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Prepaid Visa/MC/Amex Cards - Best one?

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Old Dec 24, 2006, 7:52 am
  #1  
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Prepaid Visa/MC/Amex Cards - Best one?

Ok after reading several posts about how these cards can come in handy I now have some stuff to buy where using one of these would be preferrable to using my traditional ccs.

Problem is everytime I come across one (mostly in a drugstore) the fine print and usage/activation charges make me ill.

Can anyone recommend a prepaid card that is better than most (T&C wise) AND that is readily available (not mailorder).

Unfortunately, none seem to be on sale at my local (NYC) RiteAid or Walgreens.

Should I be looking somewhere else?

TIA
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Old Dec 24, 2006, 10:30 am
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Last edited by Frank the Frowner; Dec 25, 2006 at 4:48 am
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Old Dec 24, 2006, 10:33 am
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Simon Malls. You can purchase cards in person at Customer Service for less than $5 for up to a $500 card. You can register it online and specify a name and billing address to use with the card for the future. However, they are not reloadable.
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Old Dec 24, 2006, 6:51 pm
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Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry7130e/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/104)

Customers of Commerce Bank can purchase Visa gift cards for no fee. (I don't know whether the Commerce cards have monthly fees.) And through December 30, the Green Dot prepaid Visa and MasterCard are available at Eckerd for a $4.95 activation fee, and Eckerd is offering a mail-in rebate of $4.95.

Last edited by guv1976; Dec 24, 2006 at 6:58 pm
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Old Dec 25, 2006, 7:29 am
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Originally Posted by xanthuos
Simon Malls. You can purchase cards in person at Customer Service for less than $5 for up to a $500 card. You can register it online and specify a name and billing address to use with the card for the future. However, they are not reloadable.
Keep in mind that Simon Malls has been the subject of law enforcement action for their hidden fees and sneaky tricks on gift cards.

What's wrong with cash or a check?
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Old Dec 25, 2006, 6:20 pm
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Thanks for the tips, everyone.

I'm not a Commerce customer and not near a Simon mall but I do believe there are a few Eckerds here in NYC.

I did recall that the Amex Biz card offered a 3% rebate and slightly reduced activation fees on gift cards ordered online. HOWEVER, they get ya back with a pricey shipping fee on a 10 business day delivery.
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Old Dec 25, 2006, 8:22 pm
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Try looking at obopay.com. It's more like a mobile payment system but can also be used as a preloaded mastercard.

Let me know if anyone needs one and I'll send you an invitation. $5 signup bonus given by them for signing up.

Note: SSN/Name/Address needed to sign up. The cards are issued through some bank.
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Old Dec 25, 2006, 11:42 pm
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Originally Posted by biggestbopper
Keep in mind that Simon Malls has been the subject of law enforcement action for their hidden fees and sneaky tricks on gift cards.

What's wrong with cash or a check?
Try that and buy stuff online...
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Old Dec 25, 2006, 11:58 pm
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According to something I just saw on the Money Magazine, Discover Card has a
better offer for pre-paid card. I havent looked into it though.
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Old Dec 26, 2006, 8:08 am
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Originally Posted by bk3day
I'm not a Commerce customer and not near a Simon mall but I do believe there are a few Eckerds here in NYC.

I did recall that the Amex Biz card offered a 3% rebate and slightly reduced activation fees on gift cards ordered online. HOWEVER, they get ya back with a pricey shipping fee on a 10 business day delivery.
If an Amex gift card would work for you, you can purchase one in person from an Amex office (there are several in Manhattan), and pay only a $3.95 purchase fee. The card has a $2.00 monthly service fee, but that fee is waived for the first 12 months. The card is also available for purchase at many banks and Duane Reade locations, but they might charge you more than $3.95. Here's a link to the Amex gift card page:

http://www10.americanexpress.com/sif...1,22146,00.asp

If you decide to buy a card from an Amex location, I would call the location first, to make sure that they have your desired denomination in stock.
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Old Dec 28, 2006, 10:58 pm
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Not sure why you want one, but most banks offer prepaid cards, I used to have one through US Bank(http:www.usbank.com) that was fine, and it is through an actual bank, not some scammy card provider you never heard of. You can download an account application online, print it out, fill it out and send it in with your balance amount and get a card in the mail within about 10 business days. This is a good card that you can manage online, and you have the power of disputiung charges, etc. that is lacking in many 'prepaid' card alternatives.

Patrick
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Old Dec 31, 2006, 12:02 pm
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Washington Mutual MasterCard Gift Card

No fees first 12 months. $5.45-$7.95 for shipping/handling but if you order by 11:59 PM Eastern time, they will send it out the next business day. Up to $500. NOT reloadable.

I ordered one online on a Sunday night and had it by Thursday. And it appeared to be processed on the east coast and I am in Los Angeles.

https://www.wamugiftcards.com/index.cfm Look under the FAQ at the top of that webpage.
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Old Dec 31, 2006, 1:10 pm
  #13  
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Paypal's debit card feature works well too, the fees are quite low. I use mine as a prepaid all the time, whenever I want to add money to the card I buy something from myself and then use the debit card to spend the money.

If you are an AAA member they also have good deals.
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Old Jul 13, 2007, 7:56 pm
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I thought I would bring this to the top again,

are there any prepaid debit cards with low start-up and no monthly fees ?

I want to pay a few deposits and not have it connected with my bank account.

Thanks

Rally
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Old Jul 14, 2007, 12:10 am
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did you try the paypal debit card? i just applied for that to use on the various sites (cashcrate, treasuretrooper, etc) that pay money for signing up for crap.
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