This guest post was contributed by Elizabeth C. She helps run FindSecuredCards, a secured / prepaid credit cards portal helping those pick out the best card for their wallet.
Prepaid credit cards are great cards to consider for your wallet. They are going to help you control your spending, as well as manage a budget properly each and every month. The best thing overall is that they really aren’t that much different than your typical credit card.
So, what happens when you’re in the market to get a card that is best for yourself? What are some things that you should look out for? I’ve been working in the credit industry for a few years now and by following these tips, you should be able to get a great card that suits you best.
#1 Watch the fees: Most cards on the market have reloading fees, start up fees, and more. While finding a card with no fees at all is rather slim, they are out there. What you’re going to want to do is make sure that you compare apples to apples and know what fees you’re going to have to pay.
#2 Get interest: Since a prepaid card is going to have money loaded on it, you’re going to want to make sure that you have a bank account that is going to give you interest on your deposit. Why give a bank some money and they give you nothing in return?
#3 Major logo: Don’t sign up for a card from no name banks. The problem with this is that you’re not going to be able to use it anywhere! I would recommend that you get a card from major carriers such as MasterCard, as well as Visa. That way, you can be comfortable knowing that you can use your cards at a bunch of merchants.
#4 Features: Every card is going to claim to be different, but the features that are most important to me are no fees, no minimum balance required, free ATM withdrawals, as well as online bill pay. If your card has all of these features, consider it golden.
#5 Reviews: The last thing that you’re going to want to do is check out reviews online. Read up a little bit about the card and see what people have to say about it. Sure, there are always going to be negative reviews, but see why people give that negative review.
By following these tips, I can ensure you that you can find a card that works rather well. Compare a few cards before you apply, just to ensure that you’re getting a card that is going to work for you, rather than the banks.
