Pre-paid Credit Cards

[prodigy]

I need some advice, I'm thinking about buying something online from this person but I don't know if I can trust them with my credit card info. Looked up online and the advice I'm getting is to buy a pre-paid credit card because it isn't tied to a bank account or anything. I know they sell these at retail stores like Target and such. Does anyone have experience with buying these, and which place is the best place to get them from if you don't want to get hit with fees and crap.

 

[Stoked]

Not sure where to get them but do NOT give out anything tied to your bank account or Social Security Number. It only takes 1 time to get hit with ID theft and it takes years to correct it.

 

[Scat]

Wouldn't that make it more of a pre-paid debit card? I think you can place funds on the card like you would a gift card using cash at the check out line. No need for the pre-pay card company to ever have your bank account or SSN. I'm with Gojazz. If they ask, look elsewhere.

 

[franklin]

I need some advice, I'm thinking about buying something online from this person but I don't know if I can trust them with my credit card info. Looked up online and the advice I'm getting is to buy a pre-paid credit card because it isn't tied to a bank account or anything. I know they sell these at retail stores like Target and such. Does anyone have experience with buying these, and which place is the best place to get them from if you don't want to get hit with fees and crap.

Need more details.

Without more I'd say you will be fine buying it with just about anything Visa. Chargebacks are highly customer friendly these days, maybe overly Ebayish so.

If I was worried I would probably buy it on a card I seldom use. I could always put a hold on the card, do a chargeback if anything wierd pops up, or cancel the thing outright the next day. Chargebacks with many banks have become insanely cardholder friendly in some ways. It doesn't cost you anything as the fees are set up to charge the merchant for the dispute service. Also, if a merchant has a high volume of disputes, as you would expect from a con-artist, then I imagine you're much more likely to win any dispute.

 

[bigb]

We got a bunch of pre-paid Visa cards for Christmas. They work great. They only thing I've heard is that they charge you like $2 to buy it. Our cards say that you have to call (or it might say you have to do it online) to register the card before you can purchase anything online.

 

[Cope]

PayPal..... If they won't accept it and are local then cash or a certified check

 

[One Brow]

... to buy a pre-paid credit card because it isn't tied to a bank account or anything.

We have a Walmart debit card. It is tied to a bank account (at GE Money Bank), and I'm fairly sure so are the other cards. It's a good way to limit your exposure.

 

[Stifle Tower]

We got a bunch of pre-paid Visa cards for Christmas. They work great. They only thing I've heard is that they charge you like $2 to buy it. Our cards say that you have to call (or it might say you have to do it online) to register the card before you can purchase anything online.

Make sure you use it right away. I let mine go for almost 1 year and the issuing company went belly-up so the pre-paid card was worthless.

 

[Beantown]

I use those green dot cards for online shopping.

 

[bigb]

Make sure you use it right away. I let mine go for almost 1 year and the issuing company went belly-up so the pre-paid card was worthless.

Yeah, I know what you mean. We've been using them for everything. I think they're about gone already as we've bought just about all our groceries and stuff with them.