PayPower CANADA only thread
Feb 27, 2014, 12:51 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Victoria, B.C.
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, AA Gold LT
Posts: 1,940
PayPower CANADA only thread
As PowerPower has a separate Canadian version I thought that I would share info here on the completely different card that is available up here in Canada.
Paypower Canada is primarily available at Safeway locations.
You cannot transfer between Paypower Canada reloads to Paypower US cards.
Paypower Canada can be loaded with reload packs available at Safeway stores using a "Visa" & potentially a Master Card and Amex Chip cards.
The reload at Safeway MUST be a with a chip card.
There is no "fee" free versions of the card in Canada.
I have seen Paypower Canada cards at Home Depot stores - but they are cash only. Have not been able to confirm if you can purchase them with gift cards.
Account Locks
I was successfully able to reload for 1 year. I currently have an account that is locked. I was contacted about 3 days after I called to complain about my account being and a message left on my home phone. I was given a phone number to the risk department 1--855-257-2581 which is unavailable in Canada (or at least my location)
The phone number which does work in Canada for PayPower is 1-866-215-3758
FEES
Initial purchase fee is $4.95
ATM withdrawl fee is $1.95
Foreign ATM fee is I think $3.95 + a hefty 3% conversion fee too
Reload (up to $950) $3.95
Generally all you need to do is have a current address that they can mail you a card (can not be a PO Box)
You do not have to provide a SIN to get a card/and or PIN to use in the ATM
Cheapest place to get your money is TD Canada trust machines as they allow a $500 withdrawal for only an additional $1.95 fee. CIBC and Royal also charge $1.95 but only allow up to $400 for a credit card transaction. Even though the ATM charges $500 + 1.95 it is still allowed under the $500 maximum withdrawal limit. (you will be charged $500 + 1.95 + 1.95)
Any other bits of information that people can share about the Canadian version of the card???
Paypower Canada is primarily available at Safeway locations.
You cannot transfer between Paypower Canada reloads to Paypower US cards.
Paypower Canada can be loaded with reload packs available at Safeway stores using a "Visa" & potentially a Master Card and Amex Chip cards.
The reload at Safeway MUST be a with a chip card.
There is no "fee" free versions of the card in Canada.
I have seen Paypower Canada cards at Home Depot stores - but they are cash only. Have not been able to confirm if you can purchase them with gift cards.
Account Locks
I was successfully able to reload for 1 year. I currently have an account that is locked. I was contacted about 3 days after I called to complain about my account being and a message left on my home phone. I was given a phone number to the risk department 1--855-257-2581 which is unavailable in Canada (or at least my location)
The phone number which does work in Canada for PayPower is 1-866-215-3758
FEES
Initial purchase fee is $4.95
ATM withdrawl fee is $1.95
Foreign ATM fee is I think $3.95 + a hefty 3% conversion fee too
Reload (up to $950) $3.95
Generally all you need to do is have a current address that they can mail you a card (can not be a PO Box)
You do not have to provide a SIN to get a card/and or PIN to use in the ATM
Cheapest place to get your money is TD Canada trust machines as they allow a $500 withdrawal for only an additional $1.95 fee. CIBC and Royal also charge $1.95 but only allow up to $400 for a credit card transaction. Even though the ATM charges $500 + 1.95 it is still allowed under the $500 maximum withdrawal limit. (you will be charged $500 + 1.95 + 1.95)
Any other bits of information that people can share about the Canadian version of the card???
Jul 10, 2014, 11:35 am
#2
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: YYZ
Programs: Haven't been flying for a while... :(
Posts: 478
Bumping an old thread...
Just grabbed a card through mail order.
I bought a reload at the local Esso gas station, $3.95 for the reload. They accepted purchasing the reload by credit card, but capped me at $300. Not sure if that's a matter of using a credit card to reload or just a store limit. Looking for a higher limit shop.
For this card to make sense over the Petro-Canada PIVOT card, I have to find a store that will sell Paypower reloads of $500 with CC purchase at a time.
I bought a reload at the local Esso gas station, $3.95 for the reload. They accepted purchasing the reload by credit card, but capped me at $300. Not sure if that's a matter of using a credit card to reload or just a store limit. Looking for a higher limit shop.
