Are prepaid / Giftcard VISA's a good idea?

[MathBunny123]

Hello. I'm 15 and I'm wondering if it's a good idea to get a VISA giftcard with $100. I heard there are a lot of fees associated with it, but I really want to buy stuff online with it and my parents are not comfortable doing it with their real VISA.

Is this a good idea or no?

 

[senseless]

Hello. I'm 15 and I'm wondering if it's a good idea to get a VISA giftcard with $100. I heard there are a lot of fees associated with it, but I really want to buy stuff online with it and my parents are not comfortable doing it with their real VISA.

Is this a good idea or no?

It'll cost you $5.95 at your local CVS, so not too bad. But you have to register the card to make online purchases. You might need your parents to do that.

 

[luckydcxx]

I think its a good idea, TD Bank gives them for free if you have an account.

It's a good way to learn how to manage money.

 

[MathBunny123]

It'll cost you $5.95 at your local CVS, so not too bad. But you have to register the card to make online purchases. You might need your parents to do that.

As long as they don't have to enter their credit card information it's all good.

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I think its a good idea, TD Bank gives them for free if you have an account.

It's a good way to learn how to manage money.

Thanks! Do you know if ScotiaBank or CIBC offer the same good deal?

 

[4JNA]

Thanks! Do you know if ScotiaBank or CIBC offer the same good deal?

i used to have a Scotia account, but that was long ago and far away!

you have two options basically, 'prepaid' and 'gift'.

you would do well to research it in advance, there are lots of articles available on the 'Canada Post Cards' for example... the thing is your laws allow the 'prepaid' cards to expire (bye bye money) and most of them have a monthly maintenance fee as well as a reload fee, and oh yeah, the setup fee to even get started. heavy on the fees and they take your money every month until the balance is zero...

the 'gift' option seems to be the way to go based on your location. due to legislation/laws, 'gift' cards are not allowed to expire. that is, in .CA the gift cards don't just go 'poof, no more balance' after 24 or 36 months. if there still is a balance after the experation date, they must issue you a new 'gift' card with the remaining balance. and for what it's worth, the set up fees are much less, and most have no monthly 'maintenance' fee. yay for not needing to pay to get access and use your money!

both are able to be used for online transactions. some may require the parental peeps to help authenticate, but you should be all good once it's setup.

you might take a look at RBC as somewhere to get started. just watch out for the fees and the 'poof' part if you go the reload path. best of luck.

 

[MathBunny123]

i used to have a Scotia account, but that was long ago and far away!

you have two options basically, 'prepaid' and 'gift'.

you would do well to research it in advance, there are lots of articles available on the 'Canada Post Cards' for example... the thing is your laws allow the 'prepaid' cards to expire (bye bye money) and most of them have a monthly maintenance fee as well as a reload fee, and oh yeah, the setup fee to even get started. heavy on the fees and they take your money every month until the balance is zero...

the 'gift' option seems to be the way to go based on your location. due to legislation/laws, 'gift' cards are not allowed to expire. that is, in .CA the gift cards don't just go 'poof, no more balance' after 24 or 36 months. if there still is a balance after the experation date, they must issue you a new 'gift' card with the remaining balance. and for what it's worth, the set up fees are much less, and most have no monthly 'maintenance' fee. yay for not needing to pay to get access and use your money!

both are able to be used for online transactions. some may require the parental peeps to help authenticate, but you should be all good once it's setup.

you might take a look at RBC as somewhere to get started. just watch out for the fees and the 'poof' part if you go the reload path. best of luck.

Wow, thanks! Looks like I'm going to look into a gift card versus a prepaid then, because of all the fees. Thanks again.

 

[ElectronGuru]

Most important thing is a start date in your credit history. If you can, get a small post paid with a parent to cosign. Even one charge per year is enough.

 

[Tomorrow]

A reloadable card might be a good idea. We got one for our son (he's 9), he uses it in stores but not online. I don't see much of a downside.