Best Prepaid Credit Card?

WoodruffsDad

There seems to be loads of prepaid credit cards available.

I really could do with one because of my BR and because Christmas is looming!

How do I decide which is the best one?

L-Jay

I use cashplus - dunno if it's the best but I've never had any problems.

WoodruffsDad

I've Googled "Prepaid Credit Cards" and now I'm confused!

The cheapest one appears to be the Bread card. Does the fact that it's Maestro rather than MasterCard or Visa limit it at all?

NekoZombie

The bread card is like a switch card rather than a credit card.

WoodruffsDad

Surely all prepaid cards are, in effect, Switch or Debit cards?

You can only spend what you've put in - there's no credit as such.

I'm torn between Bread (Maestro) and Cashplus (MasterCard).

NekoZombie

Yes, its all much of muchness, though for me I prefer Mastercard as my co-op electron pretty much covers the function of Maestro.

edit: and I've just been on a website that would accept VISA, MASTERCARD and AMEX.

wesley4

Cashplus: had it maybe 2 years - no problems with it - don't like the fees but all prepaid cards are pretty similar-ish in that respect. Like the fact that it's Mastercard not Visa Electron or any of that cr*p.

Bread: I'm applying for that. I was informed by a cust rep at the company behind it (and others) that it was the cheapest to run.

WoodruffsDad

Wesley 4, the only thing that puts me off Bread is that it's Maestro not Mastercard. Am I being silly?

I'm tempted by the Virgin prepaid card. No monthly fee but 2.95% on transactions. And it's Mastercard. What do you think?

Homework

I'm sure that I have read on here that people have got a debit card, Solo or Maestro whilst bankrupt.

If you are going to pay a fee for a prepaid card I think it would be better to get a Mastercard or Visa which would be accepted anywhere. Maestro is great but there are some places that don't take it, and I'm really sure that some of the basic bank accounts will give you a debit card without a fee.

fermi

Homework wrote: »

I'm sure that I have read on here that people have got a debit card, Solo or Maestro whilst bankrupt.

The very occasional person has got lucky, if you mean one that comes with an account rather than a pre-paid.

The only debit card with a basic account that is regularly available to BR's is a Visa/Electron that comes with the Co-op's cashminder account.

NekoZombie

I would also point out that I find cashplus very cheap to run - I use the flexiplus for £1 per time. I've only had to use it once in the past three months, so its hardly been an expense. Way cheaper than the activeplus option of £4.95 a month.