Prepaid Credit Card for Teen's Overseas Travel

[hrhdhd]

yes, but its far less stressful with just a prepaid card. Its not leaving you in a foreign country with no access to funds. Its not putting your bills and other payments at risk while you are away from home. Also its not going to put you at risk of your entire bank account being cleaned out before you get the cards blocked.

I have had my bag stolen in my home city, the stress of that and having to sort out my bank cards when I was at home was hard enough. I do not want that stress amplified when travelling.

If my prepaid card is stolen, I am in a foreign country with no access to funds. But if my credit card is stolen, my bank accounts won't be cleaned out. They have nothing to do with my credit card.

 

[kdonnel]

yes, but its far less stressful with just a prepaid card. Its not leaving you in a foreign country with no access to funds. Its not putting your bills and other payments at risk while you are away from home. Also its not going to put you at risk of your entire bank account being cleaned out before you get the cards blocked.

I have had my bag stolen in my home city, the stress of that and having to sort out my bank cards when I was at home was hard enough. I do not want that stress amplified when travelling.

You should not have a Debit card issued on your checking account.

You should ask for an ATM only card so you have access to cash and only use Credit cards for purchases, domestically or internationally. As you mentioned the headache associated with a compromised Debit card is great because even if it is just temporary, it is YOUR money at risk and there are bills that may try to be paid while the account has been drained and you have to deal with that as well.

With a Credit card it is SOMEONE else's money. As long as I report the loss of the card in a timely manner I don't care how difficult it is for the Credit card company to recoup the fraudulent charges.

As for canceling a card that has recurring charges, generally the credit card companies will allow prior recurring charges to go through even after the card is cancelled for a couple months. Certainly long enough to complete a vacation.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

whatever, things are different in Europe regarding bank cards etc, I just gave a different point of view. I do whats safe for me.

 

[EACarlson]

OP, I would look into putting your teen on one of your Visa or Mastercard cards and having them take that overseas with them. My credit union offers me the ability to put a separate limit on my authorized user cards and let me know each time it is used.

whatever, things are different in Europe regarding bank cards etc, I just gave a different point of view. I do whats safe for me.

Knowing that the rules and laws are different between the US and Europe, wouldn't it be reasonable that what makes the most sense to you when travelling to the US is not necessarily the best choice for someone from the US travelling to Europe? There is almost no risk of losing money due to fraud on a lost or stolen card that was issued in the US.

 

[lilmc]

I would definitely just have him as authorized user on a zero foreign transaction fee credit card. By far the simplest way. If he does need cash, we have a specific Charles Schwab account just for travel that also reimburses automatically any ATM fees and we just grab a little cash from an ATM as needed.

 

[LuvOrlando]

becuase I only put a small limited amount on a pre paid card. Having a regular credit or debit card stolen when travelling internationally opens you up to credit card fraud and is hugely stressful when you are not in your own timezone. The banks put a hold on your card,and you have to get a new card, which then you need to change payment details on bills and other things.

A prepaid card which is linked to nothing else, is far less risky and far less stressful if it gets stolen.

So how much are you ok with having stolen? How much would you give your child because I would make at least $1000 available to my kid in another country and $1000 loss would make me mad

 

[mjkacmom]

One thing to consider is medical, even if you have travel insurance, you will most likely be expected to pay for care and then get reimbursed by travel insurance after your health insurance declines the charges.

 

[NotUrsula]

It's true that different countries have different banking security rules, but for Americans, credit cards definitely carry less risk. Our liability for credit card fraud maxs out at $50 as long as the issuer is informed within 2 business days; any false purchases or advances beyond that will be refunded, and there is no connection to our bank accounts from our credit cards. (Note that if you're going to add a teen as an authorized user, pick a Visa or Mastercard, not Amex or Discover.)

Personally, for overseas travel, I find that one card is not enough if you are traveling on an itinerary with frequent movement. If something happens and the card is lost, damaged, or compromised, the credit card company will normally take 2 business days to get the replacement card to you via a service like NHL or FedEx, and if you are moving from place to place on a motorcoach tour, that can be a difficult proposition. I normally carry two cards if at all possible. Also, I know cash is passe, but I get some immediately on the first day in a new country, because there are just sometimes situations where a card won't be accepted for whatever reason. (A couple of years ago I went into a butcher shop in Marylebone and bought a couple of links of sausage to make for breakfast in our temporary flat. The owner insisted on cash, as he didn't want to pay a merchant's fee on my very small purchase. He actually wouldn't change a 20GPB note, either; insisted that the largest thing he would take was a 10. And yes, I know he was probably breaking the credit card issuer's rules, but I really didn't want to make an issue of it; I just wanted 1/4 lb. of very nice sausage, so I handed over cash.)

