ByFree Trial Credit Card—With DoNotPay, Free Trials Are Finally Free
We have all learned by now that free trials are not exactly free. Service providers often offer us a free trial period to test their services and make up our minds about whether we want to subscribe to and continue using them. What most of them fail to mention, rather conveniently, is that we will get charged automatically after the free trial period ends, regardless of whether we decide to continue using the service or not.
This automatized renewal process costs American citizens millions of dollars each year. By canceling your unused memberships, for instance, you can save more than $500 annually! To make things worse, service providers store your personal information, making you more vulnerable to data breaches!
Luckily, with the invention of virtual credit cards, you no longer have to worry about the safety of your data, nor about unexpected charges on your credit card statements. DoNotPay’s Free Trial Credit Card helps ensure that the trial is indeed free by removing the possibility of getting charged.
Before we explain how you can use DoNotPay’s credit card for free trials without worrying about spending a dime, let’s take a look at what a free virtual credit card is and how it works.
What Are Virtual Credit Cards, Exactly?
Virtual credit cards, or VCCs, are essentially temporary card numbers used for online purchases that are usually linked to your physical credit or debit card. VCCs are usually generated through a mobile or web application provided by mainstream card issuers or third-party vendors.
VCCs come with a ton of useful features, such as fixed charge limits, single-retailer purchases, flexible expiration dates, etc. More and more people started using virtual credit cards as a means of protecting their personal information from CNP (card-not-present) frauds.
How Do Virtual Credit Cards Function?
Virtual credit cards work almost the same way as regular static credit or debit cards do, but they add an extra layer of security that prevents credit card frauds when shopping online. When making an online transaction with a static credit card for, the vendor will store your actual bank account information, which makes your credit card susceptible to data breaches. If a vendor were to get hacked, the cybercriminals could potentially misuse your credit card information.
VCCs take care of this issue. When you are using a virtual credit card to pay for stuff online, retailers are presented with what is called “dynamic information.” The card number, expiration date, and CVV are randomly generated and are always different. With a virtual credit card no deposit is necessary. They are tied to your real bank account, and your static card will be charged for the purchase, but the vendor won’t get to see your bank account details. This improves the overall safety of your personal information.
With virtual credit cards, possibilities are endless. You can lock a virtual credit card to a particular retailer, allowing only them to charge your account. You can set a maximum spend limit on your VCC that will prevent any charges above that amount from occurring.
How DoNotPay’s Virtual Credit Card For Free Trial Works
DoNotPay’s Free Trial Card is a VCC, but it functions a bit differently. It utilizes a virtual credit card generator to create a card number and expiration date that will be deemed valid by online vendors’ systems. You can think of it as a credit card generator for free trials, which you can use independently of your static credit card.
The best part is—you don’t have to link your actual credit card to the fake credit card for free trials. You can input whichever name you wish and even set the expiration date as you see fit. This way, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that nobody has access to your credit card information. The vendor won’t be able to charge you after the free trial, and you’re also 100% safe in the event of a data breach (e.g., if the vendor’s website gets hacked) since you never provided your actual credit card information.
Sounds awesome? It is. But get this—DoNotPay can also create a temporary email address to go along with your subscription.
So, not only do you not have to provide credit card information when signing up for a free trial, you don’t even have to give them your actual email address, either! What this means is that you won’t have to worry about suddenly getting a lot of spam emails.
By using DoNotPay, not only will you avoid getting charged via auto-renewals, but you will never again end up on spammy email marketing lists either.
All you have to do to gain access to our virtual credit card services is access DoNotPay through a .
To help you understand better what DoNotPay’s Free Trial Card can do for you, here is a brief overview:
- We will generate a random card number for you
- We will automatically approve free trials and billing pages
- We will stop auto-renewals or any additional charges from happening
- We will cancel subscriptions on your behalf
Benefits of Using Virtual Credit Cards
If you want to start using a virtual credit card, these are the three biggest benefits to look forward to:
- They are widely accepted
- You can set a charge limit on them
- They are temporary
Virtual credit cards can be used for all online payments
Unlike mobile wallets, virtual credit cards can be used for purchases on all online shops. You will not have to worry about them not being supported, because each shop that accepts credit cards will also accept virtual ones. This is a very important benefit since you want to have the flexibility of being able to use it for all online payments.
Setting a charge limit for a piece of mind
Another great thing about virtual credit cards is that they allow you to set a maximum spend limit. For example, if you are using the card to pay for an online membership, setting the charge limit to the amount of your membership fee will prevent your service provider from charging you with additional costs. The same goes in case the provider gets hacked, and someone tries to steal money from your account.
Virtual credit cards are temporary
Most virtual credit cards are time-limited, and that is a good thing. If you do not want a website to auto-renew your free trial and turn it into a paid subscription, DoNotPay’s virtual credit card is the perfect solution for you. As soon as you use it to apply for a free trial period, it will automatically expire.
Virtual credit cards can make your life easier in so many ways. Keeping your banking information secure is just one piece of the puzzle. Other advantages of using VCCs are:
- Hidden banking information leads to Improved data protection when dealing with fraudulent retailers
- Temporary account numbers prevent charges to your credit card when trial periods expire
- Some issuers like DoNotPay do not require you to link your physical credit card with your virtual one
- Setting charge limits prevents retailers from charging your account with unwanted services
- VCCs are widely accepted, meaning that all online retailers who accept credit card payment will allow the use of virtual credit cards
- There is no physical card to carry around, so you will not have to risk losing it
Downsides of Virtual Credit Cards
Despite being convenient to use, virtual credit cards come with a couple of downsides:
- VCC’s are made for online use only
- You cannot use them when collecting a purchase
No way to use virtual credit cards offline
If you want to secure your banking information when purchasing products and services offline, virtual credit cards are not a viable solution. VCC’s can only be used for online purchases.
