What is a Credit Card?
A credit card can be referred to as a credit tool or a payment card that can be issued to a person who is willing to make payments for goods or services using borrowed funds or by acquiring credit. In other terms, it is a tool that does not affect your cash in hand or bank at this instant but rather makes the payment for you in the present for which you are charged at a later date, usually, month end. The credit card can be a consumer credit card or a business credit card. Credit cards can have a plastic or metal body and come with a few details like CVV number, bank name, card number, card network name, and more that are important. A credit card just like a mobile sim can be prepaid or postpaid. Usually, credit cards are postpaid, that is you use the service first and pay later, however, there are also reloadable credit cards that are known as prepaid cards and require you to pay money before using the card. So now that we understand what reloadable cards are, let’s look at a few reloadable credit card for teenager to use.
Best Reloadable Credit Card for Teenager
As we saw above, a credit card can be of either type, one that you pay for after using it and the other which requires you to pay before you use them. Now since it is a teenager for whom we are looking at credit cards parent’s might think it is a better choice to go for reloadable or prepaid cards so that they can limit the money used by teenagers in a given period. Let us begin our list.
1. KOHO Prepaid Mastercard
For a 0-dollar monthly fee and a 0-dollar per transaction cost, you have KOHO prepaid credit card that your teenager may like to have. The card offers the user a 1% cashback reward on stuff like groceries, eligible services, and billing. Also, the card supports a referral program where the holder and the person referred can both earn 20 dollars each on a successful referral within a month of getting the card. 50 such referrals or 1,000 dollars in reward await you. ATM withdrawals are charged 3 dollars if you use a machine from another service provider. The user of this card is only charged a 1.5% fee on transactions that take place in foreign currency. The card also has various other perks like helping you save money or analyzing your payments and more to help you build your savings.
2. KOHO Premium Prepaid Card
For a 9-dollar monthly fee or an 84 dollars yearly fee, you get this reloadable credit card for teenager. The cost per transaction of this card is 0 dollars and also the first month’s fee is waived. If you spend money on drinking and eating, transportation, or groceries using this card then you expect a 2% cashback while other purchases qualify for a 0.5% cashback. The card again comes with a referral program that allows you to invite up to 50 friends or earn 1,000 dollars. This card has no foreign transaction fees and the card also comes with one free international withdrawal per month while providing you with financial coaching and savings tools among other stuff.
3. CIBC AC Conversion Visa Prepaid Card
Again for a 0-dollar monthly fee and a 0-dollar per transaction cost, you get this reloadable credit card for teenager. CIBC AC Conversion Visa Prepaid Card allows you to spend money in 10 different currencies and does not charge you any fee for the same nor do they charge you for reloads. For a limited time, the card gives you 1% cash back for every dollar spent using this card. The card charges you no interest since the funds are preloaded by you. ATM withdrawals are free with this card and also you get a free monthly international withdrawal.
4. KOHO Essential Prepaid Card
Pay a 4-dollar per month charge or 48 dollars annually and you can get this prepaid card for your teenager. The card again comes with a 0-dollar cost per transaction charge. The first month’s charges are waived. Recurring bills, groceries, eating, and drinking using this qualify for 1.5% cashback while other expenses get you 0.25% cashback. With this card, you also earn a 1.5% interest on the amount that you store in the card. This card also has a 20-dollar referral program for the user as well as the person that is referred. You have multiple options to choose from when you want to refill this card and since it is your balance that you are using to pay for it you also don’t have to pay interest to use this card. The card comes with security features and also has 4 color options for you to choose from. Also Read: How to Send Money with Credit Card? 7 Easy ways
Best Reloadable Prepaid Cards with No Fees
From the 4 credit cards we saw above KOHO Prepaid Mastercard (KOHO Easy) and CIBC AC Conversion Visa Prepaid Card emerged as the two options for reloadable prepaid cards with no fees. However, there are more such credit cards in the market that you can obtain by paying 0 fees, a few of which are mentioned below.
1. Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Card
This is not just a zero-credit card but it also charges the user zero interest for the spending as the balance is prepaid. You can use the Chime app and easily reload this card. Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Card is also good for those wanting to build credit as it reports your balances to all major credit bureaus. Also, the card is easy to obtain since they don’t check your credit before you apply for the cars.
2. Brink’s Money Prepaid Mastercard
This might not be a reloadable credit card teenager but this reloadable debit card belongs on this list because of its 0 dollars annual fee. It is very easy to reload this card and also the card is insured by FDIC making it a good choice to be your next prepaid card. This card is among the reloadable prepaid cards with no fees.
3. MOVO Virtual Prepaid Visa Card
Not many prepaid cards can boast to be as good as this prepaid debit card that is not only free of any monthly charges but also allows free ATM withdrawals at any and every VISA card accepting machine. The card can also be accessed using the mobile MOVO app. You have multiple deposit options when using this card but on the flip side if you don’t use the card regularly or precisely for three months then you will be charged 4.95 dollars a month until you start using the card again.
4. WeSwap Mastercard Prepaid Card
This card is not a reloadable credit card for teenager but rather a debit card. And it is again a card that comes without an annual fee. You can reload this card quickly with checks and direct deposits free of charge and withdrawals are also free as long as the amount withdrawn is more than 200 dollars. This card is accepted in 180 countries and you can store 18 different currencies on it.
