questions about Pre-Paid Visa Cards

[tinkrox]

I want to get my sons ages 10 and 12 a pre-paid visa card for our trip in December, that way they will have to keep up with what they spend their money on instead of us hearing "I want that" I HAVE to have that!" all day long..so we thought this would be a good way to do it..here' s the money, this is all you are getting, you make the decision and YOU keep up with what you are spending it on!! My questions are has anyone ever used them and can they be used anywhere in the disney parks? including downtown disney? The reason why we are not buy a disney card is because just in the off chance that they don't spend ALL their money, they can use it on what they want at home..we don't have a disney store around here anymore..sad I know..so, has can anyone tell me the best way to go about getting one of these? thanks so much!!

 

[JohnsonsRUs]

My daughter, 10, has received these from the grandparents for her last b-day and Christmas, she loves them and is surprisingly frugal with her own $$. Hers were from National City, but I believe 5th/3rd has them also. A couple of things to keep in mind, some have monthly fees that are auto deducted if you don't use the balance within a certain period (6 months, 1 yr) and once you get down to the last $, you need to know the exact amount or the card will reject. For example, if you have $19.87 left on the card and the item is $20, you have to tell the cashier to charge $19.87 on the card and then pay the balance with some other method.

We did the pay for your own souveniers on our last vacation (not DW), and it worked great! We said we would buy the t-shirt/sweatshirt and then 1 thing, that was up to us, but the rest she was to pay for and she was OK with that. It prevented a lot of silly purchases of small things that tend to add up. We are planning to do this from now on and thanks to the DSers who recommended it!

Have a great trip.

 

[lyzziesmom]

Have you considered Disney Dollars? My DD8 finds these much easier to budget than the gift cards or any other type of spending money. She will bring only what she wants to spend into the park with her each day, and if there is anything left over she adds it to the next day's budget. With any kind of card, it's harder for her to keep track of how much is left since it's just a number and she can't physically SEE how much money is left.

Also with Disney Dollars (which you don't have to purchase at a Disney Store, you can buy them in WDW) as long as you keep your receipt, you can exchange them back into regular cash at the end of your trip if it's not all spent. They are accepted everywhere on WDW property, even at carts that can't take cards, since they are just like cash. Change is usually given in regular US money. And kids love the Disney Dollars - they are so cute! There are princess designs for girls and Stitch and pirate designs for boys. I'm sure there are other characters for boys, but since I have two girls I never see the other designs.

I know my DD is a lot more careful with her spending when it's HER money and she knows exactly how much she has. It really cuts down on the "gimmegimmes!" We do lay out ground rules ahead of time now, and after last year's fiasco where she spent $70 on candy, I now have veto power over any purchase.

 

[tinkrox]

Thanks for all your help! I had thought about the disney dollars, but I know that I AM going to have to be the one that keeps up with the dollars, I wouldn't trust them to do it..so I would still have to keep up with who's is who's and all of that, the cards themselves just seemed to be easier..but I see what you are saying about the actual sight of their money dwidling down to nothing..mmmm..I will have to figure it out..

WOW..$70 worth of candy!! it had to look like this!

 

[lyzziesmom]

My DD has a lanyard with a plastic pouch on it that we bought at Target a couple years ago, it is better than the WDW ones because the pouch is connected with a metal clip and has a metal gusset on it to prevent ripping off. The WDW ones can easily tear off the plastic clip. Anyway, she keeps her Disney Dollars in the pouch around her neck, it's easier and more accessible than pockets and so far on 4 trips it has been very secure. We put a large sticker on the front of the pouch so other people can't see what is inside it. She loves having "control" of her own money and is very frugal and strict with herself -- sometimes I get frustrated that she takes so long in the shops trying to make up her mind, but then I remember that I do the same thing if I only have a small amount of money.

DD also earns all her own WDW money through household chores and garage sales and lemonade stands. It seems to mean more to her if she has earned it herself rather than if it was given to her.

One thing about the gift cards when she used that one time, she did love having to sign for her purchases because it made her feel very adult! But she had a hard time knowing how much she had left, she likes to budget for $10 a day and would lose track of how many days we had left and accidentally overspent. That was also how she spent $70 on candy in 5 days! Just a few $$ here and there, and she didn't look at her receipts a couple times so did not realize there was so little left.

There are so many options available, I'm sure you will find the right one that works for your family.

