood]

We used Camping Cheques 5 years ago and found them very useful because we had identified sites where we wished to stay and they took Camping Cheques so we saved a lot of money over the "normal" prices we would have paid. (At that time we had not heard of the ACSI Discount Card, which I think was not then available in UK). As we had ordered over a certain number we also had to pay an extra charge for the cheques to be sent by special delivery. There was also an initial administration fee. I believe that the cheques still have a 2 year expiry date: if so and you don't use all of them this year you will have to use the remainder next year.

 

No doubt there will be folks who will be able to tell you about the non-paper versions of Camping Cheques which may work out cheaper and/or give greater flexibility.

 

We have found there are still some sites in France which charge ACSI Discount Card holders 12 or 14 euros but I agree that most are 16. We didn't find that the cost had any direct bearing on the quality or range of facilities and stayed on 2 excellent sites at 12 euros a night, one of which included fee wi-fi and a free swimming pool.

 

Also you will have to decide how many Camping Cheques you think you will need and pay for them in advance or pre-load the card for the non-paper versions.

 

Whatever you decide, I hope you enjoy your trip.

[vindiboy]

I bought Camping Cheques a couple of years ago and I did not use them all as intended, so I had to waste the ones I had left on Campsites in England that I would not normally use . When I had mine there was an expiry date on them and they could not be returned without penalty as I remember. I think the system has changed since , but I would not bother with them again.

[Mel B]

The disadvantage of Camping Cheques is that you have to pay for them up-front plus whatever admin/postage costs there are too.

 

With ACSI you only pay for what you actually need ... ie when you are at the campsite.

[mirage]

We use them all the time only valid either side of July/August as a general rule, exact dates for sites vary. Cheques valid for two years can be paper or electronic card, cheapest way to purchase is through Caravan Club if you are a member. Main drawback is some sites are a little off the beaten track so close scrutiny of the directory for where and what you want is advisable. Having said that most sites are of good quality and can be quite busy.

[Caddies104]

Mel B - 2012-07-21 10:32 PM

 

The disadvantage of Camping Cheques is that you have to pay for them up-front plus whatever admin/postage costs there are too.

 

With ACSI you only pay for what you actually need ... ie when you are at the campsite.

 

Not quite right , you can now get a Silver or Gold Card which you can put the cheques on, and top it up on the site...

I.e. we have a Silver card, just like a credit card, which cost - very little as they can be given free at the shows, but if not only a couple of pound from the Camping Cheques site. You then put a few cheques on that you are certain to use and then if you need more just top up the card at the site... They all have a Special machine which tells you how many you have left on the card ......

 

Hope this makes sense as its late and had a glass of red or two??!!

 

 

[Mel B]

Caddies, the cost is actually a bit more than a couple of quid, the admin cost for the various types of cheques, ie card or paper, makes them more expensive than the most expensive ACSI sites if you only want a few, and the admin fee is payable every time you 'top up' the cards regardless of how many you get plus the cost of the directory at £3.00.

 

Before going on holiday you will need to purchase the number of Cheques to cover your nights away. If you are using your Camping Cheques abroad you may wish to take advantage of our special low ferry prices too.

 

Buy your paper Camping Cheques here on-line and we'll reduce our usual Administration fee by £1 from £7.50 per order to £6.50.

 

With the Camping Cheque Gold Card (cost just €45 for 3 years), you benefit from a simpler and more flexible means of travelling as well as many other loyalty benefits. You no longer need to have a supply of paper Cheques on hand as your Camping Cheques are loaded onto the chip on your Gold Card! Buy Cheques for your Gold Card here on-line and we'll reduce our usual Administration fee by £1 from £3.75 per order to £2.75.

 

With the Camping Cheque Silver Card you benefit from a simpler and more flexible means of travelling. You no longer need to have a supply of paper Cheques on hand as your Camping Cheques are loaded onto the chip on your Silver Card! Buy Cheques for your Silver Card here on-line and we'll reduce our usual Administration fee by £1 from £7.50 per order to £6.50.

 

I know you have to pay for the directory/card for the ACSI scheme too.

 

Which scheme to go for really depends on how many you are likely to want.

[Caddies104]

Mel

Well said, I always use 3 types of sites,...

 

The ACSI site

The Camping Cheque site

The Touring Cheque site

 

Some sites takes more than 1 type of payment, but still exceedingly less expensive than sites in Britain for what you get.. *-)

[Iain Strachan]

Hi Cliffy,

We use ACSI and Touring Cheque, found it off putting that Caravan Club insist that you must book a ferry with them to get Camping Cheques from them. Last April, May, found a good selection of ACSI sites at 12 euro best value around after Aires!

Cheers Iain

 

[Corky 8]

We unfortunately, this Past May went onto a site that had the Acsi Logo on its Campsite name plate ,as the site was busy.I offered my Acsi Card But it was declined instead the ACSI identicard was taken, I thought  this was for quickness as lots of people were paying and leaving, we were quickly shown to our pitch, we set up and as I was connecting to the Electric point an older English chap came over and as we chatted he asked how I was Paying and I said with Euros and Acsi ,he asked if I had been given a price per night and I said no but it could only be the top price shown on the Acsi Card, he told me to go and check before its to late, He had paid by Camping cheque , on checking, the Pitch Price was 24 Euro,s per night, (1 night spent there) Acsi Identity card was accepted but not the discount Card the reason of which should have been explained (but they were too Busy with People leaving I see why now,) So 24 Euro,s per night By Cash and is it £14 per Camping cheque,so it would have been worth my while to have had Camping Cheques as a stand by ,which we will have hence forth, I have since read that if a site displays the ACSI sign and it is not within the Acsi issued booklet then it is not in the Discount scheme,.... So we will avoid  Chateau Du Gandspette.on D207 off D300  which is within an hour of Dunkirk. once bitten etc. So Camping Cheques will be purchased by us. regardless of postage etc.

