Review of American Express Prepaid Card

Limited Time Offer Through June 30, 2012: Load an American Express Prepaid Card with $200 or more, get a $25 gift card for free. No catches, no sneaky fees, just a free $25 bonus. (You can get up to $75 by opening up three cards per household: one for you, one for your spouse, and one for one of your kids to get $75 total out of this offer.) You could even open the cards, get the bonuses, and withdraw the money via ATM for absolutely free. (Of course AMEX would prefer you try out the card and use it; I'm just saying')

This offer ends on June 30 so you just have a few days to snag the free cash!

American Express is known for having great credit card products backed with award winning customer service.

But can you do business with them if you don't want a credit card?

Now you can with the American Express Prepaid Card.

Benefits of Using the American Express Prepaid Card

Before we dive into the details, here are some of the main points:

• No overdraft fees. It is impossible to overdraft the card.
• No annual, monthly, daily, customer service or transaction fees. Virtually fee-free, see below.
• One free ATM withdrawal per month.
• After your first ATM withdrawal you will pay a $2 ATM withdrawal fee ' literally the only fee associated with the prepaid card.
• Use it anywhere American Express is accepted just like you would with an AMEX credit card or gift card.

I think this prepaid card works best for:

• Families that want to provide their college student some spending cash, but don't want to give them the ability to rack up massive overdraft charges or credit card debt.
• Families that are trying to teach their kids about money and spending.
• Individuals that want to keep themselves from spending more money than they have. (You cannot overdraft on the card. It won't let you. That's awesome.)

How to Use the AMEX Prepaid Card

Using the American Express Prepaid Card is a simple process:

Load money onto the card. This can be done via direct deposit, a transfer from your bank account, or through a reload network like Vanilla or MoneyPak. This first two methods are what you want because they don't include fees. Vanilla Reload Network and MoneyPak charge fees usually between $3.95 and $4.95 to put money onto the card. You don't want that. Use your bank account instead.

Spend the money as you would normally. The card can be used anywhere American Express is accepted. Need to buy groceries? You can use this card. Need to buy gas? Same thing. There isn't a catch. Your amount doesn't dwindle over time due to account fees. The only fee you pay is if you withdraw money from the card more than once per month at an ATM. Other than that, there are no fees at all.

Reload the card. Cash getting low? Reload it using some of the same methods you used to load it in the first place. (And remember to avoid paying those extra fees.)

It's that simple. Seriously. Even if you never use the card again you can get the free $25, but only if you act fast. Why wouldn't you do that?

What's the Catch to the American Express Prepaid Card?

I know, I know. You're probably a bit skeptical.

You're probably thinking, 'AMEX is willing to give me $25 for putting $200 onto a card I can use like cash ' or even just withdraw the money straight out of an ATM?'

The answer is absolutely yes. We're talking free cash for using the card. American Express earns transaction fees from merchants when you buy stuff, but it doesn't come out of your pocket. (They would pay the same type of transaction fees to AMEX whether it was a prepaid card or a credit card, so don't worry about costing your favorite merchant more money.)

'Are you sure there aren't any fees?' is probably your next question. Again, there are no fees associated with using the American Express Prepaid Card unless you withdraw funds off of the card more than once per month. Aside from that, there are no fees.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.

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