 

[MisMikiNikiLynne]

Stay away from GREEN DOT visa/Master cards. They begin charging you a fee BEFORE you even are able to use the card! They also charge you to purchase the card and load funds onto it! You might be better off just opening them up a small savings account and get a debit card to run off of that.

 

[theparsons]

If anyone is military definitely check out the pre-paid card at USAA. You can transfer funds (allowance) onto the card from your checking or savings account with a couple clicks. There are NO fees, not monthly, not to add money, not to open the card, nothing, nada, nope, none. The limit is $1,000, with a minimum deposit of $10. The parental control features are pretty awesome if you have a kid you're trying to teach about money.....you can put limits on how much they can spend per transaction, per day, whether they can withdraw cash at ATMs or not, and how much. I forget what else because we don't limit the girls, but so far they haven't given us reason to need to, but if they spent $70 on candy.....whoa nellie limits locked! Another really cool feature....you can authorize anyone (grandparents, aunts/uncles, the lady they babysit for all the time, whomever)....to be able to add funds to their account. They don't get the same access as you, so they can't see the balance, or change controls, or view purchases....they simply get a password encoded place to make a deposit from their own checking account (USAA or not). Makes it easier and safer than grands sending birthday checks, and has the added perk of grandma depositing money "just because" or for something special they're doing tomorrow, where a check would never reach us that quick.

If you or your spouse have ever been military....if your parents/spouse's parents are or have been military....you may be eligible to have an account. I'm not sure what other eligibility requirements there are....DH was military when we got together and already had the account, but I know HE got his first account there as a teen because Dad was military. The website has a "are you eligible" FAQ. http://www.usaa.com

We have everything through them...the service is exemplary because it's military members working for military members....so they all know what your military lifestyle is like, and they work to make life easier. When we were moving constantly it was so nice to not have to worry about transferring bank accounts and credit cards, home loans and car loans, car insurance....one call and we changed the address for everything. If you are active military they are extraordinary about the stresses of TDY and transfers and offer lots of great advice and help to make these easier.

Ok...commercial over,

 

[Wendi2000]

Check the fees and the rules before getting these cards for your kids. I believe that most, if not all of them require the user to be 18 or older. I would go with a Disney giftcard or Disney Dollars instead.

 

[theparsons]

Check the fees and the rules before getting these cards for your kids. I believe that most, if not all of them require the user to be 18 or older. I would go with a Disney giftcard or Disney Dollars instead.

Actually many banks are starting to develop cards specifically aimed at kids...usually teens, though some, like USAA, extend that to pre-teens. The idea is simple....get the kids in the habit of carrying debit/credit cards early...with THIS bank and of course when the kids get their first job where are they going to deposit their first paycheck?

Wells Fargo has such a program, but you have to ask for it. Wells also has gift cards that cost $4 initially, but then you have an entire year before any "monthly" fees kick in. While free would be nice, $4 is a small price to pay to insure that your kid doesn't let that $20 bill fall out of his pocket!

 

[elderfam]

Ditto on the USAA banking. I do think the banking is open for the public to use.

In the past we had the girls earn their money before the trip and when we arrived we handed it to them. We told them this was all they got to spend. We would take care of the 3 main meals but if they wanted "junk" food they had to use their own money...

We didnt hold it for them, part of the lesson was learning to take care of it for themselves. We laughed and laughed at how great this was. One daughter would shop, touch, pick up and think about "it" then put it back. she came home without spending a dime!!! The other daughter blew threw her money in two days, but didnt ask for more. We have done this for every single family trip since and when we see kids nag their parent to buy me ____ we just shake our heads. It so much easier to budget for as well.

We found cash to be easy for them to count when trying to figure out if they could afford something. (something else we made them do....their own math)

Good luck and please let us know what you decide to do and how it went. I think there are a lot of parents who will want to know.

 

[la79al]

I know DSS had a prepaid card of some kind for our trip. Shops and restaurants weren't a problem. The carts throughout the park however that sell sodas, ice cream, snacks, etc often could not take cards of any kind (including DDP) and required cash only.

 

[theparsons]

Ditto on the USAA banking. I do think the banking is open for the public to use.


QUOTE]

Just to clarify...no, USAA is NOT open to the public. You have to be military (active or reserve). If you are the child of a current USAA member you can also qualify.

https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_utils/McStaticPages?key=become_member_eligibility