Hi cacheborn.
I think prepaid cards are probably safer than regular credit cards, since credit cards can mess up your credit report, and I don't believe prepaid cards can do that. (Anyone, please correct me if I'm wrong about any of this stuff).
Also, even though the laws about credit cards have been changed some (at least in the United States), and I think the credit card companies' unethical practices were curbed at least to some extent by those laws (at least in the United States), there might still be big problems with regular credit cards such as large late fees and overlimit fees, and various other unethical tricks and fees.
(I'm not sure what the current overall situation is, I would have to look into this. I've been a naughty, lazy credit card boycott web page maintainer, not staying fully informed about credit card-related issues, nor keeping my web page up to date.
Oh, the shame.
)
In any case, I definitely wouldn't suddenly start trusting any credit card companies just because the laws have been changed some. These companies have too long of a track record of unethical behavior.
I think prepaid cards are also probably safer than debit cards, because debit cards are tied to your bank account.
Another benefit of prepaid cards is, I don't think you need a job to get a prepaid card.
Anyhow, just an idea. I hope prepaid cards are truly a better alternative, but, you never know what kind of dirty tricks a credit card company might try, so, I recommend being quite cautious with prepaid cards too.
I don't have first-hand experience with prepaid cards, since I detest credit card companies and try to avoid anything that pays them money.
However, I've had plenty of nasty experiences with regular credit cards, and I think I currently would be in much better financial shape if I had never used them.
So, just thought I'd try and rescue you from possibly falling into the trap of credit card debt.
Apollia