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Old 03-03-2017, 02:37 PM
 
Location: Live in NY, work in CT
11,240 posts, read 18,711,826 times
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Hi I am cross-posting this from the World Forum.

Hi. My daughter is an 8th grader in a Jewish day school who is going on a two week trip to Israel in 3 weeks. The school recommends that for spending money you arrange for your bank to give your child a MC or Visa debit card for temporary use with about $200-300 on it. If you can't do that they suggest prepaid debit cards, they do not want kids bringing travelers' checks nor cash. I nor my wife have never been to that part of the world and the only times we have been off the North American continent (i.e. outside of the US, Canada or Mexico) is a trip to London in 2003 and one to Tahiti (that my wife won as first prize in a raffle at her job when she worked for an airline) in 2000. My wife also went to Europe in high school on a trip, but that was in the 1980s when you simply got travelers' checks.

However, the credit union we belong to will not do this for anyone under 16 and some banks that will want us to have an account with $1000 or more there for them to do it. The school suggests in that scenario to get a prepaid debit card. I have only seen 3 options, and they seem more for someone who wants a permanent refillable debit card:

Netspend: Looks like the best option (as time is getting close and you can go to CVS or Walgreens to get it as opposed to waiting for it to be sent to you), but has fees for every transaction and even to close the account, which I would be doing 2 months from now tops.

Walmart/Green Dot: Less fees than Netspend (but still many), but it doesn't appear they let you authorize a 13-17 year old to use it. This was the card the school recommended and they said just do it in your name and have your child use it and no one will know. I know these cards don't have the actual names on it, but is there any risks or legal issues in doing that?

Bluebird by AMEX: The least fees, but only option to get in and store and not wait to be shipped is Wal-Mart and not all Walmarts have them. Then it is a special limited "temporary" card while you wait for your "real" one with all the full benefits. And you can only use it in places that take American Express (though it appears it is as easy as the others to take cash out of an ATM).



I need to get one of these by March 12 (the school is asking that we give them her passport and the debit card to hold on the 13th) and she will be returning on April 6 so again I only need this for 1-2 months and then intend to close it. Will any of the above work? Is there a better option that is purely temporary? Please let me know ASAP, thanks!
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Old 03-04-2017, 11:30 PM
 
13,041 posts, read 20,698,725 times
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You should be able to walk into any major retailer who sells gift cards and pick up a plain old simple non-branded Visa or MasterCard. Some even have American Express cards. No need to get all complicated with branded pre-paid cards. I think the confusion is the difference between pre-paid debit cards that come via some financial institution and plain old gift cards. Visa, MasterCard and Amex "gift cards" are generic, no name cards with a preset value issued by Visa, MasterCard, or Amex. They are used just like a debit card. You find these at all the stores in the gift card kiosk or checkout counter. There is a small fee to purchase. Some are in prepaid set amounts ($25, $50, $100, etc) others can be self determined (anywhere from $20 to $1,000). They often are not re-loadable so you will need enough individual cards to last. Some can be reloaded if you register it with Visa, MasterCard or Amex but there are fees to do so. The caution is they are like cash, you lose it, you may be out that money.
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Old 03-05-2017, 06:49 AM
 
43,303 posts, read 43,957,600 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rabrrita View Post
You should be able to walk into any major retailer who sells gift cards and pick up a plain old simple non-branded Visa or MasterCard. Some even have American Express cards. No need to get all complicated with branded pre-paid cards. I think the confusion is the difference between pre-paid debit cards that come via some financial institution and plain old gift cards. Visa, MasterCard and Amex "gift cards" are generic, no name cards with a preset value issued by Visa, MasterCard, or Amex. They are used just like a debit card. You find these at all the stores in the gift card kiosk or checkout counter. There is a small fee to purchase. Some are in prepaid set amounts ($25, $50, $100, etc) others can be self determined (anywhere from $20 to $1,000). They often are not re-loadable so you will need enough individual cards to last. Some can be reloaded if you register it with Visa, MasterCard or Amex but there are fees to do so. The caution is they are like cash, you lose it, you may be out that money.
Not sure if all of these will work overseas. So the OP needs to check that they can be used outside of the USA before purchasing.

A regular bank debit card would allow one to withdraw Israeli shekels directly from any local ATM with probably low bank fees (at least on the Israeli side). I don't know if a prepaid debit card would allow for that or not but it should be good for overseas purchases (assuming it can be used outside the USA).
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Old 03-05-2017, 02:06 PM
 
Location: The Triad
34,091 posts, read 82,438,418 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 7 Wishes View Post
...the credit union we belong to will not do this ...
Open a JOINT account in a bank that will.