For this card to make sense over the Petro-Canada PIVOT card, I have to find a store that will sell Paypower reloads of $500 with CC purchase at a time.
Apr 16, 2015, 7:15 am
#3
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Canada
Posts: 5
Hi,
Thank you for this great info. I went to their website to apply but they are saying that there is a monthly fee. Is this something that you maybe forgot to mention or did they just add this?
Thank you
Thank you for this great info. I went to their website to apply but they are saying that there is a monthly fee. Is this something that you maybe forgot to mention or did they just add this?
Thank you
As PowerPower has a separate Canadian version I thought that I would share info here on the completely different card that is available up here in Canada.
Paypower Canada is primarily available at Safeway locations.
You cannot transfer between Paypower Canada reloads to Paypower US cards.
Paypower Canada can be loaded with reload packs available at Safeway stores using a "Visa" & potentially a Master Card and Amex Chip cards.
The reload at Safeway MUST be a with a chip card.
There is no "fee" free versions of the card in Canada.
I have seen Paypower Canada cards at Home Depot stores - but they are cash only. Have not been able to confirm if you can purchase them with gift cards.
Account Locks
I was successfully able to reload for 1 year. I currently have an account that is locked. I was contacted about 3 days after I called to complain about my account being and a message left on my home phone. I was given a phone number to the risk department 1--855-257-2581 which is unavailable in Canada (or at least my location)
The phone number which does work in Canada for PayPower is 1-866-215-3758
FEES
Initial purchase fee is $4.95
ATM withdrawl fee is $1.95
Foreign ATM fee is I think $3.95 + a hefty 3% conversion fee too
Reload (up to $950) $3.95
Generally all you need to do is have a current address that they can mail you a card (can not be a PO Box)
You do not have to provide a SIN to get a card/and or PIN to use in the ATM
Cheapest place to get your money is TD Canada trust machines as they allow a $500 withdrawal for only an additional $1.95 fee. CIBC and Royal also charge $1.95 but only allow up to $400 for a credit card transaction. Even though the ATM charges $500 + 1.95 it is still allowed under the $500 maximum withdrawal limit. (you will be charged $500 + 1.95 + 1.95)
Any other bits of information that people can share about the Canadian version of the card???
Paypower Canada is primarily available at Safeway locations.
You cannot transfer between Paypower Canada reloads to Paypower US cards.
Paypower Canada can be loaded with reload packs available at Safeway stores using a "Visa" & potentially a Master Card and Amex Chip cards.
The reload at Safeway MUST be a with a chip card.
There is no "fee" free versions of the card in Canada.
I have seen Paypower Canada cards at Home Depot stores - but they are cash only. Have not been able to confirm if you can purchase them with gift cards.
Account Locks
I was successfully able to reload for 1 year. I currently have an account that is locked. I was contacted about 3 days after I called to complain about my account being and a message left on my home phone. I was given a phone number to the risk department 1--855-257-2581 which is unavailable in Canada (or at least my location)
The phone number which does work in Canada for PayPower is 1-866-215-3758
FEES
Initial purchase fee is $4.95
ATM withdrawl fee is $1.95
Foreign ATM fee is I think $3.95 + a hefty 3% conversion fee too
Reload (up to $950) $3.95
Generally all you need to do is have a current address that they can mail you a card (can not be a PO Box)
You do not have to provide a SIN to get a card/and or PIN to use in the ATM
Cheapest place to get your money is TD Canada trust machines as they allow a $500 withdrawal for only an additional $1.95 fee. CIBC and Royal also charge $1.95 but only allow up to $400 for a credit card transaction. Even though the ATM charges $500 + 1.95 it is still allowed under the $500 maximum withdrawal limit. (you will be charged $500 + 1.95 + 1.95)
Any other bits of information that people can share about the Canadian version of the card???
