Pre paid credit cards and online shopping
 

Never online shopped before.
Don’t want to use real credit card info online because I don’t trust handing out the info.
Don’t want a paypal account or anything of the like.
Do those gas station visa/mastercards work for purchasing online?
Anyone use them for this?

Yes they do work, but I don't think you get any purchase protection with them.
For that reason my wife and I have a card from a bank we don't have any other products with. It has a $1000.00 limit, just for online stuff.

They do, but there's about an $8 activation charge per card, if I remember correctly. And as mentioned, there's purchase protection issues.

Yes they do work however you still need to register them before they can be used online. When you shop online you are almost always asked for a name, billing address and a shipping address. If you enter the name or billing address incorrectly the transaction will not go through. Unregistered cards do not have a name or billing address attached to them.
When ever I had to make a purchase from a questionable website I would have it sent to a PO Box. Now they almost always ask for ID when picking up a parcel so you still must give out your real name anyways. Also you pay a fee for those prepaid cards so in the end it will cost you more.
Really as long as you have a card that offers buyers protection you dont have much to worry about these days. Its not a bad idea to get yourself a credit card with the lowest limit possible if you still feel uneasy about online purchases this way should you get scammed your not loosing much. There are also cards available that will call you if any purchase is made and require you to verify the purchase before approval. Might be worth it to look into those.

The problem with the gas station cards is you can't reload them so you end up having cards that have a few bucks here or there that you can't use anywhere.

Go to Canada Post and get one of their reloadable credit cards. It is like the gas station cards but you can put more money on them. It is a $3 a month fee and it costs $3 to put money on the card but you don't have to pay a $10-$30 activation fee on the gift card style ones every time you buy one.

If you need to buy something you can go down and add money or you can just carry a balance on it. If the card gets compromised the only thing you can lose is what is on it, there is no credit.

^^^^ This

Like others, we just keep a low limit credit card on hand for any online purchases. You have better buyer protections with a proper CC vs a prepaid card, and not just against fraud. Many CC's give you extended warranties, theft protection etc, and if you have any issues with the transaction where maybe the supplier was crooked, you have options.

Ok thx guys. Gonna check out what joe suggested

I travel allot. All over the world and my card gets used in all sorts of places.

I have a credit card for that through my regular bank. The card is 100% protected and anytime I have had issues with my card number being scammed (which has happened a number of times) or strange charges - it's reversed within minutes and very few questions asked.

The card is protected. There is zero liability to you for charges you didn't make. It's easy, convenient, secure and doesn't cost you a dime in activation, you don't need to reload it AND it gives you insurance on your purchases, so if things you buy don't work, the credit card will not issue payment to the vendor ......... and in some cases cash back.

You can also get insurance on your flights and cancellation and re-booking charges.

So when you use it to buy a channel package from an internet provider, and try 15 times to cancel, which seems to be a purposeful game to these guys, all you do is call the credit card company and viola - it's cancelled. screw them and their games.

Book a flight and it gets cancelled on your credit card - no problem it's insured.

Get into an accident with a rental car with your credit card, no problem it's insured.

I have no understanding why anyone who is able to get a credit card from a bank would ever use a prepaid card.

They have none of these benefits.

Try getting reimbursed (or cancelling charges) on a prepaid.

What's the security risk? seriously?

This ^^^^

I’m just not familiar on doing anything online except surfing the net. Think I’d be a good candidate for being scammed. Seems safer (for me) to just preload a different card.

I never understand why people get paranoid to use their visa to shop online. Isnt that one of the reasons you use a Visa is the fraud protection?

Seems overly paranoid not to use your Visa online.

I buy a ton of stuff using my credit card online.

I don't believe my card was ever scammed from online shopping - but I guess it depends on what site you are on ... if you are worried about it, get a card with a low limit (a separate card from the bank).

Zero need for a pre-paid card. Simply zero advantage and many, many disadvantages.

At the end of the day, do what you feel is comfortable for you - just giving you my sincere advice.

Yes it’s likely what I’ll do if I like it. For now I’m just gonna grab a card and buy something. Baby steps. Lol

I have had trouble with using my visa debit card, it’s NOT as widely excepted.
Just thought I’d throw that idea out.


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If you are going to get a prepaid card to use online get a reloadable one that has your proper name on it.
I’m not familiar with the post office ones but you can also get them from cheque cashing places like money mart and wherever.

Also, many retailers will allow you to buy online with gift cards from their store.

With the post office ones you initially get the card you get a temporary one at the till and later on one comes in the mail with you name on it and a signature area on the back.