prepaid credit cards?

Well, if you had no credit and it would help you build a credit background then it would be good. But,I don't know if it even helps your credit if you are using it as a debit card. I am sure some of the other members will have an answer for you. I don't know of anyone who has actually had one that I know of.

i have small credit cause i also have small storefront loans the kind whre u pay back so much a month you know but otehr than i really don thave much credit

I think that there are a few different kinds of prepaid cards..I've seen ads for some where you send them a deposit of a few hundred dollars, and they let you get an unsecured card after 6 months or a year, as long as you use your card wisely. This can definitely help build your credit.
I know there are other ones that are just a debit card..I've seen them at Walgreens, you load anywhere from $20 to $500 on it, but I don't think they report to the credit bureaus...This could be convenient though, for paying online bills.

see i've been leary about sedning hundreds of dollars for a card anot getting it you know thats why i haven't done any of those types of prepaid cards. you knw cause i dont wanna lose what money i have you know.

I would do some checking before you jump to prepaid credit cards. Most have no guarantee that the funds will be replaced if stolen. Depending on your credit type, you could qualify for a small amount credit card, starting off around $200, and with good payment history of on-time payments every 3 months, you'll be rewarded a $100 increase. These are actually very good, because it gets you into that mode of trying to build good credit.

If you can't qualify for one of those, see if there is a financial institution in your area that you could get an account with. Most places now offer the check card with the Visa or Mastercard logo on it, and will only let you spend what you have in your account.

Regards-
Mike

[quote=lessismore]When this card hijacking occurred, my credit union told me they'd refund every penny if I did 2 things. First, file an official police report. Secondly, assign their fraud insurance provider the right to investigate the crime. I did both. And later on, they got back to me with some very good news. [/quote]

Filing a police report should be done in any matter with missing money. I'm glad your financial instituion was able to get your money back. By the way, did you ever get that record?

Regards-
Mike

This may be glossing over what others have said, but:

If you're looking for a debit card solution and you don't care if it reports to the credit bureaus, I suggest looking into getting the debit Mastercard from Paypal.

You just put some money in your paypal account and it debits from that balance. And you get 1% cashback on all purchases that you sign for (i.e. running the debit card as a credit card).

I do it as my fuel card. I have a regular debit card attached to my bank account, but it helps me budget better if I can put X amount in Paypal every payday for my fuel allowance. And the cashback is always fun considering how much fuel costs these days (I get anywhere from $0.45 to $0.65 per fillup back - and every penny helps).

Other than that, I don't trust the prepaid debit cards. Anything that isn't going to report to the credit bureaus and charges you a usage fee or a monthly service fee or costs you money to add funds to your account isn't worth it in my opinion. I'm too broke to mess with that.