You should be able to use Visa gift cards anywhere where Visa is accepted. Paypal usually accepts them
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Mine isn't accepted (I've assumed because the cards I buy lack identifying information), which means I'm limited, and pissed off when sites claim to accept Visa (meaning I'll spend NZ$30 to grab a new card), then take me to a PayPal account creation when I try to buy something.
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PayPal may take them but it doesn't mean you can use them for everything. Take Netflix for example. The misses wanted her own Netflix account and doesn't have credit to get a credit card. She bought a pre-paid and used PayPal to setup her account. It didn't work and when she called Netflix and asked why. They flat out told her they scan for pre-paid cards and are setup with PayPal to only take payments if the account holder has a real credit card on file.
Why is this, because they need to know that the money is going to be there on your account while also having your real billing information in case needed for something like fraud or damages to their services caused by you the user.
My question is, why are you wasting money on pre-paid. You should just get a real card, have it co-signed if need with a limit of $100 or $200. This will allow you to get the things you want and at the same time build your credit rating up for bigger things later on. That's what I did, and I got a score now that up in the 800 range and I'm only 24 years old. Got approved for both my car loans. My 1st car a year ago I waited a day for it to be approved. And just a few months back I got a brand new fully load jeep wrangler 4x4 4 door sharha unlimited and was approved on the spot. Guy said it could take 2 hours for the back to approve me and that he don't think they match the interest rate for me that was offered by another bank. 5 mins later he calls me and saids your approved and they will match the rate, keys are here waiting for you.
So my point is, forget pre-paid, go with a real one, even if you got to get a low limit and a co-signer. Only use it when you can pay cash for what you are buying. And always put the cash back onto the card before the bill comes out. You will never pay interest this way and will build up a good credit score for the furture.
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Not everyone wants a credit card, for various reasons. In my case, I simply don't trust myself to not suddenly buy everything I want and get in loads of debt.
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You don't know me. I'll get in debt somehow.
The fact that a couple of years ago, I stopped paying my internet bill for a couple of months so I could buy more discounted games around December / January shows that I have a problem, and I will do nothing that will let me spend money I don't have.
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even 200$ can be much if you don't have the money to pay you're debt. You're missing the point here..NOT everyone knows how to handle debts and pay their dues on time. Thats where the pre paid card is a lifesaver as you will never have to worry about being in debt with a institution runned by money sharks
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imo the whole point of pre paid is not to have a real cc. A cc is basiscly a loan and not evryone is ready for that...even if they have co-signers
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Yeah, it sucks, I get my purchases with a Visa gift card and I'm limited in the same way.
And now I'm also like you in that I want Alpha Protocol. :P
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Well i tend to use paypal as the main payment proccesor but when i select paypal, i just add that credit card to my paypal account and that works like a charm. If you're over 18yr you can try out "neteller.com" wich is like paypal but allows you to create a virtual cc wich in my case works on every shop i ever went. Again, if you choose paypal to pay, and just add a cc to paypal there should'nt be any problems
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never tried it before but it should be manageble to "add funds to neteller" with that visa, and then pay with the virtual mastercard that neteller creates for you
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This explains why I can't use the cards.
Unfortunately, that means I'm still left with begging friends if I want something not on Steam or Amazon. Lucky I have some awesome friends.
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That's odd, maybe it's a regional thing or something because there are people who claim they can use prepaid cards with their paypal.
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i have, mastercard though...But i'm from EU so maybe that has something to do with it
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paypal certainly does not accept prepaid cards. I have tried. they tell you you entered an invalid number, steal $1 from the card they "couldn't find" for each failed registration attempt and then delete your emails when you contact support about it.
Locked my account when after 6 months and 7 ignored emails I provided proof(transaction history on my prepaid card clearly showing paypal billing) and demanded they either acknowledge the card exists or give me back my $3(it was the principal not the $3 itself really), and still not even an acknowledgement email back from support for it, just suddenly locked.
edit- prepaid american express
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they do not "steal" 1$...its simply a measure to see if the card belongs to you. I've done it a dozens of times with my neteller virtual mastercard(only 1week lifespan after wich you have to generate a new one for free) and to charge your cc but they give back your money. Its not their fault you use a card on wich they cannot do refunds ;) Thats why you should use either a debit card(linked to a real bankaccount) or a online wallet like neteller where they can refund that 1$
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fine, so borrowed without permission(or notification) and every intention of giving it back....only they didn't/
(instead they entirely ignored emails to support(even though the locked account proved they read them) asking(politely, the whole theft/"Demand for my $3 to be returned" thing didn't happen until the very last one and that was only to make a point and see if maybe they'd reply to that at least) why the card didn't work even though they could clearly bill it which was all I wanted to do anyway(this was before they added that line about gift cards) and then locked my account(incidentally making me lose my $30 ebay giftcard I had already linked(ignored that message too)) and having to start a new paypal if I wanted to use their service(i don't obviously since if anything ever goes wrong I know what to expect) ever again in the future. the $3 wasn't the point at all)
same difference :shrug smiley that I don't know of:
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Was the card activated when you bought it? You might need to visit the card's site and activate it.
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Sites that don't accept them likely have a reason for it. Believe it or not, people can scam very easily with those cards. Also, a lot of those cards have restrictions that are not easy to work around which is why so many stores online have to say no to their use. The support can be a pain in the ass indeed. Take it from someone who does billing support for an online service, we hate prepaid credit cards because they often don't work and often have stuff that has to be done to get them to work.
Ask your bank if they provide a debit card with a checking account and see if you can go that route. Many banks provide debit cards for free that are treated like a credit card but withdraw money from your bank account. I have one with my bank and use it for almost everything I buy online. Like another person mentioned, getting a credit card that isn't prepaid also may not be a bad idea. These days you do have to have credit for most anything and a low limit card used to buy stuff and paid off right away is a great way to build up some credit. That can help you later with getting a job, buying a house, car, etc. Seriously, if you are over 18 and don't have either a checking account or credit card, it is something you should try to get and start building your own credit.
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OP, what sort of gift card is it? I know I have a vanilla visa card, and I have figured out how to get that working just about everywhere.
Get your zip registered, and once you have that, you spam it in every field that you can. To use it in places other than amazon, steam, etc, use paypal, and then "pay as a guest". it shoudl work from there.
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I have one prepaid visa that works and one that doesn't. Maybe if you get one issued by a major bank? That's the only difference I can think of with the two I have.
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You have to buy the pre paid cc that is reloadable and where you have to register. It works like a real cc, but no credit as you can only spend what you put on. BMO in Canada has a travel visa or mc that allows this. Just search for pre paid cc and your country and you will likely find a website with a lot of information on how to get something.
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Why is it that the websites that have the best game deals don't accept a pre-paid credit card as payment? I missed out on the bundlestars bundle and the last groupees bundle because of it, and now gamersgate has Alpha Protocol for $2.99 and they don't accept prepaid cards either.
The only places I've found that do accept them are Amazon and Steam... Are there any others?
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