credit/bank card for teen?

[whatname]

DD16 will be going on a cross country trip in November. She will need spending and meal money. I really don't want to send her with a wad of cash for safety reasons. I really don't want to get her a credit card. I'm not sure what my other options are. I'm not even sure a 16 year old can get a credit card. What do you suggest? Thanks!

 

[disneychrista]

You can add her as a authorized user on your credit card. Also you could get a pre-paid card.

 

[whatname]

You can add her as a authorized user on your credit card. Also you could get a pre-paid card.

I hadn't thought of adding her to mine. I've looked at pre-paid but am not sure which one is best. Thanks!

 

[a1tinkfans]

Adding her to ur card ( chose one that u would not Over stress if accidentally lost/misplaced... it may take a few days for that replacement. ) I’d never to use the one you have automatic payments made from, etc.
The nice part is... you will be able to see the expenditures, know where she is and give her an opportunity to be a responsible young lady and see that you believe and trust in her. It’s all good.
Safe travels, sounds Exciting!

 

[SteveH]

Our boys had their own Account with a Debit card at the same bank we use. However, we kept the bulk of their money in a savings account that was not attached to the debit card. We would transfer funds into their account as needed. This also protected them if anybody were to steal the card and try to use it as there wasn't much money in it. Our bank made it very easy. This started off for my oldest son's 1st trip with his band, but we continued with it until both boys had completed first year of college, then we let them decide.

 

[ronandannette]

Our boys had their own Account with a Debit card at the same bank we use. However, we kept the bulk of their money in a savings account that was not attached to the debit card. We would transfer funds into their account as needed. This also protected them if anybody were to steal the card and try to use it as there wasn't much money in it. Our bank made it very easy. This started off for my oldest son's 1st trip with his band, but we continued with it until both boys had completed first year of college, then we let them decide.

This is exactly what I would do in the OP's scenario.

 

[mrsnate]

My 15 (almost 16) year old son has a Capital One debit card. We set up his account online and I can add money to it at any time. It’s worked great for us. It’s an account made for teens called a “Money Account”.

 

[hhhaleybird]

Our 13 yr old son went to Washington DC trip at the end of last school year. We got him a BlueBird card w American Express instead of sending him w cash. Keep it for trips only. It’s prepaid. You can google it to see how it works.

 

[QueenIsabella]

We got a reloadable, pre-paid debit card through AAA, back 9 years ago when my oldest traveled abroad for the first time. I also like the idea of a joint credit card--either open up a new one, especially for travel, or use one that you don't use very often. You don't want to have to re-do every auto-payment you make if your child loses the card! Also if you open a new one, you can have a relatively low credit line--when my DD went to college, we got a joint credit card. Based on my credit, they wanted to give us a $30,000 limit. Um, no. We went with $5k--a little high for most, but my DD loves to travel, and I wanted a limit high enough to cover an emergency ticket home.

If you go with a debit card, make sure it's only attached to one account, with a relatively low balance. You can always transfer more money in, as needed.

 

[msjprincess]

My 15 (almost 16) year old son has a Capital One debit card. We set up his account online and I can add money to it at any time. It’s worked great for us. It’s an account made for teens called a “Money Account”.

My 3 teens have the same. It's great. I use Zelle through my bank to transfer money to them instantly. I can transfer money between the 3 of them. There are no fees.

 

[ICF]

we added both of our kids as authorized users to our AMEX card once they turned 16.

Their CC # is different than ours and you can give them as small a credit limit as you want. Both of mine started with $500.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Does your bank allow for "student checking accounts"? Both my kids had one at that age. Own account, own debit card, etc.

Or you could put money on a gift card.

 

[aprilgail]

My daughter had a checking account when she was 14 and it had a visa/debit card with it so I never had to worry about her being someplace and having no money. It was linked to my accounts so I could transfer her money into it whenever she needed it.

 

[cvjw]

Both of our boys had their own credit card as authorized users on our Disney visa when they turned 16. When they needed their own credit card and bank account, we went to Wells Fargo. They both got savings accounts, checking accounts and their own credit cards easily thru Wells Fargo to begin building their own credit.

I will say that they earn credit as being authorized users on our card. When my 19 year old went to Wells Fargo to open up his own account, they pulled his credit score. He had a score of 800+ by being on our credit card!

 

[mjkacmom]

My 16 year olds got a checking account at 16 with a debit card. Also, we’ve done the old school just giving them one of our credit cards, never a problem.

 

[tinkerhon]

DD16 will be going on a cross country trip in November. She will need spending and meal money. I really don't want to send her with a wad of cash for safety reasons. I really don't want to get her a credit card. I'm not sure what my other options are. I'm not even sure a 16 year old can get a credit card. What do you suggest? Thanks!

You can get her her own DEBIT card from your bank if they offer - my dd13 has one that I got for her at Chase - she is very responsible and I wanted her to have it for emergencies in middle school and I don't like her carrying around too much cash - it's in her name with her own card number and linked to my Chase accounts

 

[wgeo]

We put the kids as authorized users one of our lesser used credit cards this year. It's so much easier to hand them the card when they're going somewhere than to try and dig around for cash, and with their band trip to CA coming up in a few months they will need it.

We actually did this to get them a credit score built up. My niece and her fiance had a very hard time getting an apartment since one of them didn't have any kind of a credit score at all. I figured this was something easy I could to help the kids out later on, and bonus that I'm not digging under the couch for dollar bills anymore!

 

[tvguy]

Visa Buxx card. That is what when my kids were in college.

https://usa.visa.com/pay-with-visa/cards/prepaid-cards/buxx-card.html

 

[kdonnel]

I hadn't thought of adding her to mine. I've looked at pre-paid but am not sure which one is best. Thanks!

If you add her to one of yours it will greatly help her build a credit history.

Depending on the card the issuer will either retroactively report to her credit report(which is not supposed to exist until 18 but does already) all your prior activity or will just start reporting the activity from the time she is made an authorized user.

Both of my kids have credit history reported to their credit reports that predates their birth.

 

[wenrob]

My kids (13) have debit cards connected to their checking accounts. I tried one of those teen debit cards but in the end I found them TOO restrictive. I decided instead to teach them how to manage their money rather than me doing it for them. So far, so good. I can add money instantly if needed since our accounts are connected or worse case they can access their savings if for whatever reason I can’t. I also like that they can shut the card down on their own in the app if they misplace or lose it. Eventually I plan to add them as authorized users to one of my cards.