Now that the credit card companies cannot practice predatory credit cards on the youth what can they do? American Express has the answer: The Pass debit card. Looks like a great concept, give your teen this card and load money on it. Sounds pretty good.
But nowhere on their brochure does it talk about fees. Go to the website and try to find it. Ah, in the FAQ section you can hunt and find the fees. $1.50 per ATM transaction and $3.95 / month or $48 / year which happens to be $2 less than getting a full blown American Express card.
Suddenly that free $25 doesn't look like much of a deal. Here's a better idea. Go to your local community bank. Get a joint / teenager free checking account with a free debit card. Put money into the account. Do not get overdraft protection. Cost? $0.
For $48 / year you can probably afford the gas to drive to the bank to deposit the money.
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