Prepaid cards are sold at retail stores, online, over the phone, and at some banks and credit unions. If you buy your card at a retail store or at a bank or credit union branch, you may be able to start using it for purchases right away.
After you activate the gift card, it should be ready to use. I have seen some cases where a gift card issuer imposes a waiting period after purchase, meaning the gift card may not be usable for up to 24-48 hours even though it has been activated.
There are a number of possible reasons why a purchase could be declined: You don't have enough money left on your card. You haven't activated or registered your card. The address you gave to make an online or phone purchase is different from the address you have on file with your prepaid card provider.
You can book a hotel room with either a credit card or a debit card in most cases. Many hotel chains will also accept prepaid cards, though they are more likely to do so at check-in or check-out than at the time of booking. Typically, you cannot make a hotel reservation with cash, a personal check or a money order.
Most Visa prepaid card options will allow you to load up to $15,000 into the card account. If you're accessing a reloadable prepaid card, you can continue to add money to your account when you spend some of your current balance. In either scenario, though, you cannot surpass the $15,000 account balance limit.
Whether you need to send money to the utility company or use IRS online access to pay back taxes, prepaid credit cards can be used the same day you buy them.
How to convert Visa gift cards to cash
Best Overall, Best for No Monthly Fee Bluebird by American Express. Bluebird charges fewer fees than most prepaid debit cards, making it a solid choice if you're on a tight budget or you simply don't want to pay for debit card access.
Many gift cards are activated when they're purchased, so they don't need to be activated by the recipient. However, some do need to be activated by the recipient before they can be used. You can activate a gift card by calling the merchant or accessing the provided URL and inputting the correct activation numbers.
If this dollar value is greater than the card balance, the transaction may decline. Ask the cashier to charge only the bill amount (minus any gratuity) or to reduce the bill amount by 20 percent and retry the transaction. Be prepared to pay the bill difference with another form of payment.
Debit cards can be declined even when you have money. Verify you have money, use the right pin, and the card has been activated. Your card type may not be accepted, is expired, or may have been flagged for suspicious activity. Verify you have provided correct information and contact your bank if problems persist.
What's so bad about prepaid bank cards? What the ads don't mention (or only mention in tiny print) is that these cards carry high fees. Although the fees vary from card to card, you'll usually be charged a few dollars to activate the card, withdraw money from an ATM, add more money to the card, and so on.
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