Prepaid Credit Cards

You received an unsolicited prepaid mastercard??

IF you are gonna use a prepaid card, I would recommnend getting one on your own(they sell them in Walgreens and CVS and then you call the number on the back and load them) I wouldn't trust anything that just came to me in the mail....

Darnit I keep hitting submit before I am finished...when you first purchase them, you can pay the amount you want on the card to the store then they give you a receipt and you call the number...that way you dont have to give out any of your personal info such as banking...pay for it in cash

Just a little clarification on that, Leah - when you register the card by calling the issuing company, they DO ask for personal info - you have to give them your SSN, address, etc.

However, there is no credit check involved, and they do not report to the credit bureaus, because there is no "credit" involved, either. It's a debit card - whatever you put on the card is what your available balance is. I find mine to be very useful - I have my paycheck (or a portion of it) direct deposited to it every week, which is free. If you load money onto it any other way, there's a charge - usually about $4.95 each time. There's also a small monthly fee for the card - I believe it's also $4.95, and there are the normal ATM fees, etc., but the website for the issuing company will give you a list of fee-free ATM's as well.

A good one is accountnow. It is free direct deposit. You can set up automatic bill pay and they will report this to credit reporting agencies free of charge. I'm not sure how that really works. You can also load the card by moneygram or by credit card. There are several choices out there. And they have to ask the personal info. since they passed the Patriot Act, so they will ask for social security number, etc...it's required by law now.

That sounds like another good option, Steelers - I wasn't aware of that one. :-)

I had one with Green Dot before. I liked it but the only thing is the fee you have to pay to put more money on the card and it is only certain amounts you can load onto the VISA.

ms virgo - check around again - GreenDot has come a long way since then. They are now offering several different products - mine is a Mastercard, I have a friend who has the Visa Gold, and I understand from their website that they are now test-marketing a credit card that does report to the credit bureaus.

I use the GreenDot Mastercard, and I can have part or my entire paycheck direct deposited to it every week, and there's no charge to load the card that way. If you go to the store to load money onto it, there is a fee every time.

I have heard that is a good one as well. Be careful of some prepaid cards though, they charge money each time you use the card when making a purchase or paying bills online, I think it is usually a $1 fee along with the fee they charge for loading the card. I'm not saying it is GreenDot, but others that do this. So always read the fine print so you don't get upset when you don't have the balance you think you should. Sueebee, does GreenDot charge a purchase fee each time you use the card?

Nope! No fees involved in purchases or online bill payments. However, even though there are some fee-free ATM's out there for the GreenDot network, be aware that the ATM owner can still charge a fee. You just won't be double charged (as in one fee to the ATM owner and one on your card for using it at an ATM).

You still have to watch these cards carefully, because the fees can add up if you use it just at ATM's, etc. However, for the most part, I find mine is great. Think about how much you would be paying in interest for a "regular" credit card, based on your credit? If you have even mediocre credit, you'll get an 18-19% interest rate, most likely - and that's going to amount to a whole lot more than $4.95 a month, depending on your balance.

I think prepaid cards are good for some people.I use my credit cards for a lot of my everyday expenses.The trick is you have to have the determination to pay in full every month.I always pay mine before statement cuts so I basically get use of free money and get the benefits of reward points.Another benefit is the monthly reporting I get on all bureaus. What I am doing is definately not for everyone,so each person has their method of using credit.

Do they have pre-paid credit cards for like american express and discover too?

Tweety,I think both Amex & Discover have what they call gift cards. I don't know if they are reloadable though.

I believe the gift cards from Visa, etc. are reloadable, but I'm not sure. If you're going to go with a prepaid card, why not go with Visa/Mastercard, as they are more widely accepted than AMEX.

I'm pretty sure AMEX doesn't have a prepaid "credit" card - if they have a gift card program, it's just like the prepaid credit cards mentioned above - it's a debit card, and the only money available is what you put on it.

Maybe Tweety has recognized what I have about Amex and Discover. When I whip out visa or mastercard,nobody blinks. If I whip out either Amex/Discover I get the deer in the headlights looks! :lol:

I have a studentcard w/my son in another state, so use it once a month, I put money on & he can pull it right out! My Big Grip w/GDot is if you have questions from time to time, there isn't a number to get ahold of a live representative. Tip--To reach a person, when loading card use Phone & dial in wrong activation number 2-3 times & most times it will give you a warm, or some cases a cold body to speak to. (If it hangs up try again.) When you ask them for a # to reach a rep. for future purposes, this person will allways give you the number for the automated teller, but tell you--you'll reach a rep. Which I find very poor & misleading service! Been doing this for 6 years now. There hasn't been any improvement in this area, which is a shame.