Your Stars won't expire as long as your account is open. The card doesn't charge any monthly, annual, or reload fees. You can keep up with your balance on the Chase mobile app. What we don't like : You can't use this card to make ATM withdrawals. Akimbo Prepaid MasterCard is ideal for budgeting because you can create a separate card for each of your budget goals and you can easily manage them all from the app. What we like : Akimbo lets you create a separate prepaid card for each of your budget goals, and you can manage each card from within the Akimbo app.
You can schedule weekly autoloads for recurring expenses. You can also disable and enable cards at any time from within the app, as well as receive text updates after each transaction.
There is no enrollment or monthly fee. This card is ideal for Walmart shoppers because it rewards them with cash back, savings interest, and free direct deposit.
The card comes with free direct deposit, mobile check deposit, and online bill pay. Reload fees can also get expensive depending on when and where you add funds to your card. You can use the FamZoo prepaid debit card to help teach your kids about spending habits and use the tools to monitor and control their card use.
What we like : Teaching kids to manage money can be tough in the age of debit and credit cards. With the FamZoo prepaid card, you can create parent and child roles with cards that limit access and functionality.
You can transfer money between cards and create automatic recurring transfers from one card to another for, say, a weekly or monthly allowance. A paid FamZoo subscription allows you to order and use up to four FamZoo prepaid cards as long as your subscription is active. There are no reload fees for direct deposit. Transfers between cards are free and instant. Pay no fees on purchases or with in-network ATM withdrawals. All of the best prepaid debit cards that made our list have different things to offer.
Some are designed specifically to encourage positive money management in children and others offer cash back rewards and additional features such as direct deposit, online bill pay, and fraud protection.
Assess your spending needs and determine if a prepaid card will help you easily make purchases and keep track of your spending without paying too many fees. Consider your spending habits to see which prepaid debit card makes sense for you. For example, if you travel a lot, a large no-fee ATM network may be helpful. Also consider other factors including:. A prepaid debit card is a card that already has funds on it, so the credit limit is the amount of money left on the card.
Instead, you load the amount that you want to be on the card, and that becomes your limit. You can use a prepaid debit card online and at most retailers that accept a regular debit card.
When you use the card to purchase something, the purchase is immediately deducted from the balance. Prepaid debit cards vary in costs. Some are free, some charge upfront fees, and others charge monthly fees.
If you use the card at an out-of-network ATM, there are fees associated with that, too. It is generally cheaper to get a debit card through your bank rather than getting a prepaid debit card. If one of those situations applies to you, it may be worth the fees. We reviewed more than a dozen of the most popular options when choosing the best prepaid debit cards. We chose cards that can be used in a variety of places and offer additional features, rewards, and perks, and that can be managed online.
Bluebird , issued by American Express and in partnership with Walmart, offers more than the average prepaid debit card, and you can load and spend money without paying fees.
General fees and features: No monthly fees and no costs for online activation or inactivity. Purchases: No fees. Reload methods: Direct deposit, debit card transfer, card-to-card transfer, mobile check deposit with a third-party fee for instant processing , cash load at Walmart or other stores.
Downsides: No cash back at retailers. Most prepaid debit cards either charge you each month or each time you make a purchase, but the Movo Virtual Prepaid Card does neither. Reload methods: Direct deposit; bank account transfer; instant card-to-card transfer; mobile check deposit with a third-party fee for instant processing ; cash load at retailers with Visa ReadyLink, MoneyPak and Reload Register locations, such as Walgreens or Safeway for a fee set by the retailer.
Other services: Online bill payments are free. These cards can protect your main account number during transactions.
Downsides: Free ways to reload the card, such as bank transfers, can take up to five business days; no free ATM network. This card is available in the 11 states where there are Fifth Third branches, which is the only place you can get the card. Other services: Card can have joint owners. FamZoo is a family-friendly prepaid Mastercard that lets parents become virtual bankers for their kids, even those younger than From the website or app, you can send allowances, split payments, see balances and activity across all cards and set up text and email alerts.
Other prepayment plans also offer a discount. Other services: Multiple accounts under one plan, free and instant FamZoo card-to-card transfers, ability to lock and unlock FamZoo cards, budgeting tools. Downsides: Not part of any ATM network; maximum monthly fee is higher than average; no mobile check deposit feature. Greenlight stands out for a feature that other prepaid cards lack: store-specific spending controls.
The prepaid card also offers real-time activity alerts, free card-to-card transfers for allowances and the ability to remotely lock lost cards.
A Greenlight account can have up to five subaccounts, so it works for a family. Reload methods: Direct deposit, debit card transfer, bank transfer. Other services: Up to 5 subaccounts, no international ATM withdrawal fee. The app, which gets decent ratings, is required to get fee-free cash reloads at Walmart stores.
Walmart MoneyCenters and Customer Service desks also offer fee-free cash withdrawals. This prepaid, reloadable card is family-friendly. You can order an account for free for up to four additional people who are at least 13 years old.
Downsides: Fee to use ATMs; limited methods for reloading funds. The difference between prepaid debit cards and checking accounts is starting to blur, as many have similar features and services. Mobile-optimized banking accounts fit in this middle ground — like most prepaid debit cards, many have no credit check; unlike prepaid cards, many are linked to a bank account.
Through the app, though, you can request that checks be mailed to a recipient, even yourself, for free. You can also open a linked Chime savings account and set up automatic transfers. General fees and features: No monthly fee and no costs for activation or inactivity; no credit check. Cash withdrawal and third-party fees may apply.
Purchases: No additional charge. Other services: Optional savings account. Chime has two automatic savings programs: one where a percentage of every paycheck automatically goes into the savings account and the other where your purchases are rounded up to the nearest dollar and the rounded-up change goes to savings see below for more information from Chime.
When you make purchases with the card, you use the money you loaded. A prepaid card can be a good alternative to a credit card if you want to avoid the temptation of racking up debt. You also have the option to load money onto your card for free via direct deposit or a mobile check deposit. The only drawback to free mobile deposits is the day waiting period. There are other limits — such as how much you can load on your card over a certain amount of time, regardless of how much you withdraw.
You can add money to your card for free via direct deposit or from your bank account. With a credit card that reports to the three major consumer credit bureaus , making payments on-time and in full and keeping your overall balance low can help you build credit history.
But there can be downsides to prepaid cards. One major downside?
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