[Gwendolyn]

Corky 8 - 2012-07-22 4:27 PM

 

We unfortunately, this Past May went onto a site that had the Acsi Logo on its Campsite name plate ,as the site was busy.I offered my Acsi Card But it was declined instead the ACSI identicard was taken, I thought  this was for quickness as lots of people were paying and leaving, we were quickly shown to our pitch, we set up and as I was connecting to the Electric point an older English chap came over and as we chatted he asked how I was Paying and I said with Euros and Acsi ,he asked if I had been given a price per night and I said no but it could only be the top price shown on the Acsi Card, he told me to go and check before its to late, He had paid by Camping cheque , on checking, the Pitch Price was 24 Euro,s per night, (1 night spent there) Acsi Identity card was accepted but not the discount Card the reason of which should have been explained (but they were too Busy with People leaving I see why now,) So 24 Euro,s per night By Cash and is it £14 per Camping cheque,so it would have been worth my while to have had Camping Cheques as a stand by ,which we will have hence forth, I have since read that if a site displays the ACSI sign and it is not within the Acsi issued booklet then it is not in the Discount scheme,.... So we will avoid  Chateau Du Gandspette.on D207 off D300  which is within an hour of Dunkirk. once bitten etc. So Camping Cheques will be purchased by us. regardless of postage etc.

 

Chateau du Gandspette [a rather nice site as I recall] may be ACSI INSPECTED, and thus ‘fly the flag’ but it is NOT in the ACSI Discount scheme.

 

It is easy to get the 2 confused.

 

Always check the ACSI book before you assume that “ACSI inspected” sites give the discount.

 

[PJay]

I bought 10 Camping Cheques this year for the first time (We are away for up to 3 months)

I was disappointed in most of the sites we tried , Felt we had to use them, as already paid for ACSI is usually very good value. I don't think I would buy them again. I have the Silver card, so could top up if needs be, but as they don't have many sites, and ACSI seem to be increasing the number of sites in their books, I think that say's something !! You easy recoup the cost of card.

PJay

[Klyne]

Apparently there are over 8000 ACSI Inspected Sites but only about a quarter are in the discount scheme, so you have to have your ACSI Card book at the ready. If you take a laptop with you the ACSI DVD is very useful. It can also be downloaded onto devices that don't have a CD/DVD drive. It show all site but you can clearly see those that accept the card.

 

With Camping Cheques don't forget there is a ready market for paper cheques if you end up with too many. I now use a Silver Card and have the cheques added electronically. Given the fall in the euro it makes sense to buy them from the French Camping Cheque site as there is quite a saving over the UK site. There are still surcharges but they seem a bit lower than the UK site.

 

David

[Cliffy]

 

Thanks for all the replies, I have learnt a lot from them.

 

I don't think I will go for the Camping Cheques this trip but may look at them again for next spring's trip.

 

The silver card sounds of most interest.

 

 

 

 

[derek pringle]

Gwendolyn - 2012-07-22 4:55 PM

hi Gwendolyn,

I think you may find that Grandspette is part of the Camping Cheque scheme a we have stayed there a few times.

cheers

derek

 

Corky 8 - 2012-07-22 4:27 PM

 

We unfortunately, this Past May went onto a site that had the Acsi Logo on its Campsite name plate ,as the site was busy.I offered my Acsi Card But it was declined instead the ACSI identicard was taken, I thought  this was for quickness as lots of people were paying and leaving, we were quickly shown to our pitch, we set up and as I was connecting to the Electric point an older English chap came over and as we chatted he asked how I was Paying and I said with Euros and Acsi ,he asked if I had been given a price per night and I said no but it could only be the top price shown on the Acsi Card, he told me to go and check before its to late, He had paid by Camping cheque , on checking, the Pitch Price was 24 Euro,s per night, (1 night spent there) Acsi Identity card was accepted but not the discount Card the reason of which should have been explained (but they were too Busy with People leaving I see why now,) So 24 Euro,s per night By Cash and is it £14 per Camping cheque,so it would have been worth my while to have had Camping Cheques as a stand by ,which we will have hence forth, I have since read that if a site displays the ACSI sign and it is not within the Acsi issued booklet then it is not in the Discount scheme,.... So we will avoid  Chateau Du Gandspette.on D207 off D300  which is within an hour of Dunkirk. once bitten etc. So Camping Cheques will be purchased by us. regardless of postage etc.

 

Chateau du Gandspette [a rather nice site as I recall] may be ACSI INSPECTED, and thus ‘fly the flag’ but it is NOT in the ACSI Discount scheme.

 

It is easy to get the 2 confused.

 

Always check the ACSI book before you assume that “ACSI inspected” sites give the discount.

[Gwendolyn]

Hi Derek

 

Thanks yes, I realise that Chateau du Gandspette is in the Camping Cheques scheme. We too have stayed there a few times, and liked it.

I was replying to the poster who thought that the site accepted the ACSI discount card because it was displaying the ACSI symbol – and not all sites displaying the symbol give the discount. Which can be confusing!

 

Cheers

Gwen