<p>^^ Me too. D doesn’t have her own credit card account, but she has a card with her name on it, attached to my account. I didn’t know that this would actually initiate a credit history for her, but it has.</p>
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<p>Not a parent … but here is what I learned from dealing with BofA after “misplacing” my cards more than I’d care to admit. </p>
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<li><p>Have two debit/checkbooks from the same bank. One should be independent and carry low balances. Fees can be waived or reduced for students. The second one should be shared between parents and student. In addition, have the parents have an account with the same bank in their own town, but that is optional. It is very easy to transfer between accounts from the same bank and happens in an instant at BofA. This allows to use the first debit card in the account that carries a low balance. The second card is kept safe. While it sounds complicated, it is really easy to set up and this is a time when the biggest banks such BofA are helpful. </p></li>
<li><p>For optimum ease, the student should look for a student credit union at his or her own school. This could help in case there are not too many ATM machines. The credit union will usually have a program with very low fees and free ATM withdrawals. It is also an opportunity to create a credit history through small deposits and perhaps a credit card that is untied to the parents. </p></li>
<li><p>Please be aware that the two cards system is almost essential when going abroad and traveling solo. With all the credit alerts, it is very difficult to use a debit or credit card more than ONCE a day when traveling abroad. The first charge will go through but the “system” will flad the card and will be blocked until you contact one of the resident geniuses in Mumbai or other exotic places. No matter how many times you will describe your trip (before and during) it will happen over and over again. One exception to this is American Express that seems to rely on a better system of fraud prevention. For the others, expect many calls via Skype to reach the fraud alert departments. This is also one area where having an account linked to the parents works well as the parents might help dealing with the people who pretend to have names such as John Wayne or Jack Parker. </p></li>
<li><p>Consider yourself lucky if you have kids who do not lose things all the time. My parents were … not. :)</p></li>
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<p>PS Please note that when it comes to credit building, there is a negative about having students with additional credit cards attached to parents’ accounts IF those cards carry balances or even large credit availability, as this might transfer to the student credit score.</p>
<p>If you politely but firmly ask them, most banks will fed-ex the cards to you.</p>
<p>The credit union option has worked great for us. There is a branch on D’s campus and you can make deposits at any other credit union in the network. There are several locations back home so I can make a deposit whenever needed. There is a hold on a portion of the deposit but half of it is available either later in the day or the next morning.</p>
<p>Debit cards don’t show up on your credit report…</p>
<p>WayOutWestMom, I have a D who has the same personality trait as your D1. Lost 5 iphones already (one was physically robbed in London), has numerous overdrafts, loss of cards etc and kept me in the dark about her finances.</p>
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<p>Why would they show up?</p>
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<p>Misread a post. Thought someone said that a debit card was helping build their credit history but now I see they said credit card. My bad.</p>
<p>Son has an ATM B of A card to his account. He also has a credit card, as he is very frugal and only spends what he needs. If there’s a problem, we could FedEx him some money or a new credit card (which he has never lost), and he’d get it there the next day.</p>
<p>12 blocks?!! Maybe he could borrow a bike from someone…LOL!</p>