SAN ANTONIO – Lesley Robinson switched to a prepaid card because she was fed up with traditional banking.
"The bank account was charging me too many fees," she said.
Not everyone uses a prepaid card as a substitute for a bank account.
"Many prepaid card users use the prepaid card as a tool to keep themselves on a budget," said Consumer Reports' Money Adviser Margot Gilman.
Unlike regular bank cards, you don't need to link prepaid cards to an account. And, there's no credit check. You simply load them with cash and pay your bills or make purchases.
Consumer Reports rated 23 prepaid cards and found not all are great values.
For example, the netSpend Prepaid Visa Pay as You Go plan charges one to two dollars every time you make a purchase.
The netSpend Prepaid Visa Fee Advantage plan and the AccountNow Gold Visa charge $9.95 a month.
The American Express for Target prepaid card is not insured by the FDIC.
Bluebird, a prepaid card issued by American Express and Walmart got top ratings because there are no monthly fees, no activation fees, no purchase fees and no charged to load money. It also has a wide network of MoneyPass ATMs that are free to use.
Consumer Reports gave several other cards high ratings including Chase Liquid Visa, H&R Block Emerald Prepaid MasterCard and Prepaid Visa Rush Card with the Rush unlimited plan.
More information on prepaid cards is available at www.DefendYourDollars.org.