No physical card to show as proof
When purchasing an airplane ticket or renting a car online, you will be asked to show your physical credit card as proof when you show up to collect your purchase. Despite the fact that you made your purchase online, a virtual credit card will not be of any use to you in these situations.
Pros and Cons of Virtual Credit Cards
Virtual credit cards come in handy in many tricky situations, but they are not flawless. Whether you should use one depends entirely on your needs. To help you decide if they are the right fit for you, let us see what their main pros and cons are:
Virtual credit cards come in handy in many tricky situations, but they are not flawless. Whether you should use one depends entirely on your needs. To help you decide if they are the right fit for you, let us see what their main pros and cons are:
|
Pros |
Cons |
|
You personal banking information is protected at all times | You can only use them for online purchases |
|
All online merchants that allow credit card payments support VCCs | Not all issuers allow ongoing use of one VCC |
| There is no physical card to carry around and potentially lose |
VCCs cannot be used for online purchases that require a physical card as proof of purchase |
| They come with a bunch of features such as charge limits, flexible expiration dates, etc. |
You cannot use VCCs for cash withdrawal |
What You Can Use DoNotPay’s Free Trial Credit Card For
There are many ways to use virtual credit cards in today’s world. For example, you can use them to set up an ongoing subscription with a particular provider for a defined period of time. Some VCC issuers will allow you to set the expiration date to your own liking.
Another useful feature of virtual credit cards is that you can lock them to specific online retailers. By doing this, you allow only the selected merchant to charge your account regularly.
Some virtual credit card issuers like DoNotPay allow you to create a one-time number to use for free trials. Since you don’t have to link your static credit card to the free trial card, there is absolutely no risk of unauthorized charges.
Here is a list of a few services you can subscribe to with DoNotPay’s Free Trial Credit Card:
- Netflix
- Showtime
- Grammarly
- Hulu
- Spotify
- Amazon prime
- Chegg
- Twitch Prime
- HBO
- Shutterstock
With DoNotPay, you can finally experience a free trial period without worrying about unexpected charges appearing on your credit card statement.
Here are the major advantages of DoNotPay’s Free Trial Credit Card compared to a standard static credit card:
|
Physical credit cards |
DoNotPay’s Free Trial Card |
|
Allow unauthorized charges such as membership auto-renewals | Does not allow automatic charges like membership, subscriptions, or auto-renewals |
| Make your personal banking information visible |
No one can access your personal banking information |
|
Susceptible to data breaches and CNP frauds | Keeps your personal information protected in the event of a data breach |
| Losing hundreds of dollars each year |
Not a single penny is lost |
Who You Should Turn For a Virtual Credit Card
If you’re wondering how to get a virtual credit card, you’ll be happy to know that the process is rather straightforward. DoNotPay is your safest bet if you’re looking for a VCC for a free trial. That said, note that it doesn’t and cannot hold actual money since it isn’t connected to your actual bank account. You can use DoNotPay’s Free Trial Card if you’re looking for:
If you’re in need of a virtual credit card for online purchases, you might want to turn to some of the major American banks or third-party VCC providers. Here are a few options:
|
VCC provider |
Service |
| If you are a Bank of America’s Visa or Mastercard cardholder, you have access to their ShopSafe service. This service generates an image of a credit card with a new token. One major advantage of these virtual credit cards is that you can set an expiration date on them up to one year in advance. That is a great feature when you want to use a card for recurring monthly payments. | |
| Almost all Citibank cardholders have access to the bank’s virtual credit card services. All you have to do is log in to your account and click enroll. Keep in mind that Citibank’s VCC’s will not be suitable for you if you want to use the card for ongoing monthly subscriptions. Unfortunately, with Citibank, you do not have the option to use virtual card numbers on an ongoing basis. | |
| Capital One’s virtual credit card service is called Eno. All personal cardholders have free access to this service through Capital One’s browser pop-up window. You simply have to log in to your account via the pop-up window and generate a new virtual account number when you need it. Another great thing about Eno is that it stores all account nicknames and card numbers in one place. Because of this feature, you will never forget which number and nickname you have used for a certain service. The only downside of Eno is that it does not allow charge limits. The limit is, by default, equal to the limit of your physical Capital One card that you have linked to Eno. |
DoNotPay Offers an Abundance of Other Features That Can Save You Time and Money
Keeping you worry-free is what we strive to achieve. You can use our app as your personal assistant to get things done fast and easy, and save yourself a bunch of time and money in the process.
Creating virtual credit cards is just a smidgen of what we have to offer. DoNotPay can also assist you with:
- Disputing traffic tickets
- Taking revenge on annoying robocalls
- Canceling subscriptions or memberships
- Suing people and companies in small claims court
- Scheduling a DMV appointment fast and easy
- Making virtual credit cards to avoid being charged after your free trial
- Fighting speeding tickets
- Contesting parking tickets
- Getting refunds for delayed or canceled flights
- Jumping the phone queue when getting in touch with customer service reps
- Dealing with bills you are unable to pay for