Read this before you buy a prepaid gift card

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Consumer Reports has combed through the fine print and rated 23 prepaid cards

Millions of Americans now use prepaid cards to manage their money, but Consumer Reports found some are much better deals than others.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is holding a hearing on prepaid accounts on Thursday, and is expected to recommend regulations to protect consumers.

Unlike regular bank cards, you don't need to link these to an account. You also don't need to go through a credit check to get them. You simply load prepaid cards with cash and then pay bills or make purchases. Like many people Lesley

Robinson has switched to a prepaid card. She especially likes it to pay bills because she is fed up with traditional banking.

"Bank account was charging me too many fees, for overdrafts and interest fees. So I choose to close them out and go prepaid,"Robinson said.

Not everyone with a prepaid card uses it as a substitute for a bank account.

"Many prepaid card users use the prepaid card as a tool to keep themselves on a budget, by loading a certain amount for say food or entertainment," said Consumer Reports money adviser Margot Gilman.

Consumer Reports just rated 23 prepaid cards. Not all are great values.

"It can be difficult to tell what the fees are and some of the cards are quite expensive to use," Gilman said.

For example, the netSpend Prepaid Visa Pay as You Go plan charges $1 to $2 every time you make a purchase. And there's no cap on those fees.

The netSpend Prepaid Visa Fee Advantage plan charged $9.95 per month.

So does the AccountNow Gold Visa Prepaid Card, and its fees can be hard to figure out.

Also a problem - the American Express for Target prepaid card, because it's not insured by the FDIC.

Bluebird, a prepaid card issued by American Express and Walmart, got top ratings.

"There's no monthly fee, no activation fee, no fee for making purchases or paying bills and no charge to load money either by direct deposit or at Walmart," Gilman said.

Bluebird also has a wide network of MoneyPass ATMs that are free to use.

Consumer Reports gave several other prepaid cards high ratings including: