credit card for 16 yr olds?

trish13

My 16yo is off to New York on a school trip shortly. I am not happy about her going off with lots of dollar bills, feel that she would be vulnerable ie easy target & if she was robbed/lost money it would be a pain trying to sort her out. Does anyone know if there is anyone out there who would issue a credit card to a 16 year old, I would gladly apply for it myself if she could be a secondary cardholder. I have had no luck sourcing any card here so far, interesting enough if I lived in the States it would be no problem getting her a card! Thanks for any info.

jd87

It is illegal for under 18s to be given credit cards. What your daughter needs is a debit card.

timcrips

Agree 100% with jd87.

Dont teach her to start using a credit card yet. How much does she need for the trip?

lukealexander

Perhaps a Visa debit card would be suitable? You should also consider the currency conversion and other costs.

duchy

You could get a pre-paid card like cashplus (they have a website) and get her a secondary card. If anything went wrong (unlikely on a school trip-although she might spend it all on shopping the first day ) you can top it up instantly at Money Shop type places.

BusinessStudent

I think you are worrying far too much and should just relax! - It is not as if your daughter is going alone...shes going with the school!

normanmark

She'll be fine, I think its more paranoia on your behalf. If she just keeps money stored in different places, eg. herself, suitcase & hand luggage then you'll have no problems

trish13

BusinessStudent wrote: »

I think you are worrying far too much and should just relax! - It is not as if your daughter is going alone...shes going with the school!

Thanks for that, but she may as well be going alone!!

latecomer

Its been a few years since I went on school trips but we used to have teachers/adults who were tasked with holding everyones funds and you could request a set daily amount or for days when you would be in/around shops you could get more. Hence that way you only even had a smallish amount of cash on you and the responsible adults looked after the rest.

I presume thats not an option?

trish13

duchy wrote: »

You could get a pre-paid card like cashplus (they have a website) and get her a secondary card. If anything went wrong (unlikely on a school trip-although she might spend it all on shopping the first day ) you can top it up instantly at Money Shop type places.

Thank you. I have looked into pre-paid cards, most say have to be 18. will keep trying tho'. btw, they are not actually with teachers all the time, they have alot of free time where they can go off on their own and she is a canny shopper so she won't spend it all on 1st day.

PedroH

trish13 wrote: »

Thank you. I have looked into pre-paid cards, most say have to be 18. will keep trying tho'. btw, they are not actually with teachers all the time, they have alot of free time where they can go off on their own and she is a canny shopper so she won't spend it all on 1st day.

To apply for one -- not use it. Debit cards different from credit in that you can order two. So - say your daughter says "I have seen a wonderful dress it costs $200" you could go in to a Post Office (or other agent) hand over the money (with card one) in pounds and within a day (or whatever the small print says) and it will be available for her to spend (with card two).