Which debit card for teens?

[LisaR]

I have read a few threads on here about debit cards for teens. I would be curious what ones some of you have used. I have never paid a few to have a debit/credit card but it looks like the ones set up for teens either charge a yearly fee or fees for some of their services. I am wondering if it is worth it to pay the fees? The advantage would be online monitoring systems that other cards don't offer. Is it worth paying for that? Has anyone tried the PayPal Student card?

 

[mom2travel]

I have read a few threads on here about debit cards for teens. I would be curious what ones some of you have used. I have never paid a few to have a debit/credit card but it looks like the ones set up for teens either charge a yearly fee or fees for some of their services. I am wondering if it is worth it to pay the fees? The advantage would be online monitoring systems that other cards don't offer. Is it worth paying for that? Has anyone tried the PayPal Student card?

We have one through DS's savings account for him (I am also on the account). No fees for having the debit card since we also have accounts with the bank (Wachovia). I can look up the statement whenever we would like (he's still only 14 so really doesn't use the card much yet - but we plan to have him do so when he starts driving for gas at a minimum so he can practice recording transactions, etc before college)

 

[AliceinHalloweentown]

I have an Allow Card from Master Card with online monitering and easy funds transfer, etc.

 

[PirateSnowmen]

I'm 18 and have a debit card through USAA. I don't know anything specific about it, but I'm sure if my parents were unhappy with it they would get something different. I got it right after I was 16 and have been using it ever since.

 

[DawnCt1]

I'm 18 and have a debit card through USAA. I don't know anything specific about it, but I'm sure if my parents were unhappy with it they would get something different. I got it right after I was 16 and have been using it ever since.

DS has the USAA card. It offers easy transfer of funds, no fee, easy on line monitoring, but the best part is that overdraft capability is minimal and there is no overdraft fee.

 

[DVCLiz]

I have a joint account with each of my daughters and they have debit cards tied to those accounts. It was difficult to get them debit cards in their own name because the bank (credit union) has a policy of no one under 18 having a debit card in his or her name, but I finally got permission to have DD16 get a debit card from our joint account in her name only. Now that she is driving I want to be able to have her use her own debit card for gas, etc.

I'll put her allowance in and I can transfer from my checking account to hers online, which makes it easy.

 

[LisaR]

I got all excited because the USAA one doesn't have any fees. Unfortunately, you have to be affiliated with the military to get one. Bummer!

The Allow card charges $3.50 a month plus a one time $20 application fee and a $4 delivery fee. It isn't that I am opposed to paying anything, I just wonder if it is worth the price?

I will have to check with our bank in morning. I don't see anything on their website so I am not holding my breath.

 

[AliceinHalloweentown]

I got all excited because the USAA one doesn't have any fees. Unfortunately, you have to be affiliated with the military to get one. Bummer!

The Allow card charges $3.50 a month plus a one time $20 application fee and a $4 delivery fee. It isn't that I am opposed to paying anything, I just wonder if it is worth the price?

I will have to check with our bank in morning. I don't see anything on their website so I am not holding my breath.

I'm afraid I don't really know too much about the card, as I'm the teen.
I use it frequently and my mom thinks its well worth the fees, more so for me than my 19 year old brother, though.

 

[golfgal]

Our kids have one with our bank, Wells Fargo. There are no fees attached to the cards. It is just like my debit card from the bank, they use it in the same way. It is linked to my online banking so I can see their accounts, move funds around, etc. DS17 went into the bank today and got his account upgraded from a "teen" account to a "college" account that comes with a free savings account and some discounts if we get his student loans through them, which we would have anyway.

 

[OK!]

Another possibility might be to get your teen a checking account that's tied to a savings account, something like Keep the Change from Bank of America. Your debit card purchases are rounded off to the next highest dollar and that leftover change is automatically deposited into the savings acct; it adds up quickly without any real "pain" felt at the loss of the extra $$. B of A, I know, matches some percentage of the amount of transferred funds as well.




