Visa Prepaid Refresh card

Anyone here actually used this card before?

The Visa Prepaid Card.

Look, if you’re traveling and don't want to lug a fat wad of cash around—or if you just want to make sure you don't blow your entire paycheck in one weekend—this is worth a look. It's also pretty handy if you're just chilling on the couch wanting to buy something online, or if you need to give your kid some spending money for lunch or a movie without worrying they'll go broke by Tuesday. Honestly, it's just a solid option to keep things simple.
So, what makes it different from the usual stuff? It's basically the only prepaid card where you can just top it back up whenever you need to and it's good to go again immediately.
It's meant for anyone 14 or older. Here's the gist of why it's useful:

- Makes shopping quick and easy,
- Gives you more wiggle room,
- Helps you keep an eye on your budget,
- Your cash is ready whenever you are, 24/7, all year round,
- Works for online shopping,
- Stress-free travel,
- No fees for topping it back up,
- You can reload it at any local branch or through the Intranet.

so lame

That card is a total waste of time.
I only grabbed it just to see what it was like.
Sure, you can use it at grocery stores and stuff, but
I went in today to close it out and it was a complete nightmare.
The balance on the account has to be under $33 for them to actually close it, and I think they charge some kind of fee $3.25 to payout whatever leftover balance is left on the account.
But here’s the kicker: when you go to open an account, the people behind the counter don't have a clue. They don't know the fees, they barely know anything. She practically had to run to ask a coworker what the service charges were, and even then, she wasn't sure how to process the closing. Her colleague had to step in and help her finish it.
Absolute chaos.

wiredlynx28 said:That card is a total waste of time.
I only grabbed it just to see what it was like.
Sure, you can use it at grocery stores and stuff, but
I went in today to close it out and it was a complete nightmare.
The balance on the account has to be under $33 for them to actually close it, and I think they charge some kind of fee $3.25 to payout whatever leftover balance is left on the account.
But here’s the kicker: when you go to open an account, the people behind the counter don't have a clue. They don't know the fees, they barely know anything. She practically had to run to ask a coworker what the service charges were, and even then, she wasn't sure how to process the closing. Her colleague had to step in and help her finish it.
Absolute chaos.

I really don't get why anyone would bother going into a bank just to cancel a Prepaid card. If you stop adding money to it, that's it. Any change left on there will eventually just get spent.

To me, that sounds like walking into T-Mobile or Verizon and asking them to shut off a prepaid line and refund all the credit I topped up but didn't use. 🙂

He was asking about the Visa Prepaid Card, not the Visa Prepaid gift card.

Whose card is this? I mean, which banks are we talking about?

Hypo Alpe Adria

wiredlynx28 said:Hypo Alpe Adria

Thanks!👍👍👍

wiredlynx28 said:He was asking about the Visa Prepaid Card, not the Visa Prepaid gift card.

I mean, sure—but both of them fall under the prepaid umbrella. I don't really see the point in "canceling" something that's prepaid; you just stop adding funds to it and move on. Besides, I highly doubt Hypo Alpe Adria is hitting you with some kind of monthly maintenance fee for a prepaid card, right?

Visa Prepaid Card accounts are being updated, and the Prepaid gift card is intended for one-time payments
My banker told me that if I don't plan on using the Refresh card anymore, I should just close the account entirely. Since the Refresh card is tied directly to my identity, it isn't transferable.
With the gift card, you just pay something like $167 and you instantly get a card that can be handed off to anyone since it isn't registered to a specific name. Just keep in mind you have to spend the balance within 6 months, otherwise they'll shut down the account after that window closes.

wiredlynx28 said:Visa Prepaid Card accounts are being updated, and the Prepaid gift card is intended for one-time payments
My banker told me that if I don't plan on using the Refresh card anymore, I should just close the account entirely. Since the Refresh card is tied directly to my identity, it isn't transferable.
With the gift card, you just pay something like $167 and you instantly get a card that can be handed off to anyone since it isn't registered to a specific name. Just keep in mind you have to spend the balance within 6 months, otherwise they'll shut down the account after that window closes.

And what if I just don't bother unregistering it? What if I simply cut it up and toss it in the trash? That shouldn't cost me anything, and honestly, it sounds a lot easier than the whole formal process you just described. 🙂

So I went ahead and grabbed a Visa Prepaid card since I’m traveling a ton and do a lot of online shopping, but man, was I disappointed right out of the gate... I moved my cash over to the account perfectly fine, tried to buy some stuff, but absolutely nothing works. It won't even let me register it on PayPal, and every other attempt at buying something has been a total bust...👎

Anyway, anyone here actually have luck with these cards? Should I just send this junk back to them so they can refund me, and what would you guys suggest instead...🤷

I was thinking about just getting a standard Mastercard with maybe a $3-$1333 limit, just so I can pay for what I need—like hotels abroad, random online orders, whatever—or do you guys have a better idea? Thanks...🙂

Open a foreign currency account at Chase or JPMorgan Chase and grab a Visa Electron. It’s accepted everywhere and works perfectly with PayPal. You only spend what's actually in the account, so you don't have to worry about anyone draining your funds. 🙂 There aren't any membership fees for this one, unlike a Mastercard.

darkmaker94 said:Open a foreign currency account at Chase or JPMorgan Chase and grab a Visa Electron. It’s accepted everywhere and works perfectly with PayPal. You only spend what's actually in the account, so you don't have to worry about anyone draining your funds. 🙂 There aren't any membership fees for this one, unlike a Mastercard.

Can I even do this if my Chase account isn't a business account?🤷

Can someone just confirm how this actually works... so, I'm assuming I deposit money into the account (dollars or whatever, and they just convert it since it's a foreign currency account...🤷)...does it work abroad? (Might be a dumb question since it's a foreign account, but just double-checking...😁)...like, ATMs and stuff... asking because I travel a lot and want to know if it'll go through at hotels and places like that...🤷

Thanks for the help...🙂

It doesn't even matter if you don't bank there. You just walk in, open a foreign currency account, and you’ll have your card ready in about two weeks. You can fund the account using whatever currency you want—dollars, pounds, whatever—or just hand them some cash and they'll convert it on the spot. This thing works online and at any ATM or shop abroad that takes standard Visa... It's basically a debit card like a Maestro, except this one actually lets you shop online.
From what I know, Chase charges a monthly fee for foreign currency accounts, but JPMorgan Chase keeps it free. 😉

Thanks again, guys. Just did some digging, but my aunt over at Chase says I can't even use this card for online shopping...😲🤷

The guy at JPMorgan Chase was actually super helpful though, walked me through everything (internet banking works fine, don't need their specific access code, he even suggested setting up a standard checking account so I can just transfer money myself online, etc.), so I think I'm gonna head down there and get it all sorted out...😉

Appreciate the help once more...🙏

No worries. 😉 That lady over at Chase was being pretty clueless, too. 😁
By the way, the online banking fees at Wells Fargo will run you $1.75 every month.

Honestly, those people behind the counters don't have a clue what they're doing
I'm seriously thinking about moving my money over to Wells Fargo soon because Chase is driving me absolutely insane
their foreign exchange tools actually work online, though I probably shouldn't bother them with it just to keep things simple😉

So, just a few minutes ago, my dad walks in with two envelopes addressed to him from New York City. He’s looking at them totally confused—he doesn't speak a word of English—so he asked me to translate. Inside the first one, there's a Netspend Visa Prepaid Gift Card with this note saying, "Thank you for applying for a Netspend Visa Prepaid Gift Card. To use your card, you must first activate it..." and so on and so forth. The second envelope has the PIN. I asked Dad if he actually applied for any kind of card, and he was like, "No way." We don't even have a credit card in our house, and honestly, I barely understand how any of this stuff works. It’s not like he could have applied online either, since he can't even figure out how to turn on a computer.
I tried Googling it, but nothing useful came up. The only thing I found was this page, but even there, I couldn't find anything helpful— https://www.prepaidfinancialservices.com/index.aspx
Anyway, I'm completely lost, so I figured I'd start a thread here. 😬Is this some kind of scam or what? (I mean, does this even exist in the world of credit cards?) Because absolutely nobody applied for anything... Should I send them an email and tell them to get lost? Or should I just ignore the whole thing? (Does anything even happen if you don't activate the card?) I genuinely have no idea how to handle this or if I even need to react at all.
Basically, help. 😢

Sorry in advance if this topic seems super basic; I tried searching for something similar but came up empty, and I'm pretty new to this subforum. Also, sorry if my amateur questions sound silly to the experts here, but I seriously know nothing about this stuff.😳

Someone might have actually sent you money via that VISA Prepaid Gift Card, but if you aren't certain, don't touch a single thing until you've done your homework. Send them an email inquiry first and wait to see what their response is.