Every once in a while, you will find discounts or cash back for purchasing prepaid credit cards.  These cards will have the Visa or Master Card logo on them.  These prepaid cards generally come in denominations of $25, $50, $100, $200, and sometimes more.  They also come with heavy fees that total 3% of the card’s value or more.

I usually shy away from purchasing these prepaid cards except in certain circumstances.  Those circumstances are when stores offer cash back or a rebate for purchasing them.  I’ve seen $20 back if you purchase $300 worth of cards, or $10 for purchasing $100 worth of cards.  This cash back incentive or rebate will wipe out the fees you would normally pay for purchasing the cards.

I will purchase these credit cards with this discount or reward if I can get a better deal by purchasing at the store offering them than I can at the store I plan to spend them at.  For example, if I have a card that offers 5% cash back or reward points at a store offering these for sale, then I can purchase them and spend them at a store where I only get 2% or 3% cash back or reward points.

I will also sometimes purchase the prepaid credit cards if I can get some rewards at a store that offers other perks (fuel rewards, spending thresholds, etc) or to meet a minimum spend amount on a credit card.

The downside of these cards are that they have to be spent in a specific amount at a store that will drain them completely or let you split the spending onto multiple cards.  A few good ideas include purchasing Target gift cards or Disney gift cards.  You could also purchase airline gift cards for future travel.