It just a card that you pre-load money on...almost exactly like a debit card...its for people with shitty credit. you build credit by continually loading cash on without every spending it all. You do that long enough, and eventually you can get a visa with like a 200 dollar limit. Funny story, I have a friend who just got into stanford after just working after high school. he saved up 70-100 grand, always good with money...never in any trouble, always employed... applied for a credit card... "sorry sir, you're 29 with no credit history except for cell phone, cable, water etc bills, you don't get shit!" Thankfully, he was able to get grants and student loans for Stanford. meanwhile, when i was 18 i got a card with a 2 grand limit, and have extensive ccredit history and a perfect rating. it doesn't really make any sense.