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I thought they would save me money and interest charges. That prepaid credit card that was given to me as a gift seemed like a great idea. But when I tried to pay for an old Beatles CD at an online auction, my troubles began. My payment was declined, even though I knew I had enough money on the card. So I called an 800 number on the card to check my balance. Big mistake. That call cost me $1.00 that was taken off my card! I opened a new window in my browser and went to the website of the prepaid credit card distributor. Following the prompts to enter my account number, I was shocked to see the reason for my shortage of funds. When my transaction didn't go through on the auction site I had been charged $1.00 by the prepaid gift card company for the failed purchase. And the reason the purchase had failed was because I had used the 800 telephone number to check my balance - and that had cost me $1.00 also. Sadly, my sought after Beatles disc was going to another home. If only had I read the fine print in the three page booklet that came with my card... I know prepaid credit cards are popular. In fact, in 2006 around $24.81 billion was spent on these prepaid credit and gift cards. Well, a little research made it clear to me why retailers and credit card companies like these prepaid credit cards, too. Just like they got me with fees, they get the millions of others in the same way. In addition, somewhere between 6% and 25% of the value of the cards is never redeemed. That means the card companies collect between $1.48 and $6.2 billion! That is because if you have, say $5.00 remaining on your card and you make a $15.00 purchase, with many cards, you cannot pay with the $5.00 on the card and pay the rest with cash. So you have to "reload" the card. Well, when are you going to buy something that costs exactly what is on your card? So some balance remains and never gets spent. Are any of these cards worth it? First, make sure you read the details on the fees and charges. Gift cards from restaurants, retailers and hotels usually have no intial charge, and often no fees at all. And you can use the balance of a card on a purchase and pay the rest with some other form of payment, so you never have to leave a balance on your card. If you get a prepaid credit card from one of the credit card companies, expect to pay a processing fee right up front. In addition to upfront fees, look out for the long list of other ways your balance gets whittled down. Things like checking your balance, refused transactions, registering your card for online purchases can all cost you money. These cards also usually require you to know the exact amount left on the card to use the remaining balance ( nice trick since you may be charged to find out what that amount is!). Fortunately, most retailer-direct prepaid gift cards are free from this pesky habit. The store will swipe your card, deduct the remaining balance and ask you to pay the difference. Don't rule out your local bank as a place for good deals on prepaid credit cards. They often have fewer fees and are less restrictive. And don't forget that all distributors of prepaid gift and credit cards are required by law to explain what fees and charges you are subject to. Do yourself a big favor and check these out and you could save yourself a lot of money and disappointment. I did not get that Beatles CD, but I used the lesson I learned and emptied the balance of my card on a copy of a U2 CD that I have really come to like a lot.
Article Source: http://www.financemanual.com
Paul McDermott reveals more of his hard earned lessons on prepaid free prepaid credit cards and finances over at Get Out of Debt Tips . Click here for other unique prepaid credit cards articles.
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