Prepaid Visa RushCard by Russell Simmons: Alternative if You Have Bad Credit

If you're like most people these days, your credit isn't so hot and you may have a few outstanding bounced checks floating around out there somewhere. If this is your situation, you already know that if you don't have a bank account somewhere, it's going to be pretty difficult to convince a bank to take you on as a customer if they have to pull your credit report or run you through hell, I mean Chex Systems, Telecheck or something like that.

Here's an option that you may not have known about, to give you easy access to your money with the convenience of a Visa logo, and the freedom to shop, use bill pay and withdraw money at will.

With the Prepaid Visa RushCard, you can easily manage your money. You'll be setting the limit by the amount of money you add to your card. Then you can shop wherever Visa is accepted or even withdraw cash from over 800,000 ATM's.

It's free to sign up and you can enjoy the benefits of FREE Direct Deposit. You can allocate a portion or your entire paycheck to the RushCard and it will be available on PAYDAY. From my personal experience, my paycheck is usually available after 7am ET. If I try to use my card before 7am, my paycheck will not have yet posted to the card, unlike many direct deposits that hit your bank at midnight. One cool thing about the direct deposit feature, is that you can also have your income tax returns directly deposited to your card. I did it for the 2005 tax year and it went off without a hitch. A second cool thing is that anytime I've had anything directly deposited to my RushCard, I've received an email notification of deposit.

You can check your balance and transaction history 24/7 online at www.rushcard.com or simply call the 1-800 number on the back of your card for balance and transaction details.

If you don't opt for direct deposit, there are other ways to add money to your card too. You can use MoneyGram (I've found them at Wal-Mart). Just fill out the Express Payment form, using your 16-digit card number and the specified "Receive Code." There is no fee from RushCard to use this method; however, MoneyGram charges a fee of $4.95 for transfers up to $1000 each day. Bank transfers are possible also, and of course there's no fee on RushCard's end, but the sending bank will most likely have a fee for this service. Another way to add money is to mail in a check or money order to the UniRush payment address, making the check out to RushCard and including your 16-digit account number, but there is a limit of $1000 per check or money order. If you refer a friend to the program you will receive a $5 deposit to your account. And lastly, I'm not too sure on the how's and why's, but each month I also get a 'cash back' amount that posts to my account around the 15th. I'm not complaining, just didn't know that program exists! I'll take thank you very much!

"Now, what's the catch to all this?" I'm sure you're thinking. It's pretty simple, cut and dry, but of course there are fees associated. Russell Simmons has to make his money some kind of way! The first time you add money to your card you will automatically be charged a $19.95 fee to activate it. There is a $1.00 fee each time you use your card as a point of sale, either as a credit or debit card, and a $1.50 fee each time you withdraw money from an ATM. I haven't come into any other fees, unless you lose your card or need a replacement, then it's $9.95.

To get started, simply log onto www.rushcard.com. Guys get a black Phat Farm card and women get a Pink Baby Phat card - my boyfriend and I each have one and they're pretty cool looking and work well for us. The application was very simple, and our cards arrived within a week's time. Again, the RushCard may not be for everyone, but it's a great alternative for those of us who are momentarily credit-challenged.