Apr 27, 2015, 9:51 am
#4
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Toronto, ON
Programs: HH Gold VIP, BonVoy Gold, BAEC Gold, AmEx Platinum, Visa Infinite
Posts: 689
Hey guys,
I am resurrecting this old thread because I am looking into pay power. If you use your AmEx/Visa/MC to reload the card, is that considered as a cash advance by your credit card issuer or a regular merchant transaction ?
Thanks
I am resurrecting this old thread because I am looking into pay power. If you use your AmEx/Visa/MC to reload the card, is that considered as a cash advance by your credit card issuer or a regular merchant transaction ?
Thanks
Apr 28, 2015, 11:13 pm
#5
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 1
Hi. I'm having trouble reloading the card that I bought. In my initial purchase of the card, we were able to use it for an online subscription and gas purchases. As we are not yet permanent residents here in Canada with no credit cards yet and we need an english exam to support our PR application, we want to use it for our CELPIP registration online. But when I tried reloading it yesterday, the website says that the user can't be identified. I tried calling the customer service and a guy named Frank was not very helpful as he cannot address most of the queries that I'm asking. He just said that I didn't pass the verification that their system made and that he can't tell me why. Now, after reading the reviews on pay power, I'm thinking of getting a refund for the reload pack that we bought, which I didn't even sratch off. When I raised that with Frank, he told me that it will take 1 month to get the refund. Is there anybody here who could advise me on the best thing to do. I'm hoping that someone could help enlighten me as the amount that we put into it was a hard-earned money of my husband.
Feb 28, 2016, 1:10 pm
#7
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: YVR
Programs: AE, MP, DL, AA, Accor Platinum (But aren't we all?)
Posts: 268
I'd love to know if anything changed but I stopped using it much after that original limitation on how much you could load in 2014. The effort just wasn't use the return after the fees once the amount was capped.
I'd love to be proven wrong though.
I'd love to be proven wrong though.
Dec 9, 2016, 11:20 am
#8
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 821
they all of sudden suspend my service without a call or e-mail yesterday, I can't even go through their IVR, finally put through need process * then 1, go to lost&stolen departmen...........this morning call paypower CSR happy to know my card got unlocked, although from start to end total 1 week, no phone calls/E-mail from paypower to me at all regarding the lock and unlock, so stay away thses guys if you can, Anyway they are discontinued in 5 days,
Jul 15, 2017, 2:13 am
#9
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 38
PayPower is the cheapest MS method in Canada
This appears to be the best option. They include a maximum card balance of $10,000.
One Paypower card can be bought for:
Activation fee: $7.85
Monthly fee: $4.95
Total: $12.80
Every reload is $3.95 with a maximum per day reload of $2,500. So in order to MS $5000 for an AMEX Biz Plat it would cost you: $20.70.
Afterwards you liquidate the card by transferring to goldmoney @ 3% ($150).
Total cost to MS and liquidate five thousand: $170.70
This is MUCH cheaper then buying 20 prepaid $250 vanilla cards at shoppers as I originally intended which would been an extra $144.20 in activation fees.
**Question**
Would reloading PayPower cards at a Food Basic work for MS or would it trigger a flag with AMEX? Its against the ToS to buy cash equivalents which is what I am doing.
One Paypower card can be bought for:
Activation fee: $7.85
Monthly fee: $4.95
Total: $12.80
Every reload is $3.95 with a maximum per day reload of $2,500. So in order to MS $5000 for an AMEX Biz Plat it would cost you: $20.70.
Afterwards you liquidate the card by transferring to goldmoney @ 3% ($150).
Total cost to MS and liquidate five thousand: $170.70
This is MUCH cheaper then buying 20 prepaid $250 vanilla cards at shoppers as I originally intended which would been an extra $144.20 in activation fees.
**Question**
Would reloading PayPower cards at a Food Basic work for MS or would it trigger a flag with AMEX? Its against the ToS to buy cash equivalents which is what I am doing.
Jul 16, 2017, 11:24 am
#10
Join Date: Nov 2016
Programs: Aeroplan
Posts: 7
This appears to be the best option. They include a maximum card balance of $10,000.
One Paypower card can be bought for:
Activation fee: $7.85
Monthly fee: $4.95
Total: $12.80
Every reload is $3.95 with a maximum per day reload of $2,500. So in order to MS $5000 for an AMEX Biz Plat it would cost you: $20.70.