As a parent... y ou want to be able to TRANSFER additional funds to the ATM card if/when it's needed.
A prepaid with a fixed amount won't do that.
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Old 03-05-2017, 02:19 PM
 
2,411 posts, read 1,952,152 times
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Did you ask the school and/or other parents how they have found a way to do this? Surely some others must also deal with this kind of issue too?


If a prepaid Visa will work in Israel, you should probably try to figure out the exchange rate when determining how much to put on the card so she really does have the equivalent of $200-300 to play with over there.


And presumably too, she will always be in the company of an adult so if there are issues, perhaps you can also look at that way to handle it all - have that person have a letter with permission from you to act as the child's financial guardian or whatever is the best wording, for the duration of the trip ... so the child and guardian may be able to go to a bank and exchange for cash if need be or vouch that the child has permission to use the Visa, etc. Or heck, maybe if you know and trust the chaperone, perhaps you could just ask the child to give it to that person to do their actual purchase transaction for them.


One of the good things (and bad - impress on said child that losing this card WILL be a big problem since there is no name on it and anyone can use it) about no name is that anyone can use it so the chaperone can too - but I would also bet that at point of sale a store will take the card anyway, even from a youngster if there is money on it rather than lose the sale.


Don't credit unions allow kids to have bank accounts in their own names (even if the parent has to help them open it)? If they do, don't they also allow the child to have a debit card so they can learn to deposit and withdraw money from their own accounts?
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Old 03-05-2017, 05:13 PM
 
5,401 posts, read 6,463,584 times
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Get a paypal accounts, one for you & one for her. Do this today. You will each need an email address. I don't know if it has an age minimum, but frankly how can they check? Paypal prefers established accounts.

Then apply for Paypal merchant Mastercard debit card for her.
She will need a piece of mail with her address to scan/email to verify. In theory you could get the card in your name & give it to her...but I think they would consider that fraudulent use (because it would be emailing money to yourself).

Card will be mailed, you need activate & get a PIN. She will need this PIN at atm when getting cash. When her account says x amount of money is "in her wallet" she can access it with card either at an ATM for cash or buying something at store that takes mastercard.

Then you can "friends & family" send her money if she needs more-- straight from your bank account, in US it is pretty instanteous. (If you use a credit card it takes 4 or 5 days to clear.) There are small charges to do this, but basically cheap.

...and before she goes you can send friends/family money to her card for the full amount & then be certain it works and she knows how to use it. ***Plus just like any out of area travel where you'll use your credit card, call the customer service line and tell them will be in Israel using it.

Last edited by historyfan; 03-05-2017 at 05:21 PM.. Reason: clarity
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Old 03-05-2017, 11:35 PM
 
13,041 posts, read 20,698,725 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chava61 View Post
Not sure if all of these will work overseas. So the OP needs to check that they can be used outside of the USA before purchasing.

A regular bank debit card would allow one to withdraw Israeli shekels directly from any local ATM with probably low bank fees (at least on the Israeli side). I don't know if a prepaid debit card would allow for that or not but it should be good for overseas purchases (assuming it can be used outside the USA).
Oh shoot, that's right the Travel Cards can no longer be sold at stores. They have to be bought at banks or credit unions for identification purposes. I think if a parent has a Visa or MasterCard they can order a prepaid travel card linked for identification and still get it overnight.
OP, my bad, the Visa and MasterCard gift cards may not always work overseas only the Visa or MasterCard prepaid Travel Cards, and those are purchased at banks and such because they need to have an ID check and associated with those cards.
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Old 03-06-2017, 02:01 PM
 
Location: Austintown, OH
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I've never been to Israel, but, I know AMEX isn't accepted nearly as many places as here, so, I would certainly stay away from that option.
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Old 03-06-2017, 02:22 PM
 
Location: The Ranch in Olam Haba
23,709 posts, read 30,573,053 times
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Go to Amazon and order her a money belt. Many locations don't take credit/debit cards and finding a ATM that takes a US one is a pain. Give her $500 in cash and have her convert $200 to NIS at the airport. The rest keep in small bills as depending where she is going might take dollars.

Keep in mind that putting a few hundred dollars on an American debit card doesn't directly translate directly to NIS. There will be multiple fees deducted (the amount is decided by each individual bank it passes through from Israel to the US) and your daughter won't know about it (and how much she actually has) until it's too late.
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Old 03-06-2017, 02:32 PM
 
16,235 posts, read 25,071,093 times
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Just go to Sam's or Walmart and buy a large denomination VISA gift card. I have sent these to my grandchildren before, never a problem spending them.....but that is in the U.S.

Buy a smaller denomination card to practice with this week. Let her go with you and get a hang for using this card. I'm sure if you find something better, the school will let you replace the card before the trip. They want your child to have her own spending money.

My Grandchildren went on trips like this, but in the U.S. so I would want to talk to a parent who's child went last year and ask questions if I were you.
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