Shopping the Prepaid Credit Card Market

Before choosing a prepaid credit card you should first find answers in regards to a number of important questions that will help you obtain the optimal card for your needs. First you have to know what kind of rates and fees you are going to get involved with by signing up for a particular card. There can be fees as high as $100 to $175 attached to simply the application fee in order to sign up for the new card, without even mentioning the charges that are likely to accompany your statement on a month to month basis. Other factors certainly influence the decision on which prepaid card to select, but this should play a big role, especially when you take into account the wide potential variance of these kinds of fees from company to company. You can find out what kind of money you’ll pay to sign up in the cards membership terms and conditions. Be sure to review all of the terms carefully of course, but for this point, check out what kind of fees you will pay to sign up as well as how much they will charge for ongoing use of the card. When you figure those two factors together you’ll start to get the idea of how affordable (or not) using this particular card will be. Second you’ll want to know where your new card will be accepted. Not all cards reach the universal acceptability of the big two, Visa and MasterCard. If you have limitations on where your card will be accepted, make sure you decide if that is where you are likely to use it the most, or if it is going to hamper you by not being taken by more vendors. How much money can you put on the card at once? Most of these types of cards do have a limit as to how much can be loaded on the card. They usually go up to $2,000 to $3,000, but be sure to check it. Once you establish what the initial limit is on how much you can put into the card balance, check to see how easy the card issuer makes it to deposit additional funds onto the card and the possible charges for this procedure. The simpler option is to find a card with a quick load method online or going through whomever you do your banking with. Keep an eye out for a high fee for putting money on the card as well. A lot of these cards will have an amount they charge for doing just that, but try and find the lowest load fee you can. Find out what kind of communication the issuing card service has. You’ll want to know the method for getting a balance on the card. Some of them are not the most user friendly and require you to mail money in or stop at one of their stores to place money into your account there. There is a chance as well that you will have to notify them each month of your desire to receive a physical statement. You should also check into what kind, if any, reward programs or ancillary benefits your prospective prepaid card offers. As this segment of the credit card industry as expanded and become more competitive, many of the credit card companies offer points systems, just like regular credit cards do to redeem for various goods or services. Quite a few of these programs were of dubious value but the market has changed and you may find a points program that has added value based on your use. Don’t forget that basic rule of shopping, if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. If a card is offering you service that come with holding this card, such as any permanent discounts or services, make sure you read the fine print to see if they are charging you extra monthly fees for these premium benefits. Finally, be sure to investigate the liability protection on your card in case it is lost or stolen. The regular terms that apply to normal credit cards don’t always play in the prepaid world. Sometimes they can have a clause that you must notify them within a certain amount of time or you lose any protection from unauthorized charges. You will want to read the terms and conditions carefully for any clauses that talk about liability and stolen cards.