<p>This is a bit off-topic, but applicable for travellers. In the last week there has been increased publicity advising Americans living in or visiting Germany to register through the State Department’s travel registration website. I haven’t checked on the warning status in neighboring countries, and I don’t mean to alarm you at all but rather suggest a simple step that might give you additional peace of mind (my own 18-year-old has been travelling around western Europe alone for more than a year and will continue to do so).</p>
<p>When my S was in Russia and thereafter traveling through Russia, eastern and western Europe on his way to London I insisted that he take an American Express card and register with the US Embassy, at least in Vladivostok and London where he spent considerable time. I wanted him to be able to use the American Express local offices in case of travel emergencies, having used them for such purposes myself in the past. It was post the London bombing and I wanted the Embassy to know he was in country in case of any security issues. I’m sure you have your reasons for not wanting him to have a credit card, but I am just not comfortable having my kids travel without one. Flights get cancelled, changes need to be made and its a whole lot easier with a credit card.</p>
<p>No big bux doesn’t mean no travel but true emergencies–serious illness/evacuation/catastrophic event tend to mean big bux. Rarely happens but parents should plan on the outside chance that they will have to rescue their child with major money (+$2500).</p>
<p>With two boys doing Gap Years on five different continents, I’ve had plenty of minor emergencies and guess what? I’ve had to throw minor money at the problem to fix it. Lost debit cards, missed planes, run out of money, muggings, illness, injuries, psycho roommates etc…The one time the kid didn’t have a credit card to pay for his own hotel room and his re-scheduled flights, it was very uncomfortable…for me. Yes, we got the problem sorted via long long distance phone calls but… never again. It’s so much easier to get online and tranfer funds to his account if he has to go to hospital (we use the same method as weenie). Your mileage may vary, of course.</p>
<p>The other problem with kids traveling on very tight funds is that sometimes they tend to do dumb things. No names here, but things like accepting long drives with total strangers, spending the night in apartments of people they just met, sleeping in parks, living for a week on bread. (Do kids still do that stuff?!)</p>
<p>Get two debit cards–from two different accounts.</p>
<p>I know that mine have a limit for what can be spent in a day. It can be difficult if checking out of a hotel on a weekend and you have spent the money.</p>
<p>Look into an American Express pre-paid debit card. They have many locations and you can see if they can give a temporary card at a branch office. (In US Chase and Bank of A can do this.) Then you can have the new card sent to a branch office. </p>
<p>FYI–temporary cards do not have your name on them, and work in atm machines but not everywhere.</p>
<p>We went with 2 debit cards and a credit card for S last summer. We used his cc to book any flight and travel reservations that were made ahead so he would have the card used with him if plans needed to be changed. I believe to pick up his prepaid Eurostar ticket, he needed to show the card. We also kept a record of the cc#, exp date and security code on back in case we needed to make him a reservation online.</p>
<p>Don’t forget to notify your banks that the cards will be used in Europe during that time period. Some banks will freeze the account until they can verify that the int’l charges are legit.</p>
<p>Your S should have a great time.</p>
<p>I don’t have a debit card- so maybe this is the same thing, but I use my ATM card to get money in Europe. You must have a 4 digit pin- but the exchange rate is much better than what you get when you use a credit card- and then you have local currency. I have always travelled with traveler’s checks - but when I went to London in 2004, I could not get them cashed at banks without an account there. We ended up cashing them at Spencer and Marks at outrageous rates- so don’t count on traveler’s checks anymore.</p>
<p>So if I give my kid a standard ATM card (say, Bank of America), it can be used overseas?</p>
<p>I planned to address this for my daughter’s (short) trip to Europe with maybe traveler’s checks with a credit card as back up.</p>
<p>I didn’t realize ATM cards were an option.</p>
<p>On the credit card front, I learned that it’s easy to get second card issued under another name, but that it is not possible to have a different credit limit for that one card.</p>
<p>So I took a credit card I don’t use very much and changed the limit on it for this purpose.</p>
<p>Yes, ATM cards work fine most places in Europe. It’s like magic. You stick it in the ATM and walla you have your money (with maybe some fees on your bank statement ha)! </p>
<p>You should notify your bank (the card’s bank) that it will be used overseas. Credit cards too! That way it isn’t apt to get shut down for fraud suspicion.</p>
<p>Forget travelers checks. Worthless.</p>
<p>I’ve done the same as fendrock. I set a credit card I rarely use to a modestly low limit and have the kids added to that account. Big enough amount so if they really get in a jam they can probably handle things for the short term, but not so unbelievably high that I’m going to completely panic if the card is lost. We have clear guidelines in place on how the card is to be used.</p>
<p>I found ATM and debit the way to go in Europe for local currency. I did use the credit card for purchases. Hopped on the local library internet and booked a few things last minute via expedia. Also had a AAA “cash card” mentioned in an earlier post as a back up source of cash (and used it once when my debit card wouldn’t work - don’t know why - temporary insanity). Do notify your bank and cards to be used that foreign activity should be expected. My bank gave me a phone number for use over seas if I ran into any trouble with my cards.</p>
<p>Also had some travellers checks, which were mildly painful to use, though one hotel we stayed at was good about cashing them, though their exchange rate left a little to be desired.</p>
<p>Final thought, before leaving, have the traveller take his/her wallet to a copy store and lay out the cards to go on the trip and make a couple of copies, front and back. Leave one at home and take one along in a separate safe place. If anything goes missing-instant record of card numbers and phone numbers to call. Same with passport.</p>
<p>Yes- the standard ATM cards work, BUT- the European banking system only uses 4 digit pins, so you may need to change yours before going!</p>
<p>On the Atm–in Europe.</p>
<p>I used one there over 5 years ago. As people have said, let your bank know where you will be travelling. Also, I know that with my card I had a limit of $300 per business day. This may or may not be an issue over the weekend.</p>
<p>Something we did the first time my oldest went abroad on his own–we had him and his travelling buddy each carry one of each other’s credit cards. It was unlikely both would lose their wallets at the same time. They also each kept a copy of each other’s passport information and plane tickets home. Luckily never needed but it sounded like an idea that would work.</p>
<p>I would try to make sure that you are on the credit card with your son. When my DD was studying in France, her credit card company (credit union) called me to ask if she had been making purchases in the Phillipines. Of course, she hadn’t, so they cancelled her card. It was a hassle, but we got her replacement card sent to our home (her address of record), and then I expressed it to France. If I had not been listed on the card, then they would not have been able to talk to me.</p>