[Yaelle]

Creepy. I’d stop using that prepaid card and get a bank one, even from a sucky bank (which most are). At least they don’t do that.

[driftdiver]

All cards do it. You just won’t notice it unless you monitor it closely.

[trebb]

Just the card company protecting itself. Card is prepaid - if one has $100 left on the card and swipes it in a pre-approval device, there is the potential of an overdraw which defeats the pre-paid status. Many folks get pre-paid because their history prevents actual credit card companies from trusting them. The company is protected from losing money to a potential dead beat and the potential dead beat is protected from overdraw charges. Nothing creepy about it.