Another place where card acceptance can be hit or miss is street markets; and tourist teens do tend to like to visit those, so getting a bit of cash for walking-around money is still not a bad idea.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

It's true that different countries have different banking security rules, but for Americans, credit cards definitely carry less risk. Our liability for credit card fraud maxs out at $50 as long as the issuer is informed within 2 business days; any false purchases or advances beyond that will be refunded, and there is no connection to our bank accounts from our credit cards. (Note that if you're going to add a teen as an authorized user, pick a Visa or Mastercard, not Amex or Discover.)

Personally, for overseas travel, I find that one card is not enough if you are traveling on an itinerary with frequent movement. If something happens and the card is lost, damaged, or compromised, the credit card company will normally take 2 business days to get the replacement card to you via a service like NHL or FedEx, and if you are moving from place to place on a motorcoach tour, that can be a difficult proposition. I normally carry two cards if at all possible. Also, I know cash is passe, but I get some immediately on the first day in a new country, because there are just sometimes situations where a card won't be accepted for whatever reason. (A couple of years ago I went into a butcher shop in Marylebone and bought a couple of links of sausage to make for breakfast in our temporary flat. The owner insisted on cash, as he didn't want to pay a merchant's fee on my very small purchase. He actually wouldn't change a 20GPB note, either; insisted that the largest thing he would take was a 10. And yes, I know he was probably breaking the credit card issuer's rules, but I really didn't want to make an issue of it; I just wanted 1/4 lb. of very nice sausage, so I handed over cash.)

Another place where card acceptance can be hit or miss is street markets; and tourist teens do tend to like to visit those, so getting a bit of cash for walking-around money is still not a bad idea.

I agree with the cash part. In 2022 I did the Norwegian Fjords with Disney Cruise. I brought Norwegian cash with me as I knew we were visiting small towns and villages. I had a lovely conversation with a store owner in one of the ports who thanked me for using local cash, as like you said, they loose money on transaction fees from international bank cards.

 

[AprilsZoo]

I do agree that with a credit card, if you have it tied to any auto-payments then you have to change those. But you do usually that after the trip, not during.

Actually, with both Visa and AmEx even if you report a card lost or stolen, they will still allow any automatic payments that were already set up prior to the incident to continue going thru. You do not have to change anything unless you want to.

Reporting it lost or stolen just prevent new charges from going thru.

Obviously, they have to issue a new card… and they will overnight it to you if you ask them to. Amex does this automatically, at least at the platinum level, but I seem to remember it being SOP with our lowly gold card too. Visa only overnights your card if you request it.

It’s been at least 10 years since I’ve changed or updated our subscription payment info for several services. Yet, I’ve reported my Amex card lost twice. (Once was me being paranoid. I ended up finding it a couple days later in a place I had searched several times… the other time it really was lost along with my visa).

I suppose it’s possible ymmv with Visa depending on the card issuer (Bank, CU, etc.) But Amex for sure won’t make you change anything. I even have a few services that won’t even make me change the card upon its expiration, so long as it still is going thru. Big Fish games for example… they had been using the same cc information (AmEx) since 2010 with no further input from me right up until I canceled my subscription earlier this year.

 

[AprilsZoo]

Note that if you're going to add a teen as an authorized user, pick a Visa or Mastercard, not Amex or Discover.

Why? We added our kids as authorized users on our Amex once they were Juniors in HS. They knew exactly what they were allowed to use the card for (primarily gas in the car, or school books or fees, like band stuff) As they got older, we let them use it to pay for college tuition, books, etc.

DS#2 and #3 each rents a different house from us, and they keep the Amex on hand still in case they need to pay for needed items or repairs for the house.
As they’ve become independent, DS#1 & #4 have given up their cards.

They did each start life in a position of excellent credit, because they reaped the rewards of mine & DH’s creditworthiness. For example DS#1 got a better loan on his first home because his credit score was very high due to the AmEx showing on his credit report. Otherwise, the car he financed and the wedding ring for DDiL hadn’t done much for him yet at that point.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

Why? We added our kids as authorized users on our Amex once they were Juniors in HS. They knew exactly what they were allowed to use the card for (primarily gas in the car, or school books or fees, like band stuff) As they got older, we let them use it to pay for college tuition, books, etc.

DS#2 rents a house from us, and he keeps the Amex on hand still in case he needs to pay for needed items or repairs for the house.

