The main advantage of a prepaid credit card is the ability to help the owner control their spending, after all, you cannot spend what you do not have. With this kind of card the consumer can only spend what they have deposited to the card. In this regard, a prepaid credit card is in effect a prepaid debit card.

There are many different types of prepaid credit cards on the market vying for your business, but to get the best card for you, you need to compare the pros and cons about each card. One card may sound attractive with a reward program and cash back, but you may find that they do not report to credit bureaus. A card such as this would not be the best choice for someone trying to establish or re-establish his / her credit rating. So if building credit is the aim, select a prepaid card that reports to the credit bureaus.

Unlike other credit cards, prepaid credit cards do not generally have an APR (Annual Percentage Rate) factored in, but there may be a monthly service fee. When a monthly fee is attached to a prepaid credit card, a comparison of the various fees and what they cover must be used in any comparison between similar cards.

Compare also whether or not there are any transaction fees to use the cards, for example some cards attract a fee when used at ATMs (Automatic Teller Machines).

Are the cards re-loadable? Some prepaid credit cards allow the user to reload money into their card when the deposit has been used up. This gives users much better control over their spending as they tend to know how much they have available and can afford to spend.

These kinds of credit cards are good for those without credit or damaged credit histories, who are trying to get a credit history or repair their credit rating. As such, the ease with which these cards can be applied for is also an important yardstick to use when making comparisons.