I’m thinking of picking up a prepaid card for a few purchases. I don’t normally like using CC’s but online orders merit them.
Embarrassingly, I don’t really know where I can get one.
Visa gift cards - enter your address at the link below and it’ll tell you where to buy (or you can order directly from the website if you don’t mind giving* them * your card info):
http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/prepaid/visa_gift_card_order.jsp
If you have a bank, call them.
Do you definitely want a pre-paid card, or do you want a debit card that works like a credit card but takes money out of your checking account?
You can get gift cards from Visa, AmEx, MasterCard; see the following links:
http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/prepaid/visa_gift_card.html?ep=a_cpc_rm_google_prepaid
http://www10.americanexpress.com/sif/cda/page/0,1641,22224,00.asp?aexp_nav=shopgiftcheq
You might have to actually buy them through a bank but these sites will tell you al about it.
https://www.mycardplace.com/cards/onlineSalesWU.do?PPVCLead=WUppdtab
This is for the Western Union Visa. I have one and it’s great. Just go to any Western Union to load it up. 900.00 is the maximum load amount and it is 4.95 for each 30.00 minimum load.
Not all gift cards sold through banks work for online purchases. There’s no name embossed on them and some online merchants won’t accept them because of verification issues.
Before buying any card, read and understand the terms and conditions, especially any fees associated with them. A lot of them have monthly service charges, per-transaction charges, charges for loading funds, charges for accessing account information, charges for speaking with customer service reps, etc.
The Visa gift cards I got (from my bank) let you register the card online. After that you *can * use it for online purchases.
I’m looking for a card which I can add more funds onto if I want… I don’t want to have to buy a completely new card if my balance is low. does this allow you to do that?
You might want to look into getting a separate checking account just for your online purchases. If you keep it separate from your main checking account you won’t have as much to worry about with fraud (or your main checking account getting drained by someone), and you can just deposit what you need. You should be able to find a free checking account without a problem.
You can go into your local Radio Shack and purchase and load up prepaid credit cards. I wish I could remember the name of that card, but what I do remember is you could put whatever amount you wanted on it and it was able to be used to make online purchases.
What you’re looking for is not a Visa gift card, but is called a Green Dot card; you can also get them for MasterCard. They sell them at Walgreens. Basically they work like debit cards.
You must pay for it with plastic or cash only at Walgreens (no checks), and you’ll get a slip with an 800 number that you call to get your account number, and to tell them where to mail the actual plastic card itself. You can use the account number for online purchases immediately, but bricks-and-mortar vendors will vary in their willingness to allow you to buy things with a scribbled-down number that the cashier has to type into her machine (Walgreens generally will not).
There is a $9.95 fee for purchasing the Green Dot card; there is a $4.95 fee every time you add money (which also must be via cash or plastic, no checks, at Walgreens). You add money either by having the cashier swipe your card that they mailed to you, or by asking her to fetch you a Green Dot Money Pack refill card from her little rack.
I do not know how it all works at other vendors like Wal-Mart or Kroger, but I assume it’s much the same.
Green Dot cards. 
That is a total ripoff. Get a regular credit card. There are tons out there with no fees and no interest charged if you pay the balance off in full within 15 or so days.
Check with a local credit union. I just got a couple, they were only $2.50 each, no charge to refill and can be used immediately. My credit union will sell these to anybody, you don’t need to be a member. I used one as a credit card attached to my Paypal account so I can buy stuff from Woot.com, it took about 15 seconds for it to be verified and I made my purchase from Woot less than a minute later.
Why not just get a credit card? Get one with cash back rewards and pay it off every month. It’ll be the exact same as using a prepaid credit card but you’ll get benefits. Failing that, I’d suggest a check card that simply deducts the money directly from your checking account but still has the Visa/MC logo and you can use it the same way as a credit card. They’re protected against fraud so you really don’t have to worry about people “draining your bank account.”
Um, is my post invisible or something?
Walmart has Green Dot cards too.
I’ve not used them, but a friend does for online purchases as you’re looking to do.
By the way, why the hell are people suggesting he get a credit card when he’s already said he doesn’t like them?
Because things like the Green Dot cards cost a lot of money (according to the above posts, ten bucks to buy the card and five bucks to add money to it) while credit cards can actually provide free airline miles, free hotel rooms or even cash back and don’t need to cost anything (as long as you pay the bill promptly each month).
Some people have really bad credit and don’t qualify.
Gee, guys, do you hear something? Seemed like I heard a voice there or something…
You’re telling him to either go find a Western Union storefront, or to buy it online, and we’re telling him he can just toddle down to his nearest Wal-Mart, Walgreens, or other retail merchant and buy one.
Because most of the prepaid deals in this thread are really bad. Take for instance diggleblop’s Western Union deal. They charge $4.95 for the privilege of giving them money. You are basically paying an extra $5 for every purchase. That is a terrible deal compared to just getting a credit card.
The Wall mart deal has a $4.94 monthly fee and $4.64 re load fee.
These are really bad deals and I would hate to see someone taken in by them.
racer72’s deal from hist credit Union seems pretty decent. No fees beyond a small one at the beginning.
If you have a PayPal account, you can get a PayPal debit card for free. It has a Visa or Mastercard logo and is used just like any other credit card. You move funds to your PayPal account and voila - a prepaid card for online purchases.
I know that some people don’t like PayPal, but it works for me. I don’t use credit cards and I didn’t want to take my checking debit card with me on vacation for fear of losing it, so I loaded my PayPal account with the amount I wanted to spend on vacation and set a very small overdraft to protect my checking account in case the card was stolen. It worked perfectly.
Plus it pays cash back for every purchase!