Showdown vs Bluebird AmEx AmEx Serve

Showdown vs Bluebird AmEx AmEx Serve -

Prepaid cards are becoming more popular and attractive to a broader range of customers by offering better features and features. Convenience-wise, they can be used in physical stores and online, like debit or credit cards cards and many people enjoy no credit check is required to get a card. To use the card that you load with money either from a linked bank account, direct deposit or a physical location. The amount you charge on the card is all you can go until you reload with more money - to buy additional items you need to recharge the card that can usually be done through d a linked bank account, direct deposit or in person at a participating institution.

With so many prepaid cards on the market, determining the best can be confusing. We narrowed the market that we believe to be the first two cards with the best features and the lowest fees: American Express Serve (a NextAdvisor seller) and American Express Bluebird. Bluebird is co-branded with Walmart and is marketed as "Audit and Alternative flow" instead of a prepaid card. Serve has no specific co-branding and is sloped as a simple prepaid card. We break these two maps below and let you know the similarities and differences.

Add funds
Both Bluebird and Serve allow you to add direct deposit free money or your check account / bank linked. They also have mobile applications that allow you to add a check to fund your account without charge.

If you want to physically add money to your card, Serve customers can add free cash 27,000 Walmart, CVS / Pharmacy, Family Dollar and participating 7-ELEVEN places. Users can add Bluebird funds free Walmart checkout counters.

we say Serve wins this category. Serve offers several places where you can physically load your card (although there is something to say about the convenience of charging your Bluebird card at Walmart while you shop).

Fees
Bluebird and serve are upfront with their fees, which is a refreshing change from other prepaid cards on the market that tend to hide these expenses. Both also have very reasonable costs, especially that prepaid cards are known for their list of exorbitant fees.

Between the Bluebird card seems to offer the least cost, no cost of registration, monthly fees or adding funds. The withdrawal from an ATM is free if you have all or part of your paycheck directly deposited into your account Bluebird and you use an ATM MoneyPass. Otherwise there is a charge of $ 2.

Serve also charges no activation fee and nothing to add funds. The monthly fee is free if you direct deposit to your account or add $ 500 or more. Otherwise it is $ 1 per month, except in New York, Texas and Vermont where there are no monthly fees. ATM fees are $ 0 at ATMs MoneyPass and $ 2 at other ATMs.

Bluebird comes out on top in this category by a small margin, because it does not charge a monthly fee, no matter if you are the direct deposit to the account or not. Serve charge you a monthly fee of $ 1 (except in New York, NY and VT) unless you direct deposit to your account.

Features
Bluebird Serve and offer free bill pay with your card via a mobile app or a desktop computer. They also both have a cool mobile application feature that allows you to deposit a check to your account just by taking a picture of him.

Another convenient feature that differentiates these pack of cards is sub-accounts. Both cards allow you to set up multiple sub-accounts, where each owner gets their own card. You can then transfer money between cards, without change. This makes it easier to pay allowances to teenagers or transfer money to a student.

Each card also offers an account type "set-aside" that allows you to save money for future purchases in a linked account. This could be useful if you are saving for a holiday or special purchase, but the downside is that money is not held in an interest bearing account.

In addition to all this, Bluebird and Serve provide great benefits American Express as purchase protection, roadside assistance and Entertainment Access. These features are especially nice because they are generally offered only to users of credit cards and not the prepaid users.

The provides for both cards seem to be a fairly strong connection . Bits and parts of each map are marketed somewhat differently, but overall the characteristics of Bluebird and Serve match each other quite similar.

Overall
The winner of this showdown is more a matter of how you plan to use the card, because they are so closely paired in 3 categories: Adding money, money and features. It boils down to how often you intend to withdraw money from an ATM and you will be direct deposit to the card.

Bluebird With direct deposit you must and use a MoneyPass ATM withdrawals for free. If you do not do these two things you will have to pay $ 2 for ATM use. However, Bluebird does not charge monthly fees

Serve chilled nothing to withdraw money from ATMs MoneyPass, and does not require direct deposit Bluebird makes free withdrawals. However, there is a monthly fee of $ 1 unless you direct deposit (except in New York, NY and VT where there is no charge).

If you plan to make frequent withdrawals and do not want to direct the deposit to the card, serve is your best bet. You can save $ 2 per transaction in ATM fees and pay only $ 1 per month for a monthly fee.

If you go direct deposit to the card, Bluebird is your best best because you enjoy without MoneyPass ATM fees and no monthly fees. Bluebird will also appeal to those who frequently buy at Walmart and as to add funds to a physical location.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This content was accurate at the time of this post, but the terms and conditions of card can change at any time. This site may be compensated by the sending credit card affiliate program.