You can also just sign up for Silver to get a free month of Gold, and repeat every month. Don't get to keep anything and have to get a new name every time, but it's online. You can still do that, right?
you dont have to use credit cards at all, you can buy prepaid ones JUST for xbox live in stores. thats for xbox live gold, that is, which is actual online gaming. you get xbox live silver for free by default, which is basic online functionality, like friends lists, messaging, and so on.
Ok, here we go. I hope I can make it so that this is understandable.
You want Xbox Live, yes? For one year. You can buy a 1 year Xbox Live plan from almost any store (they even have them at 7-11) for $49.99. This plan comes in the form of a card (but it's not a credit card). You can pay for the plan any way you want. Cash, credit, check, or if you go to GameStop, trade-in credit. It's a one time payment of $49.99. After that you don't have to pay anything unless you want to resubscribe.