Credit is an equity that you can’t afford to lose. Unfortunately, if you don’t have credit, it’s almost impossible to build it, and if you have bad credit, trying to recover your good standing may be one of the most difficult life challenges you ever face.

One option that may be valuable to you in the hard fought battle to obtain/restore your good credit is a prepaid credit card.

What is a Prepaid Credit Card?

It works like any major credit card and is accepted at the same locations. The biggest difference is that you are not using a fixed line of credit which you are ‘borrowing’ from the credit card provider based, essentially, on the equity of your name… your identity. (Who you are is representative of the assets you hold.)

With a prepaid credit card, you are extended a credit line based on one of your most solid assets… your actual cash on hand. It works much the same as depositing money into a checking account and using checks to make purchases, but with a prepaid credit card you stop spending the minute your cash is gone… no ‘bounced checks’, as it were.

And unlike major credit cards, there’s no spending limit with a prepaid.

Needles to say, the benefits are all too readily apparent. You have the spending power and convenience associated with checks and credit cards, without all the negative fees and sky-high interest rates.

You do have some small fees, however. It costs up to $10.00 just to open an account and you will also have to pay a minimal fee each time you deposit cash into that account.

But when you consider that this opens up a whole new world of opportunities you didn’t have access to before, you might definitely consider it a ‘must’.

What benefits, you may ask. Remember, in today’s society you can only secure a car rental with a credit card. You can also only pre-order movie, concert and sporting tickets using a credit card. Most major expenses or purchases can only be broken down into payments with a credit card, at the very least you avoid the heavy financing charges associated with a payment plan done any other way. You can also recharge prepaid cell phones and cards with credit cards. You can also only make hotel and airline reservations using credit cards.

The world runs on a credit line, and in today’s society it’s a much more accessible option than it ever used to be in the past.

Michael writes for Card Sense where you can find more information on pre paid credit cards as well as credit cards for people with adverse credit.

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Another plus of credit cards designed for those with bad credit is the fact that you actually receive a small line of credit that can be borrowed from ahead of time. Therefore, if you are in a tight financial situation, one of these credit cards may help you get through it.

Another option is the EntroPay Virtual Card . Load your EntroPay Virtual Card with funds from your personal credit or debit card and use it anywhere VISA is accepted online . When you’ve spent the funds, just load more.

To have an open account you must first have your credit approved but with prepayment cards the form filling is simple. There is a Web portal that offers companies, organizations, and individuals the opportunity to sign up their employees for what they call a ’social credit card account’. They say that each employee can open an account and create a simple profile, which links to local, regional, and global volunteer opportunities. The card is aimed at helping people strengthen and rebuild their credit history. One card offers credit of between $200 and $2,500, with no annual fee.

Another of these cards is the new Cashplus Prepaid Gold MasterCard which is a pay as you go card with 100% acceptance guaranteed, with no credit check or bank account required. Account holders can then either use the account for online purchases or send money to a third party via the mobile phone.

Visa Europe says that their prepayment service is very popular with the youth market and for gifts, and offers a variety of different ways to deliver real mobile payment services to their customers.

With a Splash Plastic prepaid card, you can pay for goods and services online, over the phone and in the shops with your Chip and PIN prepaid debit card. This is safe and secure provided you follow guidelines and you can shop all over the globe using the Splash Plastic prepaid card everywhere that Maestro is accepted.

Also, by using a prepaid card, a teenager will be able to learn to effectively manage their finances and improve their budgeting skills. These cards may be used to top-up mobile phones, pay for travel expenses or even to pay for the latest chart-topping CD or DVD.

Gift cards are a form of prepaid credit card. But the new breed of cards offer the newest way to make gift cards the perfect gift – unique gift wrap. Gift cards don’t have to be boring to give. Some of the companies that offer the universal prepaid debit cards are careless at best when verifying identification when setting up new accounts.

According to one website, this type of card offers all the benefits of a credit card, but with the security of a debit card. Additionally, there is no annual fee, no monthly fee, and of course no interest charges.

A prepaid card has been described as being a great way to have a Visa card if you have less than perfect credit, deposit your whole check or just a portion each month. Easily withdraw money, make online purchases or point of sale.

A reward program is however, a rare benefit for a stored value card. In a reward programme, points are earned for all purchases and these can be redeemed for calling cards, ring tones and wireless airtime.

You also may have to pay for transaction fees, charges when you transfer funds to top up the balance, when you replace your prepaid credit card, and many other fees. To be sure about the fees, you should read closely the fine print on the prepaid credit card account.

I signed up Netspend a while ago, and I transfered some Paypal funds to my Netspend account. I got the card in 5 days and the Paypal transfer beat the card in the mail – my Paypal funds were available in my Netspend account within about 2 days.

Many prepaid cardholders are paid via direct deposit of paychecks and are unable to add funds to cards themselves.

It is possible to repair your credit within a much shorter time if you take expert advice. However you decide to address your credit challenges, realize that regardless of what you may hear in the news media, thousands before you have sought help and repaired their credit.

The content and opinions expressed within this article are those of the author(s) and/or represented companies, and are not necessarily shared by Pre Paid Credit Cardz. The author(s) and/or represented companies are solely responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the content of this site.