Many of the credit card companies recognise the need to have some type of credit card for teenagers in this day and age. There are several cases in which cash or cheques are no longer accepted, especially with online purchases making it very difficult for a teenager to get anything, such as gifts. These prepaid credit cards for teenagers do have to have the parent’s permission in order to obtain them, but the fact that they exist can help many parents and teenagers get along financially.
With prepaid credit cards for teenagers there are couple of things that should be examined before you obtain just any of the cards. Many of the online companies offering prepaid credit cards have extensive fees in the start up costs, transaction fees, monthly fee, and the reload fee. To help you find a prepaid credit card for your teenager we have looked at some of the cards available to determine the best cards out there. Here are few of the cards we have found.
The Rush Card Prepaid Visa has a start up cost of $19.95, with a transaction fee of a dollar, but a free reload fee. The Western Union Prepaid MasterCard allows a start up fee of $9.95, service charge of $4.95, and a reload fee of $4.95 at any Western Union location. The wired plastic prepaid visa card has a start up fee of $9.95, service charge of $3.95, and a reload fee of $6.95.
There are more than just these few prepaid credit cards for teenagers available, but these were the ones that had the best start up and other fees. It is possible to get prepaid credit cards from Capital One and other well known banks, however they will also have some high fees associated with the cards.
The prepaid credit cards for teenagers have several things in common with ATM cards. The first is that you are the one keeping the control and how much balance is on the card. In order to use the card you have to have some type of deposit whether it is just a few dollars or more than hundred. It will of course depend on your teenager as too how much you would like them to have. Once the balance has been spent the teenager cannot use the card until it has been reloaded. It is better than a regular credit card in that you are able to say how much they will use at any given time. You don’t have to allow for more than that few dollars every month. This saves you from high credit card balances that can’t be paid off. There are direct deposit options with the prepaid cards if you would like their earnings to go on the card.
It is good to remember the fees and of course let your teenager know about the fees. Chances are if they are using their own money to fund the card they are not going to want the transaction fees that come with it.