Prepaid Visa, the good and the bad?

[sl_underwood]

Hubby doesnt want to take our debit cards on vacation, he thinks a prepaid visa might be better. Also, it would be nice to be able to give the kids a card and not have to keep track of everything. Can someone please share their experiences? Any hidden charges, etc?

 

[Hedy]

One thing which keeps me from using them for everything on vacation is that if you use them at a tipping establishment (think TS restaurant) they place a hold on your card with a tip (gen 20%) added on, and that can stay for a couple of days.

 

[pooh17]

We got a couple of prepaid Visa cards as xmas presents. The only downside I've experienced is if you spend over what is on the card (intending to pay part via the card and part cash, for example), you need to know exactly how much is on the card. The cashier needs to enter that number to the penny in or it will be rejected.

It was a bit of a pain - we had to call the card company and get the balance and then give that dollar figure to the cashier. Only then was it accepted, and we paid the difference in cash.

 

[PiratesRock]

I gave them to my kids for souvy's on last Disney trip
The good: can be spent anywhere, not just at Disney, and I felt better about them carrying a card than a wad of cash and change

The bad: If you don't spend the whole thing at once (as in use a $25 card toward a $30 purchase) then you have to keep up with what you've spent. If you go to make a $10 purchase but only have $6.25, they just say you don't have enough. It's not like a restaurant gift card where they say "you had $6.25 on your card so we subtracted it off the bill and here's what you owe". You can then call a # or pull up a web site to check your balance, but can be inconvenient.

I'm undecided what I'll do for the kids this fall, probably a combination of Disney dollars and Visa gift card. As far as me and Hubby, spending money will be budgeted out and sitting in the bank, but the plan is to use my Disney visa so that we get purchase protection then pay it off as soon as we get home. If it's not in the bank, then it's not on the card. (God give me strength, willpower, and that last sentence tattooed on my eyeballs!)

 

[Siouxstone]

Using them at a gas pump also puts a big hold on them for days and days. Also, if you need to take something back, refunds can take a super, super long time to hit the card and a lot of places will only give you back original tender so if you don't have the card anymore, you can't get a refund.

 

[RumpleMom]

I'm not positive, but isn't this the card that has a service fee when purchased and a monthly fee that is subtracted from the total every month that it is held?

Our church was going to give Visa cards( gift card?, not sure about the exact name, but I am sure it was Visa) to needy families until we found out about the fee, like $1.50 to purchase. We opted for the local grocery store gift card that has no fee and never expires.

 

[JeremyGNJ]

Yea the extra charges make it not worth it at all. You'd be be better off buying Disney dollars. Are they accepted everywhere in disney world?

 

[JB2K]

This same question was asked a few hours ago...

As one of the previous posters said, you might not want to use Visa GCs at table-service dining, as they will "lock" the tip against your card balance for a couple of days.

And for anyone driving to Disney (and contemplating gasoline purchases along the way), you might want to second-guess the use of MC/Visa/AmEx GC's at the pump, as during the past couple of years, $75 pre-authorizations are pretty much the norm (instead, buy a gift card for a particular brand of gas and use it at that station, or pre-pay with the Visa GC inside).

 

[JeremyGNJ]

This same question was asked a few hours ago...

As one of the previous posters said, you might not want to use Visa GCs at table-service dining, as they will "lock" the tip against your card balance for a couple of days.

And for anyone driving to Disney (and contemplating gasoline purchases along the way), you might want to second-guess the use of MC/Visa/AmEx GC's at the pump, as during the past couple of years, $75 pre-authorizations are pretty much the norm (instead, buy a gift card for a particular brand of gas and use it at that station, or pre-pay with the Visa GC inside).

Gas giftcards can be the OPPOSITE of pre-paid Visa's. Sometimes they will actually give you an extra dollar worth of gas for buying one.

 

[JB2K]

Yea the extra charges make it not worth it at all. You'd be be better off buying Disney dollars. Are they accepted everywhere in disney world?

While Disney Dollars are a good (and fun) option -- they pose the same risks as cash (like any currency, if you lose 'em, you can't replace 'em!).

I would suggest this:

Bring GC's for merchandise/fast-food/kids
Bring traveler's checks for all sit-down dining
Bring either cash or Disney Dollars for the little things/snack wagons

 

[JeremyGNJ]

Don't do it! I dont know if they are all the same, but here's a nasty feature from GiftCards.com

Basically you lose 35c every purchase you make, and every time you call to check balance.

Type Fee Description
Monthly Administrative Fee $2.50 per month Waived for the first six months
Close an account $7.00 Closure of card and return funds
Lost or Stolen $5.00 Replacement Fee
POS and POS balance inquiry $0.35 Transaction fee / Balance inquiry
International 3% and a $2.00 flat fee Conversion fee
Expiration 2 years From Date of issue

http://www.giftcards.com/company/fee_schedule.html

 

[nicknamy1996]

Good advice in this thread.
We loved having the snack credits on the trips with the dining plan. I was like superdad with that card. Buying snacks all week for the kids... "who wants ice cream?" "oh, honey, you want me to get you a bottle of water?" You see, normally I'm to cheap to do that on a whim. So our next trip without the dining plan I was thinking of buying a prepaid card with somewhere around 50 to 75 dollars on it and labeling it my own "snack credit" card. It sounds like it might still work for an application like that, but still good advice.