AARP® Foundation Prepaid MasterCard®
Consumer Reviews, Fees, Credit Score, Application & Best Alternatives
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The AARP Foundation Prepaid Mastercard from Green Dot gives seniors a new way to manage their money. With low fees that can be waived in certain circumstances and various degrees of security, having this reloadable prepaid debit card is much safer than carrying cash. It is also an effective way to control expenses.
Key Features
- Free Direct Deposit of Social Security & Paychecks
- Use it for purchases everywhere Debit MasterCard® is accepted
- No overdraft fees
- No withdrawal fee at over 22,000 MoneyPass® ATMs nationwide. A fee of $2.50 will apply for withdrawals made outside the MoneyPass network, plus any fee the ATM owner may assess
- Monthly Service Fee can be waived
- Walmart Rapid reload
Our Take
The AARP Foundation Prepaid MasterCard from Green Dot is an effective way to manage cash. It is a debit card, but it is not tied to a bank account. It also doesn't require that the cardholder have a bank account to link to the card. All an individual needs is cash to load onto the card. This can be done at one of thousands of retail locations. Your card can be swiped to be reloaded or you can buy a MoneyPak that can be used to reload your card online. You can also do bank transfer.
There are fees associated with reloading unless you are having money direct deposited to the card. If you opt for the direct deposit of your social security check, paycheck, or your tax return, then you will not have to pay a charge. However, there are limits to how much money can be deposited in cash and how much can be direct deposited. These limits are the same as the maximum cash or direct deposit balances on the card.
There are also certain degrees of security that are had with the card. For instance, you have a certain amount of fraud protection. If Green Dot suspects that there is any fraudulent activity on your card, they do reserve the right to restrict access. Typically, this is only done if the activity is suspicious. They also take measures when you report a lost or stolen card within two days of you noticing that it is gone. This proves how having a prepaid reloadable debit card can be much safer than carrying cash.
Pros
- Monthly fee can be waived
- Stored value card benefits
- Fee free at MoneyPass
Cons
- Monthly fee
- No credit reporting
- No reward sprogram
Basic Information |
Issuer: | Other Issuers |
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Network: | Mastercard® |
Category: | Consumer (Stored Value) |
Common Uses: |
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Rewards: | No |
Rates & Fees |
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Introductory APR (%): | N/A |
Applied Towards: | N/A |
Intro Period: | N/A |
Regular APR: | N/A |
Regular APR Type: | N/A |
Annual Fee: | $0* |
Balance Transfer: | No* |
APR on Cash Advances: | N/A |
Grace Period: | N/A |
Late Payment Fee: | N/A |
Alternatives, Compare AARP® Foundation Prepaid MasterCard® With Similar Offers
Monthly fee is waived in any monthly billing cycle when you: - load at least $1,000.00 to your Card; - have thirty (30) posted purchase transactions (excludes all ATM declined withdrawals, ATM balance inquiries, teller cash advances and online bill payments); or - load at least $250.00 to your Card using direct deposit.