Prepaid debit card and personal info

[GoAheadMkMyDay]

I've just got my first prepaid debit card, but its forcing me (i.e. won't activate without) to submit a lot of personal info to activate and register the card. I selected a re-loadable card so I use it in the future when needed without the hassle/potential visibility of getting another card. Should I have got a non-reloadable card? Would that not require a registration/activation process? The re-loadable card requires AND VERIFIES a valid address and social, and then they want to send a personalized card. Needless to say I've cancelled the pre-paid card, and now its just like a non-reloadable card.

Sorry if this seems a noob question, but this is the first time I've tried to use one of these, so in this sense I am.

[Lena Duvall]

From what I understand, prepaid non reloadable gift cards do not require any personal information to use and make purchases. I know for VV, they can be loaded with up to $500 and used in-person or online as a credit card. Reloadable debit cards, as you've discovered, can be acquired with just money initially, but they require one's real world name, SSN, phone number, and address to receive the permanent card.

[hornsfan4life]

Originally Posted by GoAheadMkMyDay

I've just got my first prepaid debit card, but its forcing me (i.e. won't activate without) to submit a lot of personal info to activate and register the card. I selected a re-loadable card so I use it in the future when needed without the hassle/potential visibility of getting another card. Should I have got a non-reloadable card? Would that not require a registration/activation process? The re-loadable card requires AND VERIFIES a valid address and social, and then they want to send a personalized card. Needless to say I've cancelled the pre-paid card, and now its just like a non-reloadable card.

Sorry if this seems a noob question, but this is the first time I've tried to use one of these, so in this sense I am.

Post 9/11 ALL pre-paid debit cards have to verify your identity, which means submitting real and verifiable personal information. You can't get around it, if you want to use a pre-paid debit card as far as I know.

Gift cards bearing the Visa, MasterCard or American Express logo work differently. Those do not have to be registered for use, BUT once the predetermined value is gone they usually don't have an option to be reloaded.

[rexdutchman]

CASH, is King

[ValenTX]

You also have to factor in what happens if the card gets lost or stolen. Would you want to just write off whatever balance was left? Or would you expect the issuing bank to cancel the card and issue a new one? If you expect the latter then you gotta pony up the personal info. Otherwise what is to stop a total stranger from claiming it was their card, get the one you are carrying cancelled and a replacement sent to them?

[gdwtwilight2000]

Can prepaid gift cards be used outside the US? I thought the answer was no, so for example, you can't charge p411.

[GoAheadMkMyDay]

Originally Posted by rexdutchman

CASH, is King

NOT for booking a hotel, it isn't.

[GingerKatt]

Walmart has a Bluebird AmEx card with NO fees and not a lot of special personal info required. On those cards that require a SS #, I simply change the last # of my SS #. No problem. Just remember what it is because they use it to verify it's you sometimes. It's not really legally to be asked for that # except from the government. So far I've had no trouble changing the last number. If they ask, I'll say I made a mistake, but they won't. It's not legal for them to have that number. You can even vary your name slightly.

[GoAheadMkMyDay]

For the WM re-loadable VISA card I got, they verified the social by asking me to answer questions that could ONLY have been worked out by looking at the history of my SSN. From previous answers, they do have the right since 9/11 to check this.

But the bigger concern for me, was that once they got my info they wanted to send me a personal card to the house. REALLY didn't want to see that happen.

Seems the answer will be to get a non-reloadable

Originally Posted by GingerKatt

Walmart has a Bluebird AmEx card with NO fees and not a lot of special personal info required. On those cards that require a SS #, I simply change the last # of my SS #. No problem. Just remember what it is because they use it to verify it's you sometimes. It's not really legally to be asked for that # except from the government. So far I've had no trouble changing the last number. If they ask, I'll say I made a mistake, but they won't. It's not legal for them to have that number. You can even vary your name slightly.