I like to use pre-paid credit cards to order items online. The only thing I don't like is that there are times I have a small amount of money left on it (ex. 50 cents). Does anyone know how to use this small amount up before the credit card company starts applying their fees to it? Maybe a website that I can donate the change to, no matter how small the amount? I would rather see it go to a good cause than the credit card company taking it back.
Set up a pay pal account and put the remaining money on the paypal account. this way you can save it and use it for itmes like on ebay and other sites that accept payment through pay pal.
how about buying a small candy bar or pack of gum and paying any difference from what is on the card and the purchase
What about combining them on a small purchase through something like eBay's MissionFish?
Otherwise, I know Change Round Up
www.changeroundup.com/
offers the ability to do small change donations at certain websites.
You can always finish out the balance with paying it on a purchase. Then pay the remainder with either a credit card, debit card, or cash - or even all three!
Join PayPal. Then use it as your first payer with anything else as the second payer.
One important thing is to know exactly how much is remaining on the card. If there is 25 cents, then use the card the same as you'd use a quarter. Knowing the remaining balance will help the cashier zero-out your card.
I'd buy postage stamps, or use when mailing a package or oversized envelope.
If you save up a few cards, you can use them at the register for a purchase. Use as many cards as you want to pay for the purchase. The trick to using them is to know the EXACT amount that is left on the card. If you have 3 cards and they have .49, .54 and .59 on them, just let the cashier know the amount on each card, and she can run them for the amounts on the cards one at a time. What is left over you can pay with cash or other tender. Hope this helps.
Just wanted to let everyone know that I tried the PayPal way and it wouldn't let me do it. Some of the cards were not accepted by PayPal and to have more than 2 cards listed they wanted me to pay for that.
I tried to use them in a store but the stores view them as credit cards and insist on a $10 minimum of charging.
I'm emailing a couple of charities to see if I can donate these tiny amounts to them. I'll come back and update here when I hear from them.
Thank you to everyone for their suggestions!
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I'm wanting to find out where to buy a prepaid charge card and how it works?
By Jill Bates from Steedman, MO
You can get prepaid cards in many places: Walmart, Walgreens, Kroger, etc. You can even get one on-line. A popular one on-line is Green Dot. The only thing I would warn you about is how much money is removed from your card every 30 days after purchase. I used to think it would be nice to buy a card and stash it in my car for emergencies. At least until I heard that with the card I was going to buy they removed $6 every 30 days.
I've heard that some of the credit cards will charge you every time you go on line to check the balance.
Try applying for a PayPal business debit card (not a line of credit card but a debit card like the one a bank gives you for your checking account). You can transfer as much or as little of an amount as you want to for a small one time fee. Also, people can pay you via PayPal for a small fee (that's how ThriftyFun pays me when I win a contest).
