Prepaid Credit cards, also known as secured credit cards, are like a mixture of a debit card and a credit card. Prepaid cards are similar to debit cards because they require you to pay your actual money upfront to the credit card company as collateral. Besides having to actually have money in your account before receiving a card they are similar to the traditional credit card in every other way! You can make online purchases with your prepaid credit card and you can use your card at any place that accepts debit and credit cards.
Why would you ever need to have a prepaid credit card anyways? For starters you generally need a credit/debit card to make an online purchase. Sometimes you can pay via PayPal, but how can you deposit money into your PayPal account without a card? Online checks are becoming a more viable option but they are not accepted everywhere. For many without a debit card a prepaid credit card is the best and only way to make an online payment. Also, if you are ever wanted to limit your spending on a shopping trip or on vacation, a prepaid credit card is a great idea. For example, you are going to the grocery store and you know you only need to buy 100 dollars’ worth of food. Simply send 100 dollars to your prepaid credit card and only take your credit card with you on your trip, you will give yourself no choice but to stay on budget. Prepaid credit cards obviously have their “niche”. They may not compare favorably to the traditional unsecured credit card, but not everyone has the credit score to qualify for these cards.
Prepaid credit cards are not perfect; there are a few things to consider before getting a prepaid card. You need to keep in mind that there are fees associated with prepaid credit cards, no credit card company is going to issue a card and expect to get nothing back in return, we are all in the business of making money and getting ahead. You can generally expect a small fee when you open up your card, no more than 20 dollars and monthly fees can range from anywhere between 0-10 dollars. Obviously you should focus on prepaid credit cards that have the most lenient fee structure; here are three prepaid cards that you should consider:
Account Now Prepaid Visa Card
Account Now is one of the best prepaid credit cards you will ever find. There are no monthly fees whatsoever, which is huge! This alone could save you 50-100 dollars over the course of a year. In addition there is no credit check and you are guaranteed approval whether you have a 500 or 800 credit score! Direct deposit is free as well which is a big plus. This card does not come with many bells and whistles, but it gets the job done without charging outrageous fees, which is all you can ask for.
Upside Visa Prepaid Card
This is another solid prepaid credit card from a name that you can trust, Visa. You are guaranteed to receive a card if you apply for one and there is no credit check. Monthly fees are very low, ranging between 1-3 dollars. You can earn cash back points as well. This is really almost exactly the same as having a normal credit card except for the fact that you have to pay money upfront. Monthly fees are next to nothing and you obviously do not have to pay anything as far as interest goes which is a huge plus. If you are looking for a solid prepaid credit card with a nice fee structure this should be one of your top picks.
ReadyDebit Control Card
The last prepaid credit card to make the cut is the ReadyDebit Control card. Monthly fees are 4 dollars, at the worst, which is pretty solid. Also you get free direct deposit, no balance minimums and no overdraft fees, good luck trying to find a different prepaid card that has terms that are this consumer friendly! Like the other two cards above this card is a guaranteed approval card and no credit checks are done whatsoever. You can load up to $10,000 on this card! You get a ton of features here for just a small monthly fee that will end up being less than 50 dollars a year, which is the annual fee you have to pay for many normal credit cards.