subject: Prepaid Cards: What They Do For You [print this page] Prepaid Cards: What They Do For You Prepaid Cards: What They Do For You
Prepaid cards can be prepaid debit cards or credit cards. Prepaid means that you put money into the card ahead of time before you spend it. It therefore acts much like a card on which you may have store credit, or a gift card on which you have money on there, but once it's gone, it's gone unless you add more money into the card. The difference between a prepaid credit card and a prepaid debit card is that with some prepaid credit cards, you are building up your credit as you spend the money, even though it is prepaid. With a debit card, you are not building up your credit.
If you run out of money on your card, you must use another means of payment when purchasing items. You can put more money back into your card whenever you want, and you can also check your remaining balance anytime as well by logging into the website or calling on the phone. Sometimes you may even be able to check the balance at your local ATM depending on the card and the ATM.
The advantage of having a prepaid card is that you don't risk going into debt as long as you do not spend money on credit, you only spend the money you put into the card. When you use your prepaid card, however, you will need to select credit (just like you would if it was a credit card). You can't use a prepaid card as a debit card because otherwise it will ask you for your pin number, and you won't have one. Think of the money on your card as credit from you with your own money, not credit from the credit card company that you may have to pay interest on until it is paid back.
