Prepaid Visa cards

[grumpydawg]

Has anybody tried these things out? How exactly do they work? Is there a service fee? I know the AMX card has a fee to start and a reload fee, but what about this thing? Help!!

 

[Savin4Disney]

I know I have ordered some through Bank of America and they charge a fee to order them. I think 3.95 and a fee if you use it at an ATM.

If you have aol they do have a cash card where the only fee is to use the ATM. I just ordered one but have not gotten it yet. I am using that to help me stay on a budget with other things. And if it works out good. I will be getting one for Disney.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

I looked into getting the VISA Buxx card for my DD. There was a one-time fee and then a fee was applied everytime you added funds to the card. It works basically like a debit card, so the cardholder can never exceed the balance in the account. You can even set it up to allow you to withdraw cash at ATMs. There was an option to make routine monthly deposits to the account (sort of like an allowance).

After looking into it and weighing the options, I felt that it was probably better to get her name placed on our own credit card rather than to recurring expense of one of these cards. It costs us nothing to get an additional card issued in her name and I can monitor her spending just as easily as I could with the pre-paid VISA. I haven't done it yet (still weighing whether she is mature enough to keep track of the thing). But once she begins driving and her world gets even bigger, this is probably what we will do.

I'm not a big fan of pre-paid giftcard type VISA cards. If your purchase exceeds the amount on the card, you will need a cashier who know what she is doing. They cannot put the sale thru for the entire amount or the card will be rejected. At a gas station, the card may not work at the pump because the amount on it is exceeded by the amount that the gas station needs to "reserve" before authorizing you to pump the gas. If the card is not used up within a specified amount of time, a monthly fee will be assessed. To me, it's too much of a hassle for the privilege of spending your own money.

For someone who doesn't have a credit card or doesn't want to use it in certain places (like online), the prepaid card has its advantages. It just wasn't a good choice for me.

 

[Nicolepa]

I'm not a big fan of pre-paid giftcard type VISA cards. If your purchase exceeds the amount on the card, you will need a cashier who know what she is doing. They cannot put the sale thru for the entire amount or the card will be rejected.

My mom gave me one of these for my birthday. It was a pain to use. I didn't want to have to keep track of how much was left, so I only tried using on purchases over the amount. It took me several stores before I was able to use it (at the grocery store, what fun is that?). Even at that the cashier didn't know how to run it thru so I hade to pay cash for the extra amount first. Anyway long story short, I know have $.17 left on the stupid card!

 

[Savin4Disney]

Okay I got my AOL Visa Buxx today. It is free to get. The only fees on it are:

If it is dormant for 6 months: $2.50
ATM use: $1.50
Checking balance at an ATM: $1.00
and I think $10.00 for a lost card.

I don't have it right in front of me.

Not sure if I am using this in Disney or not. But for now I am trying to really stick to a budget for Groceries etc. Thought this might help. I also wanted to test it before I gave it to my son.