** Disclaimer: Yes, I do work for B of A and realize I just sounded like a total shill for the company, but I actually don't have anything to do with banking services, selling them or otherwise. I monitor their ATM network for problems. But I do have the KtC service set up on my acct and just had an extra $50+ deposited into my savings account because I use my debit card constantly, and I found out after the fact that they actually match a higher percentage if you have a Major League Baseball checking accout (no extra charge), which was kinda cool. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

 

[xCourxCorex]

I got a Citizens Bank account when I turned 17 (switched from a smaller local bank) and got a debit card through them. I think 17 is the minimum age to open your own account at Citizens, although it may be 16, i'm not sure.

Citizens also has the GreenSense program where everytime you use your debit card or pay a bill online, you get 10 cents (but you have to use it at least 10x per month) I think it's great. I've had it for just one year and I've made over $25 just by using the card like I would anyways.

 

[luvthatdisney]

We set up savings/checking accounts for both our kids a few years ago at our credit union. With the checking account they both received a debit card. My DD only used hers once - so it has since been cancelled. But our DS who is now 19 uses his all of the time. It is so easy for me to transfer money to his account (or from his to ours) as I can see his accounts online alongside mine. I can track their savings that way too.

The kids just have to keep $25 in their savings accounts to avoid fees. It has come in very handy for me.

 

[clh2]

DD, 15 has had her checking account & ATM card for just over a year. (I had to be on the account with her, so it is a joint account. It has been a great learning opportunity, i.e. balancing a checkbook, she can only have 4 checks a month cashed, keeping track of the pruchases she debits etc.

It really is an opportunity to stress good cash management with our DD, as well as stressing steps needed for getting and maintaining a good credit score etc.

 

[LisaR]

Another possibility might be to get your teen a checking account that's tied to a savings account, something like Keep the Change from Bank of America. Your debit card purchases are rounded off to the next highest dollar and that leftover change is automatically deposited into the savings acct; it adds up quickly without any real "pain" felt at the loss of the extra $$. B of A, I know, matches some percentage of the amount of transferred funds as well.

Thanks for the info. I had never heard of "keep the change" and it looks like a great way to save a little extra. Unfortunately, it looks like you have to be 18 or older and my DD isn't.

 

[LisaR]

DD, 15 has had her checking account & ATM card for just over a year. (I had to be on the account with her, so it is a joint account. It has been a great learning opportunity, i.e. balancing a checkbook, she can only have 4 checks a month cashed, keeping track of the pruchases she debits etc.

It really is an opportunity to stress good cash management with our DD, as well as stressing steps needed for getting and maintaining a good credit score etc.

Is this with your regular bank or was it some type of special "teen" program?

 

[princess.chell]

Both my brother (15) and I (18) have a student account through Chase. I've had my debit card since I was 16 and half and got a job. I think there is no service fee because my parents have an account there. They are linked to our parents, I think. I love the Chase card, so many of my friends have it and love it too. I know my parents like it for my brother because of the linked accounts and the on-line thing. Plus I've got direct deposit for my paychecks so its perfect for me. The staff there was really great with helping me get everything set up and helping me with any questions I have.

 

[Art 1]

We gave our daughter a Bank of America Visa card, works well for us.

 

[cruisnfamily]

DD17 now has a checking with a debit card but when she was younger we had the Visa Buxx card. It's a prepaid debit card not linked to any kind of bank account. It's set up for the parents to monitor the kids. you just load it with money. You can set it up to add weekly or monthly (like allowances or something) or you can just add whenever you want(this is what we did). Here's a link: http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/prepaid/visa_buxx.html

 

[Sleepy]

DD17 now has a checking with a debit card but when she was younger we had the Visa Buxx card. It's a prepaid debit card not linked to any kind of bank account. It's set up for the parents to monitor the kids. you just load it with money. You can set it up to add weekly or monthly (like allowances or something) or you can just add whenever you want(this is what we did). Here's a link: http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/prepaid/visa_buxx.html

Our son has a Visa Buxx card. The difference is that it is indirectly linked to our checking/savings account for money loading purposes. When we add money to it, all we have to do is click on which account we want to do the money transfer and it is automatically loaded.

What I like about it, is it notifies the main account holder (such as a parent) via e-mail of any transactions. The one thing I do not like is that the debit card can overdraft. We recently had a card number theft and the situation was promptly handled through our issuing bank. The card was cancelled and another issued. A quick investigation proved theft and the account was not only credited the charges, but the overdraft fee was credited as well.