There are times when having a credit card can come in handy. Making reservations at a hotel. Renting a car for the week. Verifying your age on a website. Credit cards can often be the primary form of payment in some places. However, with so many people having bad credit scores due to a recent job loss or maxing out previous credit cards, being able to qualify for an unsecured credit card can be nearly impossible. Fortunately for people with poor credit, another option exists: the prepaid credit card.
Prepaid credit cards are also known as secured credit cards. These are credit cards where the credit card user makes a security deposit in an account associated with the prepaid credit card. The maximum credit limit on one of these cards is equal to the maximum amount of funds you deposited as security. These funds are there in the event that you need to immediately pay off the debt that you have accrued. Since the maximum credit limit cannot exceed the amount of money that was initially deposited, there is never an issue of over-drafting the prepaid credit card account. If you have exhausted all of your credit and then try and make a purchase, your transaction will be canceled for insufficient funds.
The Difference Between A Prepaid Credit Card And A Prepaid Debit Card
A lot of people confuse prepaid credit cards and prepaid debit cards. Although they are similar and look virtually identical, there is a big difference between them. Even though both of them require a small amount of funds to be deposited to use as a security deposit, the difference occurs when the cards are used. When using the cards to make purchases, the prepaid debit cards draw from the funds initially deposited as the security in order to complete the transaction, whereas the prepaid credit card uses credit up to the value of the security deposit in order to complete the transaction.
Prepaid Credit Cards and Prepaid Debit Cards Affect Credit Differently
Since prepaid debit cards don’t actually use any credit in the transaction, using them will not improve or hurt you credit score. However, because prepaid credit card do use credit, using them will help you improve your credit score over time. This is one reason that prepaid credit cards are so popular among people with poor credit histories. Not only are they easier to qualify for and set up, they also give users the potential of increasing their credit scores.
Where Can Prepaid Credit Cards Be Used?
Prepaid credit cards can be used anywhere that regular credit cards can. Whether you need to use them to make reservations, securely pay for items over the internet, or use them as a convenient way to make payments without having to carry a bunch of cash on you, prepaid credit cards can be useful in a variety of situations. For those individuals who cannot get an unsecured credit card due to bad credit, being able to get a prepaid credit card may be a temporary solution until your credit has improved enough to get an approval for a unsecured credit card. It should be mentioned that some prepaid credit cards, after some time has passed with perfect transaction history, will refund you the security deposit and convert the prepaid credit card into an unsecured one.
If you are trying to figure out which credit card best suits your needs, you should do an online comparison at Kanetix.ca. At Kanetix, you can find the best credit card online in just a matter of minutes.
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