Prepaid Credit Cards

College Life
1

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>As an international student, are there good places in the San Francisco Bay Area in which i can get a prepaid credit card?
I looked up some VISA Gift Cards but most of the stores/locations that offer this require that I be a current member of the bank.</p>

<p>Anyone know some good prepaid credit cards that require no affiliation to a bank for an international student?</p>

2

<p>You can pick those up at pretty much any store like wal-mart, target, most grocery stores, etc. They are very commonplace now as gift cards.</p>

<p>Why not get a US bank account and a real credit card?</p>

3

<p>I just want a short term thing for now, I might look into a long term account in the future.
But can any of these gift cards be used internationally?</p>

4

<p>They are credit cards, but they are prepaid, meaning they can do anything a regular credit card can do.</p>

5

<p>Nah, like I checked with the VISA Gift Card at US Bank, it does work like a normal credit card, except it only works in the US. Doesn’t work internationally.</p>

6

<p>I’ve always used Discover. My suggestion is that if you want to use it internationally, get a credit card.</p>

7

<p>VisaBuxx is another option. We got it for our teenager when he went to China one summer so it can be used internationally. You preload it and it can be used as a credit card and an ATM. You get it through a bank but it is really not affliated with a bank. He now uses it as emergency money and is a back up to other things. </p>

<p>Here is the link: [Visa</a> Buxx | Personal | Visa USA](<a href=“http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/prepaid/visa_buxx.html]Visa”>http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/prepaid/visa_buxx.html)</p>

8

<p>Go to Wal-Mart or some place similar and get a “green dot” card, it’s a pre-paid visa (credit card not immigration paper) that you can reload money and checks onto. You can even get direct deposit. I use it in place of a bank account and have no problems. Except you can’t cash a personal check into it, just payroll and government checks. I didn’t have to have anything except a drivers license and a pulse. Very popular with illegal immigrants so I can’t imagine a legal immigrant having a problem with it.</p>