There is a distinction between prepaid credit cards and gift cards. I'm not sure why, but prepaid credit cards typically require a SSN and gift cards don't. Th

There is a distinction between prepaid credit cards and gift cards. I'm not sure why, but prepaid credit cards typically require a SSN and gift cards don't. They end up working just about the same though. You can buy them both at a retail store for cash, and use them just like a credit card anywhere Visa/Amex/Discover/whatever is accepted.