5. PayPal Prepaid Mastercard Card
If you or your kid have a PayPal account or are frequent PayPal users then getting this card is a no-brainer. PayPal Prepaid Mastercard Card is insured by the FDIC and also allows the user to easily reload the card by simply transferring the balance from the PayPal account to the card. The card comes with a lot of cashback offers and you can also expect to get deals from various stores that you may already shop at.
6. Starbucks Rewards Visa Credit Card
It would be difficult to find a teenager not having this card if they are frequent Starbucks visitors. The card comes with a balance of 10,000 dollars and gives you benefits not just on spending at Starbucks but other places as well where VISA cards are accepted. The card also is available for free and requires no monthly charges to be paid. However, the card does not support ATM withdrawals and you also are charged a 3% fee for every transaction that takes place outside of the US. Bluebird® Prepaid Debit Card, Netspend® Visa® Prepaid Debit Card, Fifth Third’s Access 360° Prepaid Debit Card, and Serve® Prepaid Card are also some other options you can consider when it comes to reloadable prepaid cards with no fees.
What is a Debit Card?
Just like a credit card, a debit card is a financial tool that a person can use to make payments for services and goods. A credit card uses borrowed funds that pay off your spending whereas a debit card uses your funds to pay off your expenses. Using a debit card is as good as using your cash in hand or bank to pay for stuff and since it is not a borrowing or a loan you are also not paying interest using these cards as opposed to using credit cards. You have plastic, metal, and wooden debit cards and they can be prepaid or postpaid just like a credit card. Earlier we looked at prepaid and credit cards that are reloadable but now we switch our attention to a list of free debit cards that are made especially for teens. Also Read: Is Credit Karma or Credit Sesame more accurate?
Top Free Debit Card for Teens
Just like we looked at reloadable credit card for teenager list there are also debit cards suited to teens. We now look at a couple of debit cards that are specially created for teens and more importantly are attainable free of charge.
1. Step
The Step card is a free debit card for teens that has no minimum age requirement. And it also comes without a free trial as it does not ask for any annual charge in the first place. The card also has no ATM or purchase fee which makes it perfect for kids. Though this card is a debit card the transactions are processed as they would be on a credit card and so this card can be used to help build the teen their credit score.
2. Axos First Checking
If you plan to get this card then you need to be more than 13 years of age. This card again comes with no free trial as there is no annual fee for this card. In addition, this card also has no ATM fees or a purchase fee percentage to levy on you. The interest charged on this card is 0.1% and they can use this card to transfer money to friends or to pay vendors and bills. The market today is alert to the growing demand for debit and credit cards among teenagers and for that reason, you might be able to find a lot more options when you check out for either on the internet. There are many great free debit card for teens available today.
Best Reloadable Debit Card for Kids
To add to the list of debit cards given above we have games of a few more debit cards. Below we take a look at a few reloadable debit card for kids that you can give to your kids without being worried about charges or interest rates.
1. Hyper Jar
For free of charge you can get a Hyper Jar debit card. It would be the equivalent of a reloadable credit card for teenager but just that it is a debit card that a kid between the age of 6 and 17 can get. The card cannot be used at the ATM and can be managed via the app only. The money on this card is put into different jars and this helps your kid spend and save money reasonably. This is what makes it a good debit card for your kids.
2. Visa Card for Kids
VISA is a multinational financial services corporation that competes popularly with Mastercard, American Express, and more such companies. We have seen so many options for prepaid credit and debit cards above and from that, we know that teens and kids indeed make for a sizeable niche which is why they have cards specially built to cater to them. And to the already growing list, we now add a few VISA card for kids that parents can get their kids.
3. Revoult <18
If you have a Revoult account then you can get your kid the Revoult <18 Debit Card. This card can be used by kids between the ages of 6 and 17. The card has no annual charges associated with it but there is a delivery fee of 4.99 Euros per card. Also, the withdrawal limit is set at 40 Euros per rolling month, and thereafter 2% fee is applicable. The card can be managed via app only and has set spending limits making it ideal for being handled by a kid or a teen.
4. BusyKid Visa Prepaid Spend Card
For a monthly fee of 4 dollars, you can get a BusyKid VISA Prepaid spend card which is again a debit equivalent of reloadable credit card for teenager. It is suited for use by kids aged between 5 and 17. The card also comes with a 30-day free trial period. The card can be operated via an app of the same name and the app not only helps educate your kids about good money habits but also has a chorus-based reward system that allows your kids to learn money by completing chorus. Also Read: 40+ Best PayPal Games that Pay Real Money
5. Current Visa Debit Card
If your kid is 13 years of age or above then you can get them a Current VISA debit card which is another great reloadable debit card option for teenagers. The card has no free trial period as it is free of any monthly charges anyways. Current Visa Debit Card can be handled via an app and gives the parents control of the account while also giving the teenagers the freedom to use the card as they like. The card allows your kid to spend and save money while also giving them the option to donate money to charity and set saving goals. Also, you don’t need to have to meet any minimum account balance requirements to have this card. With that you now know everything there is to know about reloadable credit card for teenager and also have a few options to look at. You can look for reloadable prepaid cards with no fees that act as credit cards or you can look for free debit card for teens depending on your kid’s requirements. There is a difference between the two types of cards which should be carefully understood before signing up for one. We have mentioned a few reloadable debit card for kids as well as a couple of VISA card for kids that you can consider for your kids.
