SANParks.org Forums

Wild Dreamer, please check your spam email filter, if you have one. It may be in there. If not please contact Wild Card using the contact details on this page: Wild Card contact details. If you still can't get anywhere PM me your contact details and I'll pass them on.

Arks, just be aware that it will cost SANParks money to produce multiple cards.

Forestgump, you are welcome.

Saraf, IMO that is the fault of this new and inefficient card system, no fault of mine.

First, as an overseas visitor, if I want to receive the physical card before I visit, I have to apply for it weeks or months in advance. As its expiration date is based upon the date you purchase it, rather than as of the date when the card is first actually used, I would be losing a minimum of 4 weeks (and more likely many more) of validity of the card. While this might not matter to an overseas visitor who is making that once in a lifetime trip or to one who visits only once a year or less, I have on more than one occassion made two RSA trips within the year of validity of my card, so it is not cost effective for me to lose over a month of validity just waiting to receive the physical card.

As well, given the cost to me of the Wild Card, it's just not worth all the hassles of visiting and revisiting the website to update details, link old and new numbers, etc etc etc ad infinitum. Personally, I don't see any benefit in having a "personalised" card with my name on it It was SO much easier with Infinity, where you got your card — individually numbered, but lacking the added "personalisation" of the name (and who needs that IMO) — at the point of purchase and renewing was (relatively) easy. Your details were then "updated" to the physical at the point/place where you first used your card after your renewal. Simple!

Additionally, the Infinity card accrued rewards points that I was able to use as partial payment when I renewed my card, which was a great benefit IMO. So far, despite promises, this new Wild Card has no additional benefits beyond the savings on the conservation fees. It clearly is costly for SANParks to produce and so far, the whole new Wild Card system seems to be plagued by problems. To simply apply for a new card, rather than cope with all the hurdles of renewing, seems to me the easiest, most hassle-free option — and whatever the cost of producing multiple cards might be to SANParks, IMO it will be far less than the cost to me in time and energy wasted. Clearly, from the many, many frustrated posts since this new Wild Card system began, there are many who will agree with me.

Seems that the sending the WC is efficient these days
My friends ordered one 1 month ago and received it yesterday

SANParks have stated that they were losing a substantial amount of money through the Infinity scheme. One of the reasons is that when people used the points to renew their card they weren't getting the full amount of the card e.g. if I renewed my card using R657 I had accrued then SANParks only got the cost of the card minus R657. That's not acceptable to me personally and if I had realised this was happening I would not have renewed in this way.

Other things that I am taking an educated guess at. I suspect that the non-personalised card was attracting its fair share of fraud, people using the card who weren't entitled to it, thus cutting revenues. And having a supply of cards at every gate in every park cannot be cost effective. Only producing cards when they are needed makes much more sense to me both from an economic and environmental point of view. Once you have your card that's it you just have to renew and that can be done at a gate.

Believe me SANParks are well aware that this has not gone smoothly and most of the staff are deeply upset about it. Most people have now got their card and renewed it successfully, even overseas visitors. If any problems are encountered then I have put the correct contact details in numerous places all over this forum and I am more than willing to pass on details if they are PM'd to me. Whichever route is followed to report the problem then contact details and the Wild Card number need to be provided.

But the bottom line is that whatever form the Wild Card is in, it still provides a cost effective way of getting entry into the parks of South Africa.

Notwithstanding the fact that the old system appears to have not been cost efficient, I agree totally with arks and will be using the same strategy - a new card each visit. saraf you have been very helpful to many people but the point is we shouldn't have to spend time chasing up contact details and providing personal information AGAIN etc etc. If Sanparks/Wildcard can't provide a simple user-friendly system for international and national visitors alike, that's not my problem. I will go with the simplest and easiest path and if it means a greater cost in producing more cards - so be it!

So why bother with a Wild card , and why not just pay the conservation fees .....

Okie,
Arks, Threedogs, myself and many other International Visitors, rely on the WildCard just as South Africans do. If you look at the cost of an International card, we are paying a large premium for the same card that you purchase. We would only hope that the extra that we have to pay would translate into expedited service for our cards. When ordering a card, those of us from Europe, Australia, America and other areas of the world have been forced to wait months to get our cards. After I recommended to my brother that they get a Wildcard for their visit to South Africa, they ordered 4 months in advance, and still had not received their card when they left for South Africa. I think that is unacceptable.
My Wildcard expired in May of 2011. I have to agree with Arks that just ordering a new card makes more sense. I will order shortly before I leave and just carry my confirmation email as proof of my card.

Arks, Threedogs,

I have sent an email raising your concerns to the SANParks Wild Card team and asked if there is any movement on the new renewal system.

Thanks saraf

@okie: Wildcard couple: R2195
We are going to spend 22 days in the park - 22 days at normal daily conservation fee R192 x 2 pax (foreigner) = R8448
So a saving of R6253! or over $800

okie, see threedogs reply in the previous post. The savings with the WildCard are considerable, but the hassles involved to receive/renew the actual piece of plastic are IMO unacceptable.

@saraf: Thanks!

after more than one year... I received this morning an "international register letter"... with... with...
a Wild Card... MY Wild Card inside

thank you again Salamanda
for the help you gave to me

Hooray!
When I saw your name here, I hoped it was this good news!

I cannot believe how pathetic the wildcard department is.

Let me tell you where I am ..

1. Changed my details on 01 Sep 2010. Here is an short small response from no-reply@wildcard.co.za at 09:32 am Wed 2010/09/01. "Thank you for renewing your Wild Card. Your application has been received successfully and is being processed. Within two working days you will receive confirmation via e-mail that this process has been completed successfully. Please print and keep this e-mail as a confirmation of this transaction."
2. Thu 2010/10/28 08:13 AM send mail to wildcard@sanparks.org asking when I should receive the card.
3. Lydia Motsepe sends registration form at Thu 2010/10/28 03:42 PM even thou same was done on the 01 Sep 2010.
4. Send form back to Lydia on Fri 2010/10/29 06:34 AM
5. Send e-mail Wed 2010/11/10 11:12 AM to wildcard@sanparks.org asking if they have my details and where I can go to confirm same
6. Portia Bvuma replies Thu 2010/11/11 09:22 AM tell me they are busy with the forms and will send the confirmation letters as soon s they finish.
7. I leave this and again on Tue 2011/06/21 11:59 AM send e-mail asking when I can expect the card.
8. No reply received.
9. Send e-mail Fri 2011/11/04 09:23 AM asking again where my wild card is etc .. Wild card was renewed again in the meantime.
10. Above e-mail read on Fri 2011/11/11 05:02 PM - No reply.\

Too date I have not received my wildcard .. so you tell me? What the hell do you have to do to get your wildcard?

I also had a lot of trouble with the wild card and the wild card department (lots of emails, no answers etc.)

However, I can tell you what really works: Send a complaint to Customer Care [CustomerCare@sanparks.org] and your problems will be sorted out soon.

I know lots of folks have said they have had problems with this new system and I have to say I did find it a bit frustrating not having a card when we visited last year and having to keep the paper receipt as proof. Somehow when I re-registered my details on our return to the UK, there was a mistake and it didn't save....

However I was given an email address to contact who would chase it up from another forumite and I have to say they were GREAT...my emails were dealt with promptly, I was put in touch with people who could help and was told I would have my new card with me within 6 weeks - and it was!

So thank you to Joep and Marietjie Smith who dealt with my query so pleasantly and efficiently!!


I now have my nice new card ready to renew this August!