The purpose of this blog is to write about issues which will help you answer the question: what is the best bank for me? However, today, I'm going to leave that aside and look at something that is not associated with one particular bank at all - the NetSpend Prepaid Credit Card.
What Is A Prepaid Credit Card?
In particular, what is a NetSpend Prepaid Credit Card - it is a pay as you go credit card. It's created by a stand-alone company, not one of the traditional banks. So it's not going to help you decide which is the best bank for you - in fact using one means you're not using a bank at all!
It basically works like a normal credit card (or debit card), except that it's not associated with a bank. You have to add credit at a reload center, which are located at retailers, check cashing locations and supermarkets (such as Safeway), then you use it as you would a normal credit card.
So to sum that up again, it's just like a normal credit card (or debit card), but it's not tied to a bank account, you have to load money onto the card.
Personally, I like to think of the NetSpend card as a prepaid debit card, not credit card, but because it's a Visa debit card (or MasterCard debit card) you can use it in the same manner you would use a credit card - except that you can only use the prepaid amount, you can't actually use credit. So it's not really a credit card!
So Why Use A Prepaid Credit Card?
Well for me, the best reason is for buying things online. There are many things you can buy on the Internet, using a credit card, but there's always the (admittedly small) danger of having your details stolen by a computer virus, then finding your money disappearing from your account (although you should be covered by Visa if this happens).
Anyway, there's no problem if it's a prepaid credit card! Buying something worth $500? Put $500 on the card and buy it. If someone gets the details and tries to use it, the balance will be $0, so they won't be able to use it!
Of course there are many people who have trouble getting approved for a credit card. Often, these people are only blocked because of a problem long ago in their past, for which they are still being penalised. If you're unfortunately in this situation, a prepaid credit card may be the solution for you. It's not really credit, but at least you be able to get a card that you can use whenever purchases are most conveniently made via credit card.
Is NetSpend Trustworthy?
Well, don't ask me for an answer, go Google it! I've seen some very positive reviews, but I've also quite a few negative ones too. Be careful, do some research! It's a great idea in principle, but don't get caught out.
Are There Fees For NetSpend?
Sure, there are fees for everything these days! Don't take these numbers as gospel, but it costs about $4.95 to reload the card and about $1 to $1.50 per use (for most transaction). But then again, most banks will hit you with bank fees, so there may not be that much difference.
Anyway, that's all for today. Next time, I'll revert to something that's more closely tied with deciding which is the best bank for you.
6 comments:
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Hello friends, I also use credit cards mostly for online shopping.
Compare Prepaid Cards
Yes credits are very useful for shopping within free mind...
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