How to Make Money With Prepaid Cards

How to Make Money With Prepaid Cards
Written By
John Hewitt
John Hewitt
Dec 9, 2009
2 minute read
Online holiday shopping ideas with pay credit card David via laptop.
Image Credit: ArLawKa AungTun/iStock/GettyImages

Earning money with prepaid credit cards is easy, but you won't be retiring from the income. Some credit card companies offer referral bonuses in the form of rewards points or cash back for encouraging people to sign up for prepaid cards and conventional credit cards. You can earn money through web marketing affiliate programs for every prepaid credit card you sell through your website. If you're looking to make money through cash back or rewards programs, pay close attention to all fees you may be paying on the card to ensure that you are actually turning a profit.

Step 1

Examine the cardholder agreement carefully. Avoid buying prepaid cads from retail locations that don't provide you with a detailed contract. Most of the better prepaid cards offer no transaction fees, free ATM usage and other perks. The worst cards charge money on every transaction, charge large ATM fees, have a substantial activation fee and charge you even more money if you attempt to make a transaction that is too large for the card balance to cover.

If you're looking to make money through cash back or rewards programs, pay close attention to all fees you may be paying on the card to ensure that you are actually turning a profit.

Step 2

Consider using a prepaid debit card as a means to borrow money from a credit card account without paying cash advance fees. Purchase a prepaid card with another credit card and then take the prepaid card to an ATM and withdraw the funds. Using this method, you can borrow cash at low rates, particularly if the credit card being used is in a 0% introductory period.

Step 3

Avoid paying overdraft fees when using a prepaid debit card. If you are coming close to the card limit, you can empty out the account only with an exact purchase. One way to accomplish this is to buy an item from a store paying only part of it in cash and use the card for the remainder. For example, if you had $2 left on a prepaid card, you could select a $5 item from the store, pay $3 in cash and then use the card to pay the remaining $2.

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Step 4

Collect any cash back or rewards points that you may have earned by using the prepaid card and invest them into purchasing new cards. This will earn you a small profit so long as you carefully manage your fees and avoid incurring any penalties. There is no credit check for purchasing most prepaid cards, so you can attain as many of them as you like.

John Hewitt

John Hewitt began freelancing in 2008, writing about subjects ranging from music to stock trading, the energy industry and business. His ghostwritten work has appeared all over the Web. He attended New York University, pursuing a…

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