Lets talk PREPAID cards....what do you use....costs, etc

[Joie]

In light of the fraud problems others and myself have had recently......what prepaid card do you use and what are the costs?
can I transfer funds from bank account to it? Can I just load like $50 each time I tend to purchase $50 worth of supplies? Or will that be an expensive way to do it.......don't want to put $100 on it and spend $39 and have someone hack the balance.
I even applied for a low limit debit card from my credit union, only to find out that being tied to my bank acct it still can be accessed for more....WTH.
after being hacked twice I am now scared to make purchases from my ejuice vendors.....so would like info on the prepaid cards.
Do you pay per transaction ( purchase)?

 

[StormFinch]

Ask your bank for a no balance/low balance secondary account that a second card can be tied to. That's how my bank offered to set it up. That way, all I have to do is get on their website and electronically transfer what I plan on spending to the second account.

 

[ilovehugehits]

That's exactly what I do.
Have a backup card for online use only.
Wells Fargo will hook you up for free.
There's $3 left on it right now.
No more shopping until payday!

 

[SissySpike]

you can do this or get a low limit like 300 credit card for online credit cards are easier to dispute and remove fraud. I do both.

 

[Joie]

I didn't realize that my bank would do a NO balance one that I can just transfer money on there website....wonder why they didn't offer that when I had to go in and sign the fraud papers after I was hacked twice in the past year.....they gave me a LOW limit one....but it is still tied to my account....kind of dumb really.....isn't low limit if it has overdraft protection !!!! Geez

 

[r77r7r]

I think many anti-virus programs have a sandbox now to avoid Keyloggers. Virtual Keyboard, I think.

 

[Skinny Pete]

go to Target, Walmart, K-Mart or any one of the big discount stores . It's $5 to activate a card . it's safe

 

[Wow1420]

I got a Bluebird card at Walmart. It's just $5 to setup and no onging fees. The only problem is that it's run by American Express and many places don't take American Express.

The best Visa pre-paid I'm aware of is also at Walmart, but they hit you with $3 a month in fees and $3 to reload unless you setup direct deposit to the account.

 

[Veezy]

go to Target, Walmart, K-Mart or any one of the big discount stores . It's $5 to activate a card . it's safe

problem with those a lot of websites now verify the address associated with the card and billing address if they don't match the card is declined. and prepaid gift cards that cost $5 to activate have no way for you to associate your house address to them but only a zip code which does not work except for gas stations and what not. but sooner or later you will run into a website that says declined due to they cannot verify the billing address of the card. but there are visa pre-paid debit cards which cost I think about $1-3 a month and you will need to provide your social# and house address. and those are great for online shopping you also get all the protection from visa

 

[Schnarph]

It's generally $5 for a prepaid card initially, $3 a month, and $3 each time you want to add money to it. It's better than having your account hacked, but it seems expensive in the long run. A no balance card seems like a good idea. If you are not going to write checks, overdraft protection seems unnecessary. As I understand it, purchases made on an account without overdraft protection will simply be denied if the account does not have the funds, like a credit card that has gone over the limit. I have had some bad experiences with overdraft protection and I do not recommend it. I would rather go through the embarrassment of having a charge denied than find out the account was $.16 short and I now owe my bank $25.

 

[mooreted]

I have a Capital One credit card that has a maximum balance of $300.00. With that I get all the protections of a normal credit card and they can't steal more than $300.00. A gift card costs money to load and doesn't have the protections of a credit/bank card backed by banking laws and insurance.

 

[Schnarph]

problem with those a lot of websites now verify the address associated with the card and billing address if they don't match the card is declined. and prepaid gift cards that cost $5 to activate have no way for you to associate your house address to them but only a zip code which does not work except for gas stations and what not. but sooner or later you will run into a website that says declined due to they cannot verify the billing address of the card. but there are visa pre-paid debit cards which cost I think about $1-3 a month and you will need to provide your social# and house address. and those are great for online shopping you also get all the protection from visa

The Walmart Visa prepaid card application needs your full address and SSN. Many Visa prepaid cards are like this. Like I said in the last post, it's kind of expensive unless you have no other options.

 

[Veezy]

just go open a BofA account and call it a day you get to use an electronic credit card number and its by far the best way to shop online and its free. also opening the account is free just deposit 100 in your savings and that's all

 

[Thompson]

problem with those a lot of websites now verify the address associated with the card and billing address if they don't match the card is declined. and prepaid gift cards that cost $5 to activate have no way for you to associate your house address to them but only a zip code which does not work except for gas stations and what not. but sooner or later you will run into a website that says declined due to they cannot verify the billing address of the card. but there are visa pre-paid debit cards which cost I think about $1-3 a month and you will need to provide your social# and house address. and those are great for online shopping you also get all the protection from visa

Last time I used a Visa one I think it was, I had to go to their site & register it with these details. It would work for quick purchases without this step, but for online afaik it is required.

 

[orbach]

The best solution is to have a debit card on a secondary checking account on the same bank as your primary checking account. Remember to set it up WITHOUT overdraft protection! If your bank demands a fee or minimum balance, find another bank, lol. I only use credit unions, haven't entered a bank in 30 years. My credit union charges nothing for this second account. Their charge for insufficient funds is only a dollar, and this mostly happens when I place an order and forget to transfer the money to the account which is very rare.

 

[Schnarph]

The best solution is to have a debit card on a secondary checking account on the same bank as your primary checking account. Remember to set it up WITHOUT overdraft protection! If your bank demands a fee or minimum balance, find another bank, lol. I only use credit unions, haven't entered a bank in 30 years. My credit union charges nothing for this second account. Their charge for insufficient funds is only a dollar, and this mostly happens when I place an order and forget to transfer the money to the account which is very rare.

This ^^^^, word for word. The money is in my savings account, the second checking account only has enough money in for what I am about to purchase + $20 for gas or similar emergencies that go beyond cash on hand. Credit unions like mine have free checking and debit cards, and unless I use an off-bank ATM it's all completely free. Most banks charge $10 or more a month for you to keep money in them. I've wasted thousands over the years to these kinds of fees and banks won't get any more of my money. Credit union/coop for the win!

 

[QusieQ]

I have a PayPal acct, and applied for the PayPal Debit Mastercard. If there is no money in my PayPal acct it withdrawals from my bank acct. You can also set daily limits. I use this over my bank debit card because there are no fees and it will email me a receipt for every transaction.

 

[Iffy]

I only use credit unions...

DING, DING... we have a winner!

 

[dmbryan]

I use a Kaiku visa. It charges $2.00 a month and a 3% transfer fee. You can transfer directly from your bank account.

 

[Orobas]

Ace check cashers has a prepaid card. It's only a few dollars to set up IIRC (it's been a while..) and it's like $3 to load unless you direct desposit. Then you can choose to pay a flat $10 monthly fee (which is fine if you use it as your primarily bank, which I did for a while) or $1 per transaction (which isn't bad if you're just getting vape supplies twice a month.)

Honestly, they've treated me better than an actual bank i've ever had the misfortune of dealing with.