Best way to get cash from a pre-paid debit card?

[hamchan]

I have started a clinical trial recently and they pay participants with a pre-paid debit card. They load $50 onto it at each visit, and assuming you complete the trial there are 7 visits total over a 16 week period.

We use the CC attached to our CU account for everything we can pay for with a CC and then pay it all off each month so we can get 1% cash back. So I would prefer not to spend directly off of the pre-paid card, but rather get cash off of it to deposit into the CU account. How can I withdraw as much possible off the pre-paid card without losing too much too fees, or having to spend some of it? I was thinking I could buy something really inexpensive at the grocery store, and then get cash back for the remainder, but I'd have to do that pretty much every time I got a payment since the grocery store has a limit on cash back. The other thing I could do is wait until I have received all of the payments and then pull the money out of an ATM. Only problem with that is I don't know if there is such a thing as an ATM that won't charge me fees to do that. The card itself does not charge a fee for cash withdrawals, but banks do, don't they? The other thing that sucks about that option is that the total payment is $350 which is not a multiple of $20, so I'd have $10 left on the card to use somehow.

Any other ideas?

[cooliemae]

My suggestion is to use suck up the $3.5 potential loss and just use the card when you normally go shopping. Most retailers will let you pay with multiple cards, so just use the money that's on the card and and pay the rest with your CU Card. Keep going until with the prepaid card until there's no more money and no more visits. I don't think you'll be able to find an ATM that doesn't have fees associated with it and is it worth the hassle if you do?

[disneysteve]

I agree with forgetting about the $3.50 in rewards and just use the card. If you wait to get the full amount and then do one ATM transaction, you're probably going to pay a few dollars to the bank anyway so you won't have saved anything.

[hamchan]

Right, it makes no sense at all to get the rewards if I am just going to lose a comparable amount in bank fees. In that case I think I should go the cash back route, so at least I am getting something for the money I have to spend. My CU and grocery store are in the same building, so it's not any kind of inconvenience to buy a .50 bottle of water, deposit the rest and then do the remainder of my shopping.

[GrimJack]

Safeway has a program of buying the credit from your pre-paid cards - check with them to see what they can do for you.