June is just around the corner and around here it feels like summer already! 😍 This is the start of the holiday season in the northern hemisphere and many postcrossers and their families are probably planning or getting ready for their vacations. So it’s time for our yearly reminder that the Inactive State and the Travel Mode are here to help!
If you’re going to be away from your address for a while or simply need a break from Postcrossing, we recommend that you switch your account to inactive a few weeks in advance. You can still send postcards if you’d like, but you won’t be sent any until you’re ready to receive them.
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In addition to using the Inactive State, if you’re going on holidays somewhere and would like to send postcards from that location, then the Travel Mode is for you! When you get to your travel destination, connect to a local internet connection to set your account to Travel Mode, grab some local postcards and stamps, and enjoy sending them with the right Postcard IDs, maps and statistics.
While you’re using either of these modes (which you can easily switch on and off on your Account Settings), Postcrossing will not give your address to other members. Don’t worry though — we’ll still keep track of all your due postcards, and will send them all to you when you’re home again and your account is back to active.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out through the forum. Enjoy your holidays!
17 comments so far
How far in advance of my trip should I set my account to inactive?
Using the Travel Mode is wonderful. 👍 I use it whenever I am in the UK. Next month I will be using it in Belfast when I am there for a weekend
😀
Holiday is coming. It's hot. Ice cream is coming.🍦
I've enjoyed using travel mode in 10 countries since joining a year ago! Its great!
I set my account inactive or Travel Mode around 3 to 4 weeks before leaving. Even within your own country it works, as it blocks your address given out while you are in Travel Mode. Back home you click on active again and cards are sent to you as usual.
Travel mode used this year in ES DE VA IT AL GR
Hopefully some other places / countries to go in 2019
Enjoy your holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@KristinaGisela 2-3 weeks before you leave would probably be a good idea! Have a look at how many days postcards take to usually reach you (on your Received Postcards page), and decide accordingly.
@fcoulter Sure — especially in big countries like the US, where a different town might be as far as Russia is from Portugal! :) The recipient of your postcard will have a better perception of where your postcard comes from... and you get a little extra house on your map. :)
And this is another wonderful reason for Travel Mode - https://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/SC-336 - lovely postcards from locations that you might never receive one from because the country has very few active users. I am a happy bunny today to have received a postcard from Seychelles - thank you Nina and I hope you had a wonderful holiday.
Every year you tell people. And every year people register their cards after their holiday 5-8 weeks later, sorry I was on holiday. Why can't they learn?
I agree with akalle. I am angry about whose people who don't worry about the people who wait their cards to be register.
And they are many people who have still active on postcrossing, but aren't looking at their profil for 1 month and more.
I am angry about the people who don't thank for their receiving cards. When I don't like a card, I thank the sender because these postcrossers payed for a card and for a stamp.
They are good things on postcrossing, but also bad postcrossers.
Nadine, from France.
Hola! I've got a question about difference between numbers of sent and received cards in inactive and travel modes. My profile was inactive during 3
months because of living in temporary apartment and planned moving in other city; later I set my profile in traveling mode cuz i hadn't an adresse to receive correspondence. Now the difference come closer and closer to 100 and I see a message about potential blocking my profile. What is the limit? And what is the reason for?
Best regards ,Eva_tls
Both travel and inactive settings are very clever! Whoever thought of that idea is very smart. :p
I received a postcard which travelled 89 days, and I learnt some postcards might take about 30-60 days (especially from Russia or China), so I'm not sure if setting to the travel or inactive mode 3-4 weeks ahead would be enough.
So what do you think about this additional idea: When I'm absent, there is a person who looks after my flat, my plants and my postbox every day, I asked her to send me the postcard IDs (via Whatsapp, or any other available social media or e-mail), so I could register the cards without any delay, and I tell the sender that I will respond to the card design and the text as soon as I am back.
@Mezzosoprano
I had the same question some time ago. The answer was postcrossing idea means receiving cards personally,in your own hands. It is according to rules. But in reality I was making the same and my neighbour was sending postcard IDs and photos of both sides to me in case I wad absent more then a week
coooooooool
Hi, it takes 3 - 12 weeks for my cards to get to their destinations and I am still waiting for cards from February. I have received 4 cards, but 11 of mine have arrived and I have 6 in transit. Is it not possible that those going on holiday may get an extra address per the number of cards they normally send out. This way although I have used up all my addresses, I would still be able to send a card (I am allowed 6) if I go on holiday.
I’m with AKALLE on this - I sent a card to Colorado from Virginia. It only takes a week max to get there. After about 10 days, I wrote to see if it was lost and maybe they’d like me to send another. The reply was that they had been away on holiday and just got home to a pile of mail. STILL haven’t registered the card!!!! And no response either way. Frustrating.
I love to use the travel mode even when I am off for a day trip to another town. But it seems that many people do not set their profile to inactive before leaving for longer holidays. And I got the feeling that some people do not register all their cards in time, even if I sent a second or third card. I have six expired cards and three of the recipients are regularly online without registering my cards even though the time seemed to be long enough. Well from the last holiday I think 18 of my cards got lost anyhow. :-(