Afterwards you liquidate the card by transferring to goldmoney @ 3% ($150).
Total cost to MS and liquidate five thousand: $170.70
This is MUCH cheaper then buying 20 prepaid $250 vanilla cards at shoppers as I originally intended which would been an extra $144.20 in activation fees.
**Question**
Would reloading PayPower cards at a Food Basic work for MS or would it trigger a flag with AMEX? Its against the ToS to buy cash equivalents which is what I am doing.
One Paypower card can be bought for:
Activation fee: $7.85
Monthly fee: $4.95
Total: $12.80
Every reload is $3.95 with a maximum per day reload of $2,500. So in order to MS $5000 for an AMEX Biz Plat it would cost you: $20.70.
Afterwards you liquidate the card by transferring to goldmoney @ 3% ($150).
Total cost to MS and liquidate five thousand: $170.70
This is MUCH cheaper then buying 20 prepaid $250 vanilla cards at shoppers as I originally intended which would been an extra $144.20 in activation fees.
**Question**
Would reloading PayPower cards at a Food Basic work for MS or would it trigger a flag with AMEX? Its against the ToS to buy cash equivalents which is what I am doing.
And how do you unload it at food basics?
Nov 5, 2017, 10:26 pm
#11
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 6
This appears to be the best option. They include a maximum card balance of $10,000.
One Paypower card can be bought for:
Activation fee: $7.85
Monthly fee: $4.95
Total: $12.80
Every reload is $3.95 with a maximum per day reload of $2,500. So in order to MS $5000 for an AMEX Biz Plat it would cost you: $20.70.
Afterwards you liquidate the card by transferring to goldmoney @ 3% ($150).
Total cost to MS and liquidate five thousand: $170.70
This is MUCH cheaper then buying 20 prepaid $250 vanilla cards at shoppers as I originally intended which would been an extra $144.20 in activation fees.
**Question**
Would reloading PayPower cards at a Food Basic work for MS or would it trigger a flag with AMEX? Its against the ToS to buy cash equivalents which is what I am doing.
One Paypower card can be bought for:
Activation fee: $7.85
Monthly fee: $4.95
Total: $12.80
Every reload is $3.95 with a maximum per day reload of $2,500. So in order to MS $5000 for an AMEX Biz Plat it would cost you: $20.70.
Afterwards you liquidate the card by transferring to goldmoney @ 3% ($150).
Total cost to MS and liquidate five thousand: $170.70
This is MUCH cheaper then buying 20 prepaid $250 vanilla cards at shoppers as I originally intended which would been an extra $144.20 in activation fees.
**Question**
Would reloading PayPower cards at a Food Basic work for MS or would it trigger a flag with AMEX? Its against the ToS to buy cash equivalents which is what I am doing.
Nov 16, 2017, 11:45 pm
#12
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Posts: 92
Nov 18, 2017, 3:12 pm
#13
Join Date: Nov 2017
Programs: aeroplan
Posts: 1
This new program administered by Home Trust says " The max value load for Interac online is $250 for both Express and Select Cards " in the Terms and conditions section. I take this to mean that the $2500 daily load max will not apply to online loads, making MS much more difficult. Has anyone actually done $2500 daily online loads to the card from either Paypal or Interac?
Jan 23, 2018, 1:56 pm
#14
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 6
I have tried couple time reload, the maximum amount you can reload with a single transaction is CAD 500. I tried 600 and got declined on paypower end, after which I had to do refund and tried 500 again.
However, most cashier doesn't know it is reloadable and usually call for store manger to assistant. Some store manager would still refuses to reload for me.
With the single transaction capped to 500, I would just buy more new cards. It is not worth it dealing with cashier and store manager. Everytime it costs me 10 mins and I might not get the card reloaded.
However, most cashier doesn't know it is reloadable and usually call for store manger to assistant. Some store manager would still refuses to reload for me.
With the single transaction capped to 500, I would just buy more new cards. It is not worth it dealing with cashier and store manager. Everytime it costs me 10 mins and I might not get the card reloaded.