Teenage holiday currency

w14eye

Can I ask advice?
My 16 year old daughter is travelling to USA alone in June to visit a friend. How would be best to send her with money?
We'd prefer to use credit cards but of course she is too young - and I don't relish the idea of her having potentially hundreds of dollars in cash hanging around...

What would you do?

Alwaysskint2016

How about a pre-paid card? I used to work for a company arranging school trips abroad and would suggest parents use a pre-paid card. That way by using the online account you have access to monitor spending, top up as required and cancel if gets lost/stolen. There are many out there but we used Fairfx.

Your daughter could use like a normal card to purchase items (in most places) and wishdraw cash as and when needed.

Hope this helps

AlwaysHere

https://www.nationwide.co.uk/products/current-accounts/flexone/whats-flexone is what you need

"Prepaid card" is poor advice. Firstly because they are generally for people eighteen years old and over and second because the ones that do allow under eighteens to hold one carry extra charges.

Alwaysskint2016

To be more specific the kind of prepaid card I was on about was the Family & Friends FairFX prepaid Mastercard (sorry can't post a link) where you're able to set up a card for anyone 13 years and over. The main account holder (in this case the parent, needs to be 18+ with a UK address) would need to set up a standard Fairfx card in this case in USD, then apply for an additional card holder/family & friends to sit under their account. I think you pay something like £6 for ordering the card (but please check yourself for fees/charges).

Thanks

PeacefulWaters

If you decide on plastic, educate the youngster on USA ATM charges.

I'd hate them to have $100 eaten away by withdrawing small amounts from an ATM with a disproportionately large fee.

AlwaysHere

Alwaysskint2016 wrote: »

To be more specific the kind of prepaid card I was on about was the Family & Friends FairFX prepaid Mastercard (sorry can't post a link) where you're able to set up a card for anyone 13 years and over. The main account holder (in this case the parent, needs to be 18+ with a UK address) would need to set up a standard Fairfx card in this case in USD, then apply for an additional card holder/family & friends to sit under their account. I think you pay something like £6 for ordering the card (but please check yourself for fees/charges).

Thanks

Still not good in comparison, as you have to convert to US$ at a cost and then pay for an additional card. Then if you have any US$ left over, you have to pay to convert them back again.
Not really best practice.

The FlexOne account has no such charges, can be opened in the daughter's own name and even pays interest.
It is, as the Americans like to say, a "no brainer"..