Travel Money card for teenager?

[offshore171]

Hi all,

Looking for ideas or suggestions on this situation:

The 15 year old is doing a student exchange for a couple of months in England.

Food and board is covered, but there will be a need for some form of travel card I think, for incidentals or emergency use. I was thinking something I could load up with maybe £500 or so for emergency situations, with the option for me to top it up from Australia

I imagine this type of thing isn't that uncommon. How have others done it? Any recommended products?

 

[Lynda2475]

Most UK ATM don't charge fees for withdrawals, so probably easiest to set up a shared transaction account with one of the banks that doesn't impose their own fees on overseas withdrawals like Macquarie Bank.

Then you can just transfer money in AUD as needed, and he can use his card to either pay by eftpos or withdraw cash from a fee free ATM in pounds.

Of course you can always load up a currency card bt then you need to decide upfront how much to convert and will likely pay a fee for converting AUD to GBP.

 

[VPS]

I think Wise is good for this. It's very easy to transfer the money and it's almost instantaneous and you can also "freeze" the card so it's not likely to be compromised

 

[offshore171]

I think Wise is good for this. It's very easy to transfer the money and it's almost instantaneous and you can also "freeze" the card so it's not likely to be compromised

Thanks. As far as I can tell they only support age 18+

 

[VPS]

Thanks. As far as I can tell they only support age 18+

The card could be in your name though

 

[offshore171]

Of course you can always load up a currency card bt then you need to decide upfront how much to convert and will likely pay a fee for converting AUD to GBP.

Thanks. This might be a goer as a backup card. Thinking having 2 separate forms of payment accessible is probably good for redundancy. Teenagers are great at losing things!

I don’t mind the fees (within reason) as long as it’s a reliable product. It’s intended to be £800 or so of emergency funds for security and safety.

 

[offshore171]

The card could be in your name though

Seems that’s not an option either. Unless i’ve missed something (entirely possible!) the agreement on their site says that’s not permitted.

 

[7508jaa]

Hi all,

Looking for ideas or suggestions on this situation:

The 15 year old is doing a student exchange for a couple of months in England.

Food and board is covered, but there will be a need for some form of travel card I think, for incidentals or emergency use. I was thinking something I could load up with maybe £500 or so for emergency situations, with the option for me to top it up from Australia

I imagine this type of thing isn't that uncommon. How have others done it? Any recommended products?

Hi, I have this exact situation! Our 16 year old is heading to South Africa on exchange and I would like a travel card that has the option of a virtual card plus a physical card. What did you end up using? Thanks in advance, J

 

[Cynicor]

Just get a fee free debit card account in your name and give them the card.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Just get a fee free debit card account in your name and give them the card.

Agree.

We’ve been using the UP card recently for overseas. No fees and a good exchange rate.

Can’t children get debit cards? They can get ATM cards.

Even if it’s ’against the rules’ and you forego any loss protection, if there’s only £200 or so at any time, it won’t be an issue.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

If the name on the card is not the same as the person claiminging owner of the card, there is a small chance that the card might get swallowed by a machine, and it will be hard to get it back, either that you have to phone the Aus bank and explain what you did, or plea with the bank that swallowed the card.
Best not to have a card that is the kids, as anything can happen overseas, and maybe some authorities over there might not look too kindly on a person having a visa/mastercard that is not in their name.
Is the kid into QFF?
QTMC min age is 16, so if he/she is into QFF, then get him/her him/her own QTMC in their own name.
Good way to keep QFF points alive.
Plus, wize, plus some physical USD$ too.
A few places while I was in NZ, agreed, its not Africa/UK, didnt accept the tap, but I had other cards to access other accounts, so in the end, it was ok.
Just be aware of the "mum, I have a new phone number sms tricks of scammers", have a code words/word that only you both will know.
Or a string of conversations that you both agree will never be used, so if it does pop up, you will know its a scam, and not really an sms from the son/daughter.

 

[Cynicor]

If the name on the card is not the same as the person claiminging owner of the card, there is a small chance that the card might get swallowed by a machine, and it will be hard to get it back, either that you have to phone the Aus bank and explain what you did, or plea with the bank that swallowed the card.

Luckily ATMs aren't psychic so they have no idea who is using them...
Cards almost never get swallowed, esp new cards that are proven to work with a pin just recently set.
worst case these accounts are free. Get one from every bank if you want. As long as you have 2 weeks to go and 30 min free one evening you can literally set up a bankwest, ubank, up bank, mac bank and ING debit account then just wait for the cards to arrive. Quintuple redundancy for 0 cost.
Unlike QFF...

 

[SYD]

Hi, I have this exact situation! Our 16 year old is heading to South Africa on exchange and I would like a travel card that has the option of a virtual card plus a physical card. What did you end up using? Thanks in advance, J

Get them to apply for UBank account. 16+ yo age requirement.

Transaction Account - ubank

Our Spend account is an an award-winning transaction account for everyday banking. No monthly fees.

www.ubank.com.au

Comes with physical card VISA/Debit card as well as virtual (Apply pay etc).

0% international transaction fee and no bank imposed ATM fee.

Get them to open the linked “Saver” account to park cash (5.1% pa but cash on call). A good entry point for kids to appreciate interest earning potential.

 

[qaz]

The 15 year old is doing a student exchange for a couple of months in England.

Food and board is covered, but there will be a need for some form of travel card I think, for incidentals or emergency use. I was thinking something I could load up with maybe £500 or so for emergency situations, with the option for me to top it up from Australia

I imagine this type of thing isn't that uncommon. How have others done it? Any recommended products?

Hi, I have this exact situation! Our 16 year old is heading to South Africa on exchange and I would like a travel card that has the option of a virtual card plus a physical card. What did you end up using? Thanks in advance, J

Revolut <18 - Benefits for parents and guardians | Revolut for under 18s | Account for teens

The account for young people aged 6-17. Complete with their own and spending card. Family finances, sorted

www.revolut.com

Paying with Revolut while travelling | Revolut Australia

Get the answers you need for any issues or questions you may have

help.revolut.com

ATM withdrawals and withdrawal fees while travelling | Revolut Australia

Get the answers you need for any issues or questions you may have

help.revolut.com

Currency exchange fees | Revolut Australia

Get the answers you need for any issues or questions you may have

help.revolut.com

Personal Fees (Standard) | Revolut Australia

Revolut terms and policies

www.revolut.com

 

[Seat0B]

I add my 2 cents worth about an Australian Debit card. You just open an account in the Teen's name, and get a debit card son their account so they can withdraw money. It's a long time ago now, but we were able to do that for both Seat Daughter and Seat Son when they were late teenagers. After all, there is no real risk with this - the card is only good for as much money is in the account. It's not credit, it's just a way to access their own money from an ATM or EFTPOS.

I understand from parents of current teens that this is definitely still possible, especially with CBA who offer specific young people accounts, but a quick google of "Bank account with debit card for 15 year old" shows also Suncorp, Westpac, Macquarie etc.

And here is a canstar article that might help

Debit Cards for Kids - Compare Cards & Accounts | Canstar

A kids debit card can be used by your child to make purchases in-store or online. We take a look at what's on offer, and alternatives.

www.canstar.com.au

Then they just withdraw from an ATM in South Africa when they need cash - usually the exchange rates are very very good, and there may be no further fees, although sometimes there is a small ATM use fee.