Which is the best prepaid card available?

flazio

So I have a spend of somewhere in the region of €15 to €30 per month on online stores for various audio books, DVDs etc. My question is which prepay card is the best value?
3v is great for the ongoing €20 voucher for €20 and no fees, but most online stores validate the change of card by taking a transaction of something like £1 when you register the new card so that when you try to check out something just shy of €20, you find yourself with insufficient funds. And also if you have €2 left in one voucher, because the transfer fee is €2.50 you can't use it to booster another voucher. Plus you only get 2 months of use out of it.
Payzone mastercard seems a bit better in one case as it doesn't incur the charges for transferring funds from one voucher to the next as you have the same card the whole time, and a 4 or 5 year lifespan on the card. But then the card seems riddled with charges for each and every thing you do with it. €3.50 for loading it, 2.95% of the transaction value charged and even charges for non use if you leave money sitting in the account.
Rubycards seem a bit better although I'm not sure I understand what they mean by free if having wages/benefits paid in. Do they mean for me to use their card as my wages account at work?
Moneybookers seem great, a lot free stuff and just €10 a year and no transaction fees. But sometimes things can be too good to be true.

I know there are no free rides when it comes to credit cards, pre pay or post pay, but I'd love to hear what you guys think makes for good value.
(I reckon a topic like this ought to be stickied to the front page.)

shocksy

Personally i use Entropay.

They have virtual visa, and prepaid mastercard,

for the prepaid mastercard you pay a once off fee of €7.50 which covers the cost of them posting the card to you etc, the card is valid for 2 years. No charges for online spending like some providers, there is a cash advance fee if you use to wish an ATM, but if your doing it solely for the purpose of buying online this wont affect you.

You just top up directly through your entropay account, dont have to worry about expiry dates on top ups, or if you have anything left you cant spend, you just simply top up like a phone when you need it and it re-adds the new top up to your balance, there is a fee for top ups at 4.95% or something similar but its still a bonus as you avoid the ryanir credit card fee charge etc.

Check it out for yourself, i've been with these guys about 2 years, never had any trouble whatsoever and i must say they also have excellent customer service.

Hope this helps you out somewhat

www.entropay.com

https://www.entropay.com/prepaid-mastercard.php

jamescd

I used to use 3v vouchers but I signed up for moneybookers and have never looked back.

It's as you say, mastercard payments are free and you only pay the €10 a year.

I linked my Bank of Ireland Laser card to my account so whenever I need more money I can upload instantly with just a click of a button. No waiting or going down to the bank etc....

Customer service is top notch too. I had a small problem with my account balance so I e-mailed them and they replied and fixed the problem within a day. Can't recommend them enough

RachaelVO

jamescd wrote: »

I used to use 3v vouchers but I signed up for moneybookers and have never looked back.

It's as you say, mastercard payments are free and you only pay the €10 a year.

I linked my Bank of Ireland Laser card to my account so whenever I need more money I can upload instantly with just a click of a button. No waiting or going down to the bank etc....

Customer service is top notch too. I had a small problem with my account balance so I e-mailed them and they replied and fixed the problem within a day. Can't recommend them enough

Yep, Moneybookers are really good. You can see everything you do instantly online. You have a bit of work to do initially to get your account verified (proof of address, copy of your passport etc).