Amex / American Express is not really used in Europe and many countries dont accept it for payment in shops restaurants etc. Visa and Mastercard systems are used in Europe, so its better to have cards on those systems.

 

[AprilsZoo]

Amex / American Express is not really used in Europe and many countries dont accept it for payment in shops restaurants etc. Visa and Mastercard systems are used in Europe, so its better to have cards on those systems.

Ok, I read it more like you were just talking about in general, and not only related to European travel.

It’s funny though, Amex sure advertises a lot about being the #1 card accepted worldwide… and they show a map where they claim acceptance across North & South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. I’ll have to see if I can find it online. Last time I saw it was either printed on a flyer tucked in with our statement. Or it maybe came in one of the official-looking envelopes that’s really just trying to offer us the next higher card level for a significantly higher annual fee.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

Ok, I read it more like you were just talking about in general, and not only related to European travel.

It’s funny though, Amex sure advertises a lot about being the #1 card accepted worldwide… and they show a map where they claim acceptance across North & South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. I’ll have to see if I can find it online. Last time I saw it was either printed on a flyer tucked in with our statement. Or it maybe came in one of the official-looking envelopes that’s really just trying to offer us the next higher card level for a significantly higher annual fee.

While yes they are technically correct, the American Express systems work in Europe, its not usually accepted in many European countries due to higher transaction fees than Visa and Mastercard. So to make things simpler, places just put signs up that they don't accept American Express, even though American Express with tell their American users oh yes you will be fine. American Express wont say we charge high fees compared to Visa and Mastercard.

 

[mikehn]

I've added my Chase southwest credit card to my Iphone apple wallet. If you ever have to cancel your card for whatever reason, Chase pushes a new digital credit card to your iphone within seconds. I've already had to do this a couple times. Then they will send you an actual card in the mail. So you can at least use the digital card on your phone at any merchant that accepts apple pay.

 

[Jangles]

I have a Revolut, which I only use for travelling abroad. The exchange rates are excellent and there is no exchange fee. When at home I freeze all the cards, physical, virtual (for online use) and virtual single use( which regenerates after use to avoid online fraud), and keep the ‘cash’ in various currencies in interest earning locked vaults. I can also pay, using the card in my Apple wallet . On holiday, I just transfer from a vault to an open account on a daily basis, so my money is completely protected if the card is stolen and I get the best exchange rate. When my son was travelling around Latin America, we shared a vault, so that I could top up funds as needed. Unlike a credit card a thief cannot max out the card, so it is much safer.

 

[RedHead0186]

Actually, with both Visa and AmEx even if you report a card lost or stolen, they will still allow any automatic payments that were already set up prior to the incident to continue going thru. You do not have to change anything unless you want to.

Reporting it lost or stolen just prevent new charges from going thru.

Obviously, they have to issue a new card… and they will overnight it to you if you ask them to. Amex does this automatically, at least at the platinum level, but I seem to remember it being SOP with our lowly gold card too. Visa only overnights your card if you request it.

It’s been at least 10 years since I’ve changed or updated our subscription payment info for several services. Yet, I’ve reported my Amex card lost twice. (Once was me being paranoid. I ended up finding it a couple days later in a place I had searched several times… the other time it really was lost along with my visa).

I suppose it’s possible ymmv with Visa depending on the card issuer (Bank, CU, etc.) But Amex for sure won’t make you change anything. I even have a few services that won’t even make me change the card upon its expiration, so long as it still is going thru. Big Fish games for example… they had been using the same cc information (AmEx) since 2010 with no further input from me right up until I canceled my subscription earlier this year.

Yes, you're right. I just had a credit card number compromised, and I had a couple of automatics payments still go through (even though they had issued a new card with a new card number).

 

[RedHead0186]

I've added my Chase southwest credit card to my Iphone apple wallet. If you ever have to cancel your card for whatever reason, Chase pushes a new digital credit card to your iphone within seconds. I've already had to do this a couple times. Then they will send you an actual card in the mail. So you can at least use the digital card on your phone at any merchant that accepts apple pay.

Oh, good to know! I just had my Chase SW card compromised (on the first day of a several-day vacation). I had it in my Google Wallet, but didn't realize I'd get a new digital card there right away (to be honest, it never occurred to me to check). So I just avoided using that card the whole trip (not a huge deal, as I had another CC). But good to know for the future!

 

[lilmc]

Chase pushes a new digital credit card to your iphone within seconds.

Oh this makes so much sense! I’ve seen this in my Apple Wallet when I’ve needed new cards and would make snide comments about Big Brother/AI Gemlins knowing my business better than I did…..much better there’s a logical explanation