Pre=paid Credit Cards

[designerxboi]

Does any one know of a good prepaid credit card service that doesnt charge you an extreme amount of money to open the account/keep the account open/reload the account, etc! I have tried the rite-aid card and they are expensive so I closed the account. I know that western union has them but none of the locations around here that sell western union sell the cards.

Any Ideas?

 

[Nickel]

Originally posted by designerxboi
Any Ideas?

Checking account, debit card

 

[designerxboi]

Originally posted by Nickel
Checking account, debit card

Will that work with the Yahoo wallet?

 

[Elle]

Originally posted by designerxboi
Will that work with the Yahoo wallet?

As long as it has the Visa or MC logo on it, it should.

 

[willie]

What is a "Yahoo Wallet"? and will a debit card work in gas stations?

 

[Elle]

Originally posted by willie
What is a "Yahoo Wallet"? and will a debit card work in gas stations?

Yahoo Wallet is similar to PayPal, you can transfer money through the internet for auctions and such. And my debit card has a visa logo and I can use it at gas stations (post offices, grocery stores, anywhere that accepts visa), just have to push the "pay credit here" button and then fill it up, the money comes straight from my checking account.

 

[cmdrfunk]

How can a credit card possibly be prepaid? How is that CREDIT?



Anyway, i recommend against using debit cards on the internet because it's near impossible to dispute the charge. It's not like you can stop payment like a check or dispute the charge like with a credit card. They get your money instantly. Once someone has your money it's hard to get it back, but if you can say "deal with my credit card company, asshat" to any bad companies tryin to screw you they'll usually back off because they know they're gonna lose.

I only use my debit card anymore for atm transactions and gas.

 

[aps45819]

Originally posted by designerxboi
Any Ideas?

Be responsible and establish your credit. Get a real credit card, then pay the bill when it comes in.
Until then suck it up and write a check, put it in an envelope and snail mail it. If you can't get a credit card your credit history must really suck.

 

[redhead77]

Can you go to a credit union? I know that Cedar Point will issue a secured card, you just set a credit limit and they lock that much money in a savings account so that they don't get shafted, and its a regular MC.

 

[Nickel]

Re: Re: Pre=paid Credit Cards

Originally posted by aps45819
Be responsible and establish your credit. Get a real credit card, then pay the bill when it comes in.
Until then suck it up and write a check, put it in an envelope and snail mail it. If you can't get a credit card your credit history must really suck.

No credit is worse than bad credit. It's hard to get a Visa/Mastercard without any established credit. The only option would be a store credit card, which is a huge no-no. Visa does have credit cards where you can put down a deposit, and they hold that as collateral against your purchases. You do have to pay the bill every month, and you get your deposit back when you close the account. That will help establish credit. They do have sky-high interest rates though.

 

[designerxboi]

Re: Re: Pre=paid Credit Cards

Originally posted by aps45819
Be responsible and establish your credit. Get a real credit card, then pay the bill when it comes in.
Until then suck it up and write a check, put it in an envelope and snail mail it. If you can't get a credit card your credit history must really suck.

Its not a matter of responsibility or establishing my credit. I like having the control of how much goes onto my card and I can spend when I want, it also cuts out interest/apr, all that stuff. I have great established credit history according to the Pax branch manager of CPFCU, who is also a good friend of mine. Otherwise I wouldnt have the 4.4% APR on my car.

But thanks for the good idea.

 

[aps45819]

Re: Re: Re: Pre=paid Credit Cards

Originally posted by designerxboi
I like having the control of how much goes onto my card and I can spend when I want,

Sounds like writing a check

 

[designerxboi]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Pre=paid Credit Cards

Originally posted by aps45819
Sounds like writing a check

I can reload cash onto the card where I buy it from. I have a checking account, but I'm not a big check writing fan, Id rather just use the card its faster.

 

[Nickel]

Re: Re: Re: Pre=paid Credit Cards

Originally posted by designerxboi
Otherwise I wouldnt have the 4.4% APR on my car.

I have mediocre credit and got a 4.9% rate on my car...

I can reload cash onto the card where I buy it from. I have a checking account, but I'm not a big check writing fan, Id rather just use the card its faster

Get a Visa Check Card

 

[Chain729]

Re: Re: Re: Pre=paid Credit Cards

Originally posted by designerxboi
Its not a matter of responsibility or establishing my credit. I like having the control of how much goes onto my card and I can spend when I want, it also cuts out interest/apr, all that stuff. I have great established credit history according to the Pax branch manager of CPFCU, who is also a good friend of mine. Otherwise I wouldnt have the 4.4% APR on my car.

But thanks for the good idea.

Pre-paid cards and debit cards don't do crap for your credit rating. Think about it for a minute. Your credit has to do with your trustworthyness to pay them back. What are you being loaned with a pre-paid card? What is there to pay back?

You want to build credit? Get a CREDIT card.

 

[designerxboi]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Pre=paid Credit Cards

Originally posted by Chain729
Pre-paid cards and debit cards don't do crap for your credit rating. Think about it for a minute. Your credit has to do with your trustworthyness to pay them back. What are you being loaned with a pre-paid card? What is there to pay back?

You want to build credit? Get a CREDIT card.

I'm not trying to build credit, I have a car payment and a small loan and an established credit history.

 

[designerxboi]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Pre=paid Credit Cards

Originally posted by Nickel
I have mediocre credit and got a 4.9% rate on my car...

Get a Visa Check Card

And it does have the logo and can be used online? I'll look into that. Thanks I went from a 13% to a 4.4% thats why I mentioned it because I was proud of myself for being able to get that much of a drop.

I'm trying to get my bills paid off in order to start college, Id rather not open a new credit account to put on my history, so I opted for prepaid or the visa check card I'm trying not to have too many open accounts on me when I apply for student loans.

 

[sinwagon]

I'd do the visa check card. Bank of America is very good at protecting their clients from fraudulant charges. Sometimes they will put a hold on it and call you to make sure that you actually made the transaction. Not to mention they have free online banking where you can pay your bills online through the acount and view your account frequently to be sure nothing fraudulant is going on.

Also, most of the time when online purchases are made, they ask for the 3 or 4 digit security code on the back of your card as verification that it is you making the purchase. If you card is lost or stolen, more than likely they are not going to be using it to make an online purchase because if they put in a shipping address that will lead them straight to you.

Also w/ Bank of America, they IMMEDIATELY refund your money when you report fraud rather than most banks where they investigate it first and then give you the money back if it can be proven.

I think a visa check card is probably the best way to go. In order to prevent yourself from spending more than you want to be able to, open a checking and savings, deposit all your money in the savings and move it over the checking (which the visa check card will access) and use what you want.

 

[alex]

Another option is a travel funds card. Amex and Visa offer them. You pay about $15 to open the card and you can reload them. They are not tied to any of your bank accounts and if they are lost, stolen, etc you get your money back. Also, you can use them at ATMs but I think the fees for that are pretty steep compared to a regular ATM card.

 

[Nickel]

Originally posted by sinwagon
I'd do the visa check card. Bank of America is very good at protecting their clients from fraudulant charges

I agree, Visa/MC check cards are the way to go, but I've had bad experiences with Bank of America. On more than one occasion, their ATMs have reflected a negative balance on my account when I had funds available. I'd go to the ATM, only to get a message saying I had no available funds. I'd go inside, the teller would say "No, you have x amount of dollars in your account". To which I would reply "Yes, I know this, however your ATM is saying I have negative dollars, so I have no access to my money". The only thing they could do have me write a check to cash. Good thing it wasn't a Sunday and an emergency.