Vision Premier/Preferred Prepaid Card Reviews

Overview

Vision Prepaid cards are reloadable prepaid debit cards that are marketed as an alternative to both cash and traditional banking accounts. Vision Prepaid users can load their cards with funds via direct deposit or through third parties such as retailers, MoneyGram ExpressPayment, PayZone, GreenDot MoneyPak, Visa ReadyLink, Western Union, or PayPal. They can then use the card as a normal debit card at any location that accepts Visa debit transactions.

Vision Prepaid cards come in two varieties: Vision Premier and Vision Preferred. Vision Premier cards charge users monthly fees based on whether they choose to load the cards via direct deposit or through a number of third-party channels. These cards come with variable monthly fees but do not charge users for each transaction. Vision Preferred cards do not charge monthly fees but do charge users for each transaction.

Vision Premier/Preferred Fee Breakdown

All Vision Prepaid users must decide whether they would rather pay a fixed monthly fee (either 7.95 or $9.95) on the Premier plan or a $1.00 fee on each transaction on the Preferred plan. So if a cardholder expects to make more than ten purchases with the card per month, the monthly fees that come with the Vision Premier card will save them money. If a cardholder expects to make fewer than eight purchases per month, then the Vision Preferred card is the better option. If a cardholder opts for the Premier plan, it is best to load the card via direct deposit in order to lower the monthly fee to $7.95 and enjoy free customer service. Other fees may also apply, such as activation fees, load fees, customer service fees, and ATM fees. A full list of fees for all Vision Prepaid card types is available below:

Vision Prepaid Card Fees

At a glance

Founded: 2003

Location: Houston, Texas

Issuer: PreCash, Inc.

Website: visionprepaid.com

Phone number: 1-800-207-1805

E-mail: n/a

Featured User Reviews

Opon discovering charges on my card that where not authorized by myself, I contacted Vision customer service to have the card replaced…big mistake two weeks have passed and still no card and no way to access my money.

Customer service is very limited as to what they can do and every call generates a charge on my card for 2.95.

-Paul S., Ripoff Report

Vision Prepaid Cards charge exorbitant fees. They also hold money for at least two weeks, sometimes more. Any pre-authorization will be held for as long as they want. They also charge customers who call customer service and speak to a representative. It is also very difficult to get a hold of customer service.

-Anonymous, Ripoff Report

What other reviewers are saying

Ripoff Report

Vision Prepaid cards have received 17 complaints on Ripoff Report, most of which describe negative experiences with customer support. In most of these cases, it seems that the cardholders noticed some abnormal account activity—delayed deposits, missing transactions, unexpected fees—and attempted to resolve the issue by contacting customer support. The complainants describe long wait times, dropped calls, and frustration with the fact that they were charged each time they were able to speak with a live representative.

The Better Business Bureau

The BBB does not maintain a profile for Vision Prepaid itself; instead, it directs related inquiries to the BBB profile of PreCash, Inc., Vision’s parent company. PreCash, Inc. has an “A+” rating with the BBB and is showing 35 complaints in the last three years. The majority of these complaints (25) are related to the product or service provided by the company, with the second most reported issue being billing and collection (6). A review of the available complaint details reveals that most complainants are reporting issues with blocked accounts and payment disputes. PreCash has resolved 34 of the 35 complaints successfully, while one complaint was not resolved to the customer’s satisfaction despite a good faith effort from PreCash.

Other sources

In April 2012, U.S. News named Vision Preferred one of the five worst prepaid cards on the market.

Our take

Vision Prepaid cards do not appear to be an especially appealing alternative to bank accounts, cash, or even other prepaid cards. The Vision Premier card with direct deposit is the best deal of the three, but it still charges a $7.95 monthly fee and a $2.50 ATM fee for all withdrawals. $7.95 per month comes out to just over $95 per year, which is far more than most basic checking accounts and roughly equivalent to the annual fees of many credit cards. Vision Premier might be appealing because it doesn’t require a credit check and is theoretically more secure than cash, but unless you constantly overdraft your checking account, you will end up overpaying for storing your money on an Vision Premier card.

Vision Preferred is possibly even less competitive despite its lack of a monthly fee. The $1 fee per transaction, $0.95 load fee, and $4.95 fee charged for inactivity can all add up quickly, and the $1.95 customer service fee appears to be a major point of contention among cardholders. Overall, we do not recommend Vision Prepaid cards due to their excessive fee schedules and the types of complaints filed by users.

Have you used a Vision Premier or Vision Preferred prepaid card? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below: