IDT Prime prepaid debit card - Scandalous!

weegie.geek

I reckon you'd be better off with the https://www.3vcash.com/ vouchers. Top up in the same kind of places as IDT's card, no transaction fees, and £20 cards cost £20, no fees on top.

They post you out a card which you can take to the newsagent's and buy vouchers with. The vouchers contain the visa number. Each voucher has a different number, so an entirely new visa card with every purchase.

The only problem with 3V is that if you buy a £20 card, and then spend £19, that £1 is stuck on that card unless you can find something to buy for £1. You CAN transfer balance from an old card to a new card, but it costs £1.75 to transfer, so it's rarely worthwhile IMO. I'd rather buy crap from Dealextreme than pay £1.75 to transfer money from one card to another.

The https://www.extremecred.com/ card looked promising. Low topup fees and no transaction charges, but their site was always broken when I tried to buy the card. Rejected each and every card I tried, so it was kinda useless.

Oh, there's another way actually. 50p to top up, and no transaction charges. Now I think about it, perhaps this is the best way.

A lot of us over in the gambling loopholes forum use https://www.neteller.com/ - They're an online wallet thing. You can transfer money from your bank account via bank transfer, which is free, and then transfer it to their prepaid Mastercard for 50p a transfer. It takes a few working days for the bank transfer, then a day or two for the transfer to the Mastercard, but it's probably the cheapest way of doing things, and you don't end up with "dead money" stuck unspendable.

I really couldn't recommend the IDT card to anyone, since the charges really take the !!!!. The customer service is also worse than awful. They literally don't answer emails.

3V's drawback is the dead money scenario. You also can't use it for online gambling if that takes your fancy. Not that Mastercards are much use for that either, but it's possible at least.

Thumbs up for Neteller.

ArfurDaley_2

weegie.geek wrote: »

I reckon you'd be better off with the https://www.3vcash.com/ vouchers. Top up in the same kind of places as IDT's card, no transaction fees, and £20 cards cost £20, no fees on top.

They post you out a card which you can take to the newsagent's and buy vouchers with. The vouchers contain the visa number. Each voucher has a different number, so an entirely new visa card with every purchase.

The only problem with 3V is that if you buy a £20 card, and then spend £19, that £1 is stuck on that card unless you can find something to buy for £1. You CAN transfer balance from an old card to a new card, but it costs £1.75 to transfer, so it's rarely worthwhile IMO. I'd rather buy crap from Dealextreme than pay £1.75 to transfer money from one card to another.

The https://www.extremecred.com/ card looked promising. Low topup fees and no transaction charges, but their site was always broken when I tried to buy the card. Rejected each and every card I tried, so it was kinda useless.

Oh, there's another way actually. 50p to top up, and no transaction charges. Now I think about it, perhaps this is the best way.

A lot of us over in the gambling loopholes forum use https://www.neteller.com/ - They're an online wallet thing. You can transfer money from your bank account via bank transfer, which is free, and then transfer it to their prepaid Mastercard for 50p a transfer. It takes a few working days for the bank transfer, then a day or two for the transfer to the Mastercard, but it's probably the cheapest way of doing things, and you don't end up with "dead money" stuck unspendable.

I really couldn't recommend the IDT card to anyone, since the charges really take the !!!!. The customer service is also worse than awful. They literally don't answer emails.

.

I have to disagree with you there, I've sent them tons of emails and they've answered all of them, usually within 24 hours. Check your spam folder, they sometimes find their way into that! As I said, even taking the charges into account, I'd still be saving a lot over buying in stores. Thanks for your reply though!

money-4-nothing

I had a SOLO Debit card when I was 15 years old, very little income, no credit history. I remember at the time alot of online stores didn't accept SOLO, but I always choice SWITCH on the payment pages and the payment always went through.

Have banks stopped giving out debit cards to people with no credit history then, if not then I see no reason for pre-paid cards like these. My brother has a box standard halifax account with a Visa Electron card, no cheque book and no overdraft and he's 21. If theres only £9.99 in his account and he trys to buy something for £10 then the payment wouldn't go through. Suits him because he can't go overdrawn. It's free to use the card, free to topup the card and can be used world wide.... why do people use these pre-paid cards.

taxi73

As far as I'm aware nearly all basic bank accounts give a debit card so I can't see a reason for these pre paid cards at all.

Treadmill

These cards are more often used by people laundering money than genuine punters.

ArfurDaley_2

taxi73 wrote: »

As far as I'm aware nearly all basic bank accounts give a debit card so I can't see a reason for these pre paid cards at all.

There is only one reason I'd use a prepaid card over a debit card and that is I don't want the details of the card that is linked to my main account anywhere near the internet.

ArfurDaley_2

Treadmill wrote: »

These cards are more often used by people laundering money than genuine punters.

Money laundering? How do you mean exactly, are you saying that everyone who uses a prepaid card is up to no good? Couldn't it be that they want to shop online with the peace of mind of knowing that the Prime or any other prepaid card isn't linked to their main bank account, I know that's why I'd use it.

ArfurDaley_2

I've just found out that https://www.gameplay.co.uk don't accept the Mastercard Prime (or any other prepaid card). This is one of the main sites I like to order from, so it's now depending on play.com whether I get one or not. Does anyone know if https://www.play.com accept prepaid cards such as the Prime card?

lisndai

taxi73 wrote: »

As far as I'm aware nearly all basic bank accounts give a debit card so I can't see a reason for these pre paid cards at all.

Hiya all banks do offer debit cards with basic accounts however if like me you are a discharged bankrupt it is very difficult to get one if your 6 years havent passed which is fair enough . I use splash plastic at the moment which is only for saving for birthdays e.t.c . Although i have been looking into getting a different one but i just cant work out who is the absolute best and cheapest to go with , any info greatly appreciated . It will be used once a week for online food shop and nothing else .

Lisa

ArfurDaley_2

ArfurDaley wrote: »

I've just found out that www.gameplay.co.uk don't accept the Mastercard Prime (or any other prepaid card). This is one of the main sites I like to order from, so it's now depending on play.com whether I get one or not. Does anyone know if www.play.com accept prepaid cards such as the Prime card?

Nope, they don't accept it, so I won't be getting a prepaid card, as these are the two main sites I'd order from. Thanks for your help everyone.