The Millennium Advantage Prepaid MasterCard issued by New Millennium Bank is designed for those with poor credit. It is almost impossible to function today without a credit card: it is difficult to make online purchases, buy an airline ticket, rent a car, buy groceries or make any number of purchases without a card. It is more and more difficult to find stores that accept personal checks, and walking around with cash isn’t smart. What do you do, if your credit is bad and you can’t get a credit card? Apply for the Millennium Advantage Prepaid MasterCard. No credit check or income verification is conducted when you apply, and acceptance is virtually guaranteed, fast and easy.
The concept of a prepaid credit card (sometimes called a stored-value card) is simple to understand. It is not a credit card and it is not a debit card tied to a bank account. Instead of being extended credit and making payments (and paying interest) on that credit, you load up your card with money and then use the card to pay your bills or make purchases. You set your own limit by the amount of money you add to the card. There is no interest, and there are no worries about getting into debt you can’t easily pay off. You control how much is added to the card and how much you spend. You can prevent overspending while using all of the convenience offered. You live within your means. The card looks like a credit card to the world, and you are free to use it wherever MasterCard is accepted.
Adding money to your card is very easy. You can do an account transfer, set up a direct deposit of your paycheck, send payment by mail or go to any one of the authorized partners (typically found at grocery stores, pharmacies, 7-Eleven, Walmart, etc.). Direct deposit is the easiest way to load your card. Designate part or all of your paycheck to be transferred to your card. Never stand in line again to cash your paycheck, and avoid the check-cashing fees. You have no minimum balance required on your card, but the maximum amount of funds that can be charted at any one time is $2,500. There is no interest and no overlimit fees.
There are fees with any prepaid credit card – you pay for the convenience and opportunity of having a credit card. Be sure to look at all fees carefully and compare. The set-up fee of $99.00 is higher for your New Millennium Advantage MasterCard than for some other prepaid card. Each time you add money to your card, there is a $5.95 fee, and each time you take cash from an ATM, the charge is $1.95. The bill payment fee is $0.75 for every bill paid online or over the phone, and the card replacement fee is $9.95 (if you card is lost or stolen and you need a replacement).
Use of the automated voice response fee is $0.50, charged when you call customer service to check your balance on the automated response system. Be careful if you all and speak live with customer service – the fee will be $1.00 per minute that you talk. You are expected to use the card, and New Millennium Bank charges a non-activity card fee of $3.00 if there is no activity on the account 60 days after the last transaction was made. Please check all fees if you apply for the card, because they can change.
What about Merchant Pre-Authorizations? Sometimes a merchant requests a pre-authorization (to be sure that they will be paid). This is essentially a hold in the amount of purchase on your account, which means that amount of money is tied up. While there is rarely an issue for you, because the hold goes away as soon as you actually make the purchase, from time to time a pre-authorization request can be more than the total purchase and the difference between the pre-authorization and your actual purchase is not released immediately – it could be a few days to a week. An example is that gas stations often pre-authorize $75 when you swipe your card, even though you typically spend much less than that amount. While the merchant pre-authorization doesn’t happen every day, and it doesn’t always create a problem for you, you should be aware of the circumstance in good management of your card.
New Millennium Bank is a large banking institution which offers a range of banking products, including prepaid credit cards. Your New Millennium Advantage Prepaid MasterCard is subject to the Fair Credit Billing Act that governs all credit cards. Compare issuers of prepaid cards before you apply to have confidence.
It is important to note that this card does not report cardholder transactions to credit bureaus. This might be a drawback for people trying to rebuild or establish credit.
The good news is that you have protection against theft or fraudulent purchases. Your liability is capped at $50 for purchases made on a stolen card. If you are currently functioning with cash only, and it is lost or stolen, you are out of luck. The New Millennium Advantage Prepaid MasterCard offers you protection.
Using a prepaid credit card, such as the New Millennium Advantage MasterCard issued by New Millennium Bank, can help you manage your spending and expenses, and help you get control of your financial life. You live within your means rather than racking up debt with a credit card. If you are unable to get a credit card, and may not even have a bank account, this prepaid card can help you function. The New Millennium Advantage MasterCard will also help you simplify and streamline paying your bills, if you do so online. Highlights of this card include instant acceptance with no credit check, no interest payments and the widely accepted MasterCard name. If you don’t need to rebuild credit but simply want the benefits of a prepaid card that is convenient to use, consider applying for this card. |