For someone heading off to college...

[Anonymous]

So I understand this is slightly biased of me, but if you have an American Express Card, you could alternatively consider adding your child to your account as an additional card member and then setting a monthly limit/"allowance". I only specify American Express bevause I'm not aware of any other major banks that can do those limits for additionals. That way they are kept from accessing your full spending capacity, but they also get all of the core American Express benefits amd protections that a reloadable card may not get, you can instantaneously change that limit in case of emergency, you earn the points for their spend and you can help them build their credit history since only positive history is reported to additional card members. There are many parents who do this for their kids going off to college for that added peace of mind. Hope this helps a little bit!

[Anonymous]

Soo I totally skipped half of the posts where i just suggested an additional cardmember... rather than me sounding like it was my idea originally just pretend I said +1 to the others

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have zero experience with any kind of reloadable giftcard and the only time I've seen them talked about on these forums is when it's for MS. But I was wondering if anyone had advice for a giftcard that's reloadable that I could use as a grad gift and beyond. The simplest thing would be Amazon, and that has benefits on my end and I'm sure it would be appreciated. But are the Visa/MC cards you buy in the grocery store reloadable? I know you pay a fee, is that once or IF you reload them are there more fees? What about Amex? I'd rather give her something to carry around for anything, hence the Visa/MC. But I have a feeling that what I'm asking for Amex would be better and Amazon would be even better (again, for me). Thoughts? 

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My daughter starts college this fall, I made her an AU about a year ago on my Citi DP to help establish her credit and have the cl grow in time for school. The cl has grow and she will not have to worry about any expenses, one less issue she will have to worry about her Freshmen year.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have zero experience with any kind of reloadable giftcard and the only time I've seen them talked about on these forums is when it's for MS. But I was wondering if anyone had advice for a giftcard that's reloadable that I could use as a grad gift and beyond. The simplest thing would be Amazon, and that has benefits on my end and I'm sure it would be appreciated. But are the Visa/MC cards you buy in the grocery store reloadable? I know you pay a fee, is that once or IF you reload them are there more fees? What about Amex? I'd rather give her something to carry around for anything, hence the Visa/MC. But I have a feeling that what I'm asking for Amex would be better and Amazon would be even better (again, for me). Thoughts? 

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My daughter starts college this fall, I made her an AU about a year ago on my Citi DP to help establish her credit and have the cl grow in time for school. The cl has grow and she will not have to worry about any expenses, one less issue she will have to worry about her Freshmen year.

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That sounds wonderful!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have zero experience with any kind of reloadable giftcard and the only time I've seen them talked about on these forums is when it's for MS. But I was wondering if anyone had advice for a giftcard that's reloadable that I could use as a grad gift and beyond. The simplest thing would be Amazon, and that has benefits on my end and I'm sure it would be appreciated. But are the Visa/MC cards you buy in the grocery store reloadable? I know you pay a fee, is that once or IF you reload them are there more fees? What about Amex? I'd rather give her something to carry around for anything, hence the Visa/MC. But I have a feeling that what I'm asking for Amex would be better and Amazon would be even better (again, for me). Thoughts? 

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My daughter starts college this fall, I made her an AU about a year ago on my Citi DP to help establish her credit and have the cl grow in time for school. The cl has grow and she will not have to worry about any expenses, one less issue she will have to worry about her Freshmen year.

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That sounds wonderful!

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Thanks M,

the last thing she needs to worry about is her Finances, I'm going to help get her 1st cc, so exciting and so many to choose from... (Open for suggestions)

she is so good with her money.... I'm a proud father.. Oh and pretty proud of her getting into a nice University...

[Anonymous]

I was going to recommend the AMEX serve pre-paid debit card. I got my son one while he was in high school to help him manage his money. I live in NY though so there is no monthly fee. Otherwise the monthly fee is $1 unless you have direct deposit set up of at least  $500. You can transfer  $ via your debit/credit card or bank account but it looks like they have changed a lot of the rules for new accounts.  

When he went off to college out of state for his freshman year in August 2015, we opened a bank account for him at Chase which is my primary bank. I easily sent him money via Chase Quickpay throughout the school year. 

[Anonymous]

Other than adding her as an AU, I also highly recommend going to a major banking branch to open an account and credit card under her name.

That way she's the individual user and can start establishing her own credit history.

Seven years ago when I was just starting college, my mother and I went into a Wells Fargo branch to open a college checking and savings account, and credit card for me.

The card started at 500 and grew to 3500 in a couple years automatically. Back then, I never knew about requesting credit limit increases or anything like that -- I just thought, "Cool! They're giving me more credit!"

[MrsCHX]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I was going to recommend the AMEX serve pre-paid debit card. I got my son one while he was in high school to help him manage his money. I live in NY though so there is no monthly fee. Otherwise the monthly fee is $1 unless you have direct deposit set up of at least  $500. You can transfer  $ via your debit/credit card or bank account but it looks like they have changed a lot of the rules for new accounts.  

When he went off to college out of state for his freshman year in August 2015, we opened a bank account for him at Chase which is my primary bank. I easily sent him money via Chase Quickpay throughout the school year. t

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There have been a lot of changes. I opened that AMEX serve and closed it within a month. Too many fees. I don't want to pay to get and use my own money. 

[Kevin86475391]

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@Anonymous wrote:
So I understand this is slightly biased of me, but if you have an American Express Card, you could alternatively consider adding your child to your account as an additional card member and then setting a monthly limit/"allowance". I only specify American Express bevause I'm not aware of any other major banks that can do those limits for additionals. That way they are kept from accessing your full spending capacity, but they also get all of the core American Express benefits amd protections that a reloadable card may not get, you can instantaneously change that limit in case of emergency, you earn the points for their spend and you can help them build their credit history since only positive history is reported to additional card members. There are many parents who do this for their kids going off to college for that added peace of mind. Hope this helps a little bit!

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This sounds like a really good option. I've heard lots of good things about Amex's expanded options and monitoring for AU accounts. It does sound like a really good way to go.

Of course if your main goal is providing a regular set amount of money to her, then there are a couple of other options too. You could get a joint checking account into which you could deposit money whenever you wanted and she could use a debit card. Or you could simply transfer money online from/into separate accounts. For example Chase has their "QuickPay" service that allows you to send money to other Chase account holders for free, and very quickly and conveniently.

[Anonymous]

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@MrsCHX wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I was going to recommend the AMEX serve pre-paid debit card. I got my son one while he was in high school to help him manage his money. I live in NY though so there is no monthly fee. Otherwise the monthly fee is $1 unless you have direct deposit set up of at least  $500. You can transfer  $ via your debit/credit card or bank account but it looks like they have changed a lot of the rules for new accounts.  

When he went off to college out of state for his freshman year in August 2015, we opened a bank account for him at Chase which is my primary bank. I easily sent him money via Chase Quickpay throughout the school year. t

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There have been a lot of changes. I opened that AMEX serve and closed it within a month. Too many fees. I don't want to pay to get and use my own money. 

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Yup.... makes sense. It looks like changes do not apply to existing cardholders prior to October 2015.