People get prepaid cards for numerous reasons. Some use them for managing household finances, for example, getting one card for everyday shopping and one for online shopping. Some people use them because they can’t open a bank account or get a credit card and want to be able to spend online and have the convenience of paying with plastic.

Here are a few tips to help you compare prepaid credit cards and choose the best one for you:

1. If you want a prepaid card for spending when you travel abroad, choose a prepaid card that’s designed specifically for that purpose. These tend to be far better than the typical credit or debit card when it comes to exchange rates and transaction fees. You may be surprised to learn that the debit card from your bank account has very high fees for overseas spending.

2. If you’re buying a prepaid card as a one-off thing (for a child going on a school trip, or as a gift, for example), choose a card that is free to initiate or that has the lowest set-up fees. You probably won’t care much about reload fees but, if your one-off card may be used at ATMs, consider the ATM charges too, which vary quite a bit.

3. If you’re getting a prepaid card for long-term use, such as a way to give your kids their allowance in a form that allows them some of the conveniences of plastic, you’ll be more concerned with reload fees, transaction fees, and ATM fees. It may be worth paying a higher initiation fee or even a modest monthly fee if you think it will be offset by lower reload and ATM fees.