Saving: Best prepaid cards

In today's Saving with 6abc, we've got the best prepaid cards recommended by Consumer Reports.

Millions of Americans now use prepaid cards to manage their money.

Unlike regular bank cards, you don't need to link these to an account, and you don't need to go through a credit check to get them. And, some are better than others

Prepaid cards are easy to use. Just load them with cash and then use them to pay bills or buy things. But before you get a prepaid card, you need to make sure you won't be wasting money on fees.

Consumer Reports just looked at and rated nearly a dozen.

Like many people Lesley Robinson has switched to a prepaid card. She especially likes it to pay bills because she is fed up with traditional banking.

"Bank account was charging me too many fees, for overdrafts and interest fees. So I choose to close them out and go prepaid," said Leslie.

Not everyone with a prepaid card uses it as a substitute for a bank account.

"Many prepaid card users use the prepaid card as a tool to keep themselves on a budget, by loading a certain amount for say food or entertainment."

Consumer Reports just rated 23 prepaid cards. Not all are great values.

Margot Gilman, "It can be difficult to tell what the fees are and some of the cards are quite expensive to use."

For example the netSpend Prepaid Visa Pay as You Go plan charges one to two dollars every time you make a purchase. And there's no cap on those fees. And the netSpend Prepaid Visa Fee Advantage plan charged $9.95 per month. So does the AccountNow Gold Visa Prepaid Card and its fees can be hard to figure out.

Also a problem - the American Express for Target prepaid card, because it's not insured by the FDIC.

Bluebird, a prepaid card issued by American Express and Walmart, got top ratings.

"There's no monthly fee, no activation fee, no fee for making purchases or paying bills and no charge to load money either by direct deposit or at Walmart," said Margot.

Bluebird also has a wide network of MoneyPass ATM's that are free to use.

You can get more information on how to evaluate prepaid cards by visiting defendyourdollars.org.