The Best Prepaid Credit Cards

Prepaid "credit" cards (which by definition are not really "credit" cards) are those cards with a VISA or MasterCard logo that you buy at a store that you load and re-load with a pre-set amount of money. They can then be used like standard credit cards at stores and online.

The best prepaid cards have some things in common. For starters, the best ones have low fees. This is important since most of these prepaid cards charge a high one-time application fee--sometimes more than $100. You'll also be paying a monthly maintenance fee between $3.00 and $9.00. Some will even charge a fee for loading the card and for transactions made.

The second thing you should look for in a prepaid card is availability. By that we mean it should be one where there are many places in your neighborhood to reload them. One of the points of the prepaid credit card is that, as you need it, you can continue to load more money on the card. But this only works if there are actually places available where you can reload your card.

And finally -- and obviously -- you should stick with either a card with a VISA or MasterCard logo, since these are the most commonly accepted ones.