Posted on 07/21/2015 10:08:47 AM PDT by LouAvul
I want to gift my grandchildren a credit card that, when the occasion arises, I can simply add money to it and avoid the tedious snail mail at birthdays, etc.
Do any of you do that? It would be nice if I could add money via online transaction.
thanks
Check the fine print on the ones you are considering. Many have usage and transaction fees. A gift of $100 would not go entirely to the intended recipient.
Sounds like a good idea. I could send them the card and fund it after they receive it. Wouldn’t have to worry about cash getting stolen...have had that happen...stupid! of me...or waiting for them to cash a check.
How old are your grandchildren?
I’m not a good one to ask, but I know that some actually require you to set up a bank account and provide personal information. I received a PayPal reloadable gift card that was like that. It was sponsored by a bank. I didn’t go ahead with it and just considered the gift money as a loss.
IIRC They all charge you money to load and reload the card.
That's true; you have to be careful. American Express gift cards don't have usage/inactivity fees; there may be others. And I believe they're reloadable.
Just any ordinary bank account in the child’s name would give you a debit card, these days (free account too - for children)
I have 3 for my daughters at First Niagara Bank
But it is still nice to get a physical card and some green stuff in the mail
You can do that with an Amazon gift card. I do not believe it is possible with a regular debit card, though.
9 to 12. Their mom (my daughter) would have to hold it.
Amazon would allow them to use it other than Amazon outlets? McDonalds for a burger, for example? How does one reload an Amazon card? I’m a member of Amazon Prime if that matters.
Mmm. I would give them cash for their bank accounts. Might be able to get direct deposit online. Gift cards have fees and such that divert some funds. If they were older, I would recommend store cards, like for dining out. They usually do not charge any fee for those.
Amazon prime? Give them kindles and Amazon gift cards to buy books.
I use a Perkstreet debit card. No fees to transfer money online, no monthly fees if you make at least one purchase in a month. Had it 3+ years and haven’t paid a penny in fees yet.
Options we found: the credit union where we have one of our checking accounts does not charge any fees for gift cards under $200 but they are not rechargeable/reloadable. They did let us get a credit card in our older teenager grandson’s name but tied to our account. It has a $200 credit limit but we can just pay balance off and then he’s good to go again. Works well since he is in college. We use gift cards which we buy from Kroger for the younger grandson. Yes, there is a $5 fee but we it allows us to take $.10/gallon of gas per $100 purchased. We always make sure we buy gas on “double day” which allows $.20/gallon of gas per $100 purchased. Combined with the credit for groceries purchased plus our 10% senior discount on Kroger brand items, we are able to save dollars several different ways yet give the grandsons access to some money in a safe manner. We were able to purchase our last tank of gas at $.60/gallon off the pump price.
If you have PayPal you can add a student account for the kid and they will get a permanent matercard/debit card. I do this now. There is no fee whatsoever. They can receive money from me (or anyone) via email or direct transfer. I just add money to the card online and can see the balance and every transaction. The card is a debit mastercard but they can use it to get cash from an ATM as well.
CapitalOne has a Teen MONEY Account with no fees, minimums, a debit card, and free ATM withdrawals. There's a phone number at the link. You would be co-owner of the accounts and can have up to 25 of them. I suspect the "Teen Account" can be used for even younger children, and is given the "Teen" name for marketing purposes. You can also ask if they give a bonus for opening an account. CapitalOne got into banking by buying out ING, which once gave $25 for opening an account.
You could also look for a local bank or credit union that has no charge, no minimum deposit accounts for minors. When our children were young they each had one of these. You could then open accounts and then give them each a debit card /ATM card. This is that same as CapitalOne, but on a local basis.
H&R Block’s Emerald Card comes to mind.
I have a debit card linked to my sister’s credit union account. It costs her $2 to load money, which she can do online, I can get a balance by phone, use it almost anywhere.
I’ve used regular debit cards before, available at most stores. Usually about $5 to activate, fees vary, check the fine print, and $2 or $2.50 to load money. I had to load money at the store, they scan the card. I think you can load money online too but not sure, I didn’t have a bank account which was the reason I got one. No credit cards either.
MIO was the one I ended up with, no fees, others have fees per purchase or once a month if you don’t use it.
Gift cards I’m not familiar with, the only one I’ve used is a Amazon but it’s not a physical card. That’s what my sister used for a Christmas present this year, but it can only be used online at Amazon.
From what I’ve seen so far, a credit union seems to be the best bet for what you want to do. If you have an account you can get a card for any family member and load money online whenever you need to, fees vary, mine has a $2 load fee but no other fees. Be wary of using it at an ATM, they charge up to $5 a pop. We’ve been planning to get me an account too but haven’t done it, unemployed fools in Obama’s world don’t have much use for bank accounts...
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