Walmart Prepaid visa... Thoughts?


Jeramie

Recommended Posts

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19328106/

I saw this on the news last night. From what ive read this morning its another prepaid credit card with a one time fee of $8 plus change. As long as you keep the card you can load it and use it at will. Walmarts will have them in over 1k stores by June and you can put money on your card at Walmart stores.

Ebay was my knee jerk reaction. A prepaid card could come in very handy......

what say ye?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Andrea

Since I cut up all my cards a long time ago.....this sounds pretty good. But they've been out for a while I think. Walgreen's sells them. I was just wondering if all those sites like Ebay, Craig's List and ITunes accept them yet....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cabelas visa earns me free stuff with no fee, have no use for a wal mart card I have to pay a fee for, besides that we already have a sams club card that can be used at wal mart too I believe if we ever wanted to do so.

Guess though for those who lack the control to not spend what they do not have to pay back it might be a good option.

Only plus I see for a wal mart card would be for gas, sometimes their gas is cheaper than others in the area with the discount they give, but not always. Even still you can load the gift cards for that, which we often do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Andrea

There are many reasons not to have a credit card besides spending more than what you have. Interest rates comes to mind. They are constantly raising them despite your prompt payments. With today's identity theft rates........using a prepaid credit card is ideal. If I found an item online that I wanted I could load the card for that amount and pay for the item. Then not worry if some jerk stole my info and started putting a bunch of crap on my credit card.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always thought of using a prepaid card for online purchases...But then I figure its not realy worth the hassle and just use my Master Card the odd few time I order something. As for the interest rates, I usualy don't put more then I have on my card for the month, except in the odd emergency, like if I desperately need a car part or some such. For day to day use, I have my debit card, and I don't think there is a store left out there that doesn't take interac. I have unlimited interac transactions on my checking account.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are many reasons not to have a credit card besides spending more than what you have. Interest rates comes to mind. They are constantly raising them despite your prompt payments. With today's identity theft rates........using a prepaid credit card is ideal. If I found an item online that I wanted I could load the card for that amount and pay for the item. Then not worry if some jerk stole my info and started putting a bunch of crap on my credit card.

You do not pay any interest if you pay off the balance you owe each month. That is the point of knowing not to spend more than you can afford to pay back. Seems like to me that a pre paid card would be a bit of a hassle for use where you see something you want and load it just for that amount to make a purchase. Much more convenient to just use a card, and most card services offer their members security of some sort. If your card or identity is stolen, think there are limits to what you have to pay so long as you report it, some offer protection specifically for that and some give it to members as part of the card services that will cover any cards you carry.

Problem is, if its lost or stolen, you loose all the money you put into it. With a regular Visa, a quick phone call and your money is still safe...

Yep, see that as a potential problem too. My oldest daughter had her purse stolen at school. She had a wal mart gift card in her purse along with some cash and other personal stuff. That card only had 10 bucks on it, but it was gone, anyone could use it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What is to keep people from writing down all the numbers on all the cards at Walmart, then finding out when people have bought them and taking all your money out of it before you get to use it. I know Walmart has had a problem with their gift cards and people doing this. If I remembe correctly, a person can use the gift card online and buy stuff after the gift card has been activated and you are out of the gift card money. What's to keep people from doing the same with the prepaid card?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you have to "prepay" this card, why don't you just pay cash for whatever item you are buying!

This whole thing doesn't make any sense at all!

Use a debit card or credit card, but better still don't buy anything unless you can pay CASH for it!

Crazy!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a relative ask for a prepaid Visa card for Christmas so I purchased one at Walgreens. I was charged a $9.95 activation fee. Once I received all the details in the mail, it stated that you would be charged $4.95 every month whether you used the card or not. Also, they charge $4.95 each time you reload the card. I sent it back and got a full refund. I was actually surprised that they refunded my $9.95 activation fee too. I ended up just giving the relative cash.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.