Gift Credit Cards Make Perfect Graduation Presents

How does it work?

Most major credit card services, such as Visa and MasterCard, offer gift credit cards. These are actually less like credit cards and more like gift cards with one important exception: while a gift card can only be used at the store you purchased it at, gift credit cards can be used anywhere they accept normal credit cards.

The process is pretty simple: you order a gift card, prepay a certain amount of money (usually between $25 and $500), and from then on the recipient can use the card until that money is gone to buy whatever they like.

Why gift credit cards?

There are a number of reasons gift credit cards have become so popular, especially with teenagers. Just a few of these include:

-- you can purchase them for individuals of any age, including those under 18

-- they give the freedom of a credit card without the risk, since once the prepaid amount expires the card becomes useless

-- many gift credit cards can carry personalized messages, such as "Happy Birthday!" or "Congratulations!"

-- these cards allow recipients to purchase anything they want from virtually any location in the world, including online stores -- so much for agonizing over what to buy

Purchasing gift credit cards makes a lot of sense, especially for a graduate -- these individuals are off to college or first jobs, and they'll probably need a lot of stuff neither of you can predict. With gift credit cards, you're giving them the ability to buy what they need when they need it -- and who can put a price on that?