I wasnt sure of the pros and cons of using credit cards for hobby festivities.  ANy suggestions?  Can you trust services that take them? Any suggestions of providers that offer the use of credit cards?

that's what I've been using since they came out. Simple, no hassles, no paper trails. Here is how it works: go to any CVS pharmacy and buy the starter card for 50 bucks. You have to call to give your information, which consists of a name, address and social. Also they will ask if you want the card to make purchases on the internet (ohhh yessss...you know TER membership fees, naughty sex toys, lingerie for you ATF, lots of possibilities right?)... Is better if you give your real name. The address can be of your office and the social can be a make up number (they don't check, remember is a prepaid thing ~~~). They will ask how you want the card shipped, opt for next day UPS. The next day, you get your plastic delivered to your office. Now you're set. Go to CVS again and buy a recharge card, which can be from 25 to 500 bucks each. I estimate my expenses for the week (hotel, room service, etc) and I buy as many recharge cards I need. I just use my card for my business related expenses, such as hotel reservations, ads on escort sites, escort boards memeberships and online sex store purchases. It's one of the greatest things to have a prepaid Mastercard. There is no bills and NO pesky mails. You can check you statement online anytime and it cost only 5 bucks of maintenance a month. No interest either. One thing thought, always keep a stash of blank recharge cards somewhere in your car or office drawer because, sometimes, CVS pharmacies run out of them and if you need to refund your card for a spur of the moment hobby urge, you might ended up empty handed as they do not refill your account without them. The link for the card is listed bellow.


-- Modified on 9/4/2004 7:44:47 AM

here's an easier, less hassle method..

Paypal has a mastercard tied to their system.  You simply open a paypal account, if you don't already have one, go thru their procedures to validate (they deposit pennies into your stated bank account and you then give them the 2 little deposits) and then it's simple to add or withdraw funds from their mastercard service..

As with the prepaid thing, there are no bills and no paper trail.  There is a trail on paypal, but unless someone knows your password, it's unaccessable..

The nice thing is you can add funds anytime via the internet.. There is a notation you moved funds from your bank acct to paypal, but certainly no way to know what it was used for.  Unless you want absolutely no paper trail, this is a safe and secure way to use a cc without anyone knowing exactly what it's being used for!

You can't do this spur of the moment though.  It takes a few days for PayPal to move the money from your bank account to your PayPal account.  You don't always have three days to wait!

and doesn't work like that either. You just buy a recharge card, call a 800 number, punch in the code on the card and the money is available right away. Paypal has paper trail, the prepaid card not and is faster.

it works great 4.95 a month and I can place as much as $500.00 increments at a clip.....I use it to pay for hotels and advertising.. no paper trail and I can check my balance and info online.....

hi.. just wanted to clear up, if anyone reads their info, money posted is not as immediate as a prepaid card, but is really only 24 hours to post.. anyone seriously using it would keep money in it to use when needed.  there is no monthly fee, and no paper trail. just an online trail that can be deleted.

obviously you can check your balance online, and use it as a debit card as well.  It has it's own advantages.  if you don't even want a bank transaction going out from your bank to paypal, then you'd not want to use this.. but if you use ebay or other services to pay for goods or services, im not sure any suspicious person would suspect anything.. just my opinion, and a suggestion.. not saying anyone should use it..

Please...really only 24 hours to post?  Their site admits it takes 3 to 4 business days before your transfer is available for use on the card.  I use the card from time to time and can verify this from personal experience as well.  I have never had the money available any sooner than 3 business days (and that's full days, AFTER the time they say the post will be available on their website) after I request a transfer to the card from my account.

The facts speak out against using the PayPal card on the spur of the moment.  Using it requires planning out your usage several days in advance.

i went back and looked and i read the chart wrong.. seems it's at least 3-4 days.. although i wonder if you could simply make a 'purchase' that posts to your own acct..

But i guess if you have no $ in there and wanna play the same day, it won't work for you.. I do business on ebay and always have $10-15,000 on my acct so it's never affected me.

To add to the discussion, yes you need to be sure of who you are dealing with.  Of course Credit Cards allow challenges and dispute resolution.  Don't know how pleasant that process would be in the AE Business, though.  Hence, still be sure of who you are dealing with.
  How do I do it, to hopefully get around the paper trail problems?  Well, first I have credit cards in only my name which bill to my personal P.O. Box.  Second, I use paperless billing (internet only).  Third, and perhaps most important, I use Evidence Eliminator software on my computer (erasing files and clearing the internet browser alone just don't cut it).  BTW, that software is ESSENTIAL for ANYBODY who ventures into adult websites in ANY capacity, EVER.  I don't care if it's your business or personal computer.  In fact, I would NEVER chance it on a business computer.  After all, it goes through a central LAN server, and you SURE can't control what happens there.
  One more thing.  I rarely use Credit Cards because there is usually a 10-15% premium in the business for those who use them.  That means a $300 session becomes a $330.00 session, or more.  For most of us, we can't afford to blow that kind of money essentially on nothing.  I don't care HOW horney you are!  Best to just stick with the cash, I believe.  
  BTW, one thing I've always wondered is how much of that cash the providers hide from the IRS.  They make incomes like brain surgeons to begin with.  Imagine what it would be like, essentially tax free!  Interesting concept.  I know they legally owe the tax, but how enforceable is it?  Can anybody ENLIGHTEN us on the subject?  I sure wouldn't want to be hiding it, but then how good is it to list Escort as your occupation, on the tax form??  Remember, the IRS reports what they perceive to be illegal occupations to local and federal authorities.