American Express® Prepaid Card

Ongoing APR
N/A
Setup Fee
$0.00
Reports to Major Credit Bureaus?
No
Expert Rating: 4.95 / 5 stars

American Express® Prepaid Card Summary

  • Fewer fees than other prepaid cards

  • One free ATM withdrawal every month

  • No credit checks or overdraft fees

Creditnet's Full Review

American Express® has added a "fewer fees" prepaid card to its popular suite of cards. In fact, the only fee this card charges is an ATM fee of $2. You may not even need to pay this fee if you only withdraw once a month—you get one free ATM withdrawal every month (up to $400 at a time). Here are the fees you won't be paying with this card:

  • No activation fees
  • No load fees
  • No monthly fees
  • No annual fees
  • No purchases fees
  • No overdraft fees
  • No inactivity fees
  • No foreign transaction fees

Loading funds is easy. Just enter your account info online to load/reload whenever you want for free. You can also load up to $5,000 from your paycheck each month via direct deposit. Or purchase a MoneyPak® at a local retailer like Walmart, CVS, 7-11, and Walgreens. For a limited time, American Express® will refund you the cost of your first MoneyPak®!

And as a card-carrying member, you'll enjoy the many benefits that make American Express® so popular with its cardholders:

  • Great customer service: They've won awards because they're so good!
  • Purchase protection: If an eligible item purchased with this card is accidentally damaged or stolen within 90 days of purchase, American Express® will reimburse you in full.
  • Fraud protection: If your card is lost or stolen, you won't be held responsible for any fraudulent activity. American Express® will actually replace the stolen funds.
  • Roadside assistance: Car trouble? Just call the number on the back of your card and help will be on its way in no time.
  • Global assist: If you find yourself needing emergency assistance and are more than 100 miles from home, American Express® can help you find the local help you need wherever you are in the world.
  • Discounts on travel, entertainment, dining, shopping and more: Merchants we know and love pair up with American Express to offer cardholders great discounts and deals.

You get all these benefits for virtually no fees with the American Express® Prepaid Card. And since you can only spend what's preloaded on the card, there's no risk of overdrafting or ruining your credit.

Have less-than-perfect credit? The American Express® Prepaid Card is a great way for you to start developing good spending and budgeting habits. Regular use of your prepaid card may even earn you an invitation by American Express® to apply for one of their charge cards. Charge cards report your financial activity to credit bureaus, which means your on-time payments and responsible use could help improve your credit standing.

Creditnet's Expert Rating & Review

Expert Rating: 4.95 / 5 stars
Favorite Card Features:

We love that this prepaid card allows consumers to remain debt free, costs pretty much nothing to use, yet still provides the type of benefits common to credit cards (such as travel insurance, roadside assistance, $0 liability on fraudulent purchases, etc.). And use your card as often as you like as you won't pay any transaction fees!

Least Favorite Features:

Nada.

Our Final Take:

This is one of the best prepaid cards on the market. The only fee is a $2 ATM fee, but this can easily be avoided by using the checkout register to withdraw funds (plus, your first ATM withdrawal each month is free). You'll receive much of the same consumer protection benefits on this card as you would if you were using a credit card. And you can direct deposit your paycheck to your card, bypassing the need for a checking account. In terms of prepaid cards, they don't get much better than the American Express Prepaid Card!

This content is not provided or commissioned by the company whose products are featured on this site. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or evaluations provided here are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the Advertiser. This site may be compensated through the Advertiser's affiliate programs.

Offer details may have changed since the last update of the information on this page. Please see Fees, Terms & Conditions for updated and complete information.

Purchase Rates
Intro APR: N/A Credit Required: bad
Intro Period: N/A Set Up Fee $0.00
Ongoing APR: N/A % Annual Fee $0.00
Penalty APR: N/A
Balance Transfer
Intro APR✝: N/A
Intro Period: N/A
Ongoing APR: N/A %
Penalty APR:
Transfer Fee: N/A
✝ Must initiate transfer: N/A
Cash Advance Rates
Ongoing APR: N/A %
Penalty APR: N/A
Advance Fee: N/A
Miscellaneous
Other Rates
Foreign
Transaction Fee:
0.00%
Min. Interest Charge: N/A
Credit Line
Min: N/A
Max: N/A
Penalty Fees
Late Payment:
N/A
Over the Credit Limit: N/A
Returned Payment: $0.00