Meaning & use
prepaid card
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A plastic card that you load with money in advance and then use to pay for things, often without a bank account.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a prepaid card' or 'two prepaid cards'.
Patterns
- a prepaid card for something
- load a prepaid card
- pay with a prepaid card
She bought a prepaid card at the supermarket and put fifty dollars on it.
You can use a prepaid card to shop online even if you don't have a credit card.
The store gave him a prepaid card as a refund instead of cash.
nouncountable
A card sold by a shop or company that has a set value and can only be used at particular places or for particular services.
Grammar: Often used with a brand or store name: a 'store prepaid card' or a 'phone prepaid card'.
Patterns
- a prepaid card for a store
- a prepaid phone card
- redeem a prepaid card
He received a prepaid card for his birthday that works only at that coffee shop.
Some mobile networks sell prepaid cards so you can top up your phone without a contract.
The prepaid card from the bookshop can be used online or in any branch.
Word forms
| plural | prepaid cards |
|---|
Common combinations
- prepaid card
- I paid for the groceries with a prepaid card.
- load a prepaid card
- You can load the prepaid card at any ATM.
- prepaid card balance
- Check your prepaid card balance before you shop.
- buy a prepaid card
- Where can I buy a prepaid card for my nephew?
- prepaid card fees
- Read the prepaid card fees before you sign up.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stored-value card
- A more technical term for a card that holds a set amount of money; 'prepaid card' is the everyday word.
- gift card
- Usually a prepaid card bought as a present, often for one store; a prepaid card can be reloadable and used in many places.
Word family
- prepay verb
- To pay for something before you use it.
- prepayment noun
- The act of paying in advance.
Commonly confused: prepaid card or credit card? prepaid card or debit card?
prepaid card vs credit card
A credit card lets you borrow money and pay later; a prepaid card only lets you spend money you have already put on it.
prepaid card vs debit card
A debit card takes money directly from your bank account; a prepaid card is not linked to a bank account.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'prepaid card' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A prepaid card is a noun, so it can be used as the object of a preposition like 'with'. Options 0 and 2 use it as a verb, which is wrong. Option 3 is nonsense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “prepaid card”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.