Using a Money Reload Pack

Prepaid debit cards are handy little tools to have in your money toolkit. They give you all the utility of a credit card but without the problems and hidden fees. For instance, you can’t overspend with a prepaid card and so you can’t get dinged with an overdraft fee. And you don’t make monthly payments so you’ll never get hit with a late payment fee.

Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of these types of debit cards is that they’re reloadable. You can choose when and how to load them up with cash. And you can do it at literally thousands of different locations all across the country. It’s pretty easy and convenient. Here’s how it’s done.

Find a Store Near You

Most prepaid cards are sold at retail stores. Many drug stores carry the cards as well as other retailers. You’ll find all the cards located in the same spot in the store – where the other prepaid cards, gift cards, and specialty cards are displayed. You’ll also find the money reload packs in the same location.

Individual prepaid cards usually have their own version of the money reload pack. However, a couple companies sell packs that can be used for several different brands of prepaid cards. Make sure you pick up a reload pack that can be used specifically for your card!

Bring Some Cash

In stores, you can only reload your card with cash. You can’t do it with a credit card, a gift card, or anything plastic. In some cases you can reload with a government check or payroll check but those are only possible with one or two brands of cards and then only at stores with special devices. You can look for a card and a store that will allow that but you can always be certain that cash will work

You take the cash and the reload pack up to the cashier and tell him or her how much money you want to load onto your card. They swipe the money pack through a bar code reader which loads that money onto the pack. Then they take your money and a little something extra as a reload fee (usually in the $3.00 to $6.00 range).

Activate Your Cash

Now that the pack is loaded up you have to electronically add the cash to your card’s account. You do this by either calling your prepaid card company and moving through their electronic phone system or logging into their website and entering the information there. After your identity is verified, your card is all loaded up and you can go out and use it on just about anything.

There are other ways to load up your card such as a bank ACH deposit or an automatic direct deposit. Either way is a bit more convenient than a money pack reload but they’re not nearly as common. Direct deposits and ACH deposits are topics for another time.

Final Thoughts

Prepaid debit cards entered the financial marketplace as money products intended to help people who either didn’t want credit cards or who couldn’t get credit cards. So they were originally designed for people who were used to dealing primarily in cash. That’s why the reload money pack was born.

Since that time though, reloadable prepaid cards have entered the mainstream. Many people have now discovered just how useful a prepaid card can be. The cards have taken off and the load options are expanding to give consumers more choices. Prepaid cards are a real good deal, and they could be just the financial tool you’ve been looking for.