Teens - Europe - spending money?

[goofyintoronto]

Just make sure your PIN is 4 digits or less. Most of Europe is not set up for PINs longer than 4 digits.
And CHIP cards are the norm in Europe, but some European CHIP readers don't recognize U.S. CHIP cards. They are set up to swipe too, but my daughter found that the workers often didn't know how to swipe a card and had to get a supervisor to help. She went to College for a year in the UK

And Euros (or Pounds if in the UK) are handy. A couple hundred dollars worth. Your bank can get those for you with a couple of days notice.

Yes to this! Make sure its a 4 digit pin! I had no trouble using the ATM machine in France (im from Canada, if that matters). But my friend had a 5 or 6 digit pin and had trouble.

 

[Best Aunt]

Our DS is going to Scotland/UK for 11 days with HS marching band (most of the 125 kids are going+ chaperones). For 2 band meetings, our local bank came in to set up debit cards in the kid's names. It is Lakeland bank which is a smaller local bank, but they are part of All-Point system that includes 55,000 surcharge free ATMs between United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, Australia, and Mexico.

The band goes every 4 years and through experience found this works best.

It sounds like your school is much better organized than the one I am talking about. Here they are not giving specific advice or doing anything like that to help the kids.

 

[QueenIsabella]

It sounds like your school is much better organized than the one I am talking about. Here they are not giving specific advice or doing anything like that to help the kids.

Yeah, it can be all over the map. My older two went to a different HS than my younger two do/will. The old HS did many trips abroad, and while they didn't have a bank helping out, like Heather07438 mentioned, they clearly knew what they were doing, in terms of kids going abroad. My younger DD is going to Italy in June, and aside from one parent/student meeting, I haven't heard squat. Fortunately, it's not our first rodeo, but DD doesn't even know how many kids are going yet. Luckily, she's been to Italy twice, and has a valid passport. I even have some leftover euro from our last trip that may find their way to her.

BTW, when my oldest went to Spain art age 15, her grandmother gifted her ~$500 worth of euro, as Grandma was aging and no longer able to travel to Europe. She came home with ~$500 worth of Spanish clothes!

 

[Minniesgal]

Our 16 year old went to iceland. We just let him take his debit card which is a Visa debit and put money in his bank account.

 

[Heather07438]

It sounds like your school is much better organized than the one I am talking about. Here they are not giving specific advice or doing anything like that to help the kids.

They do a great job keeping everything under control and organized. Then again, our school is known as the 'plaid mafia' because of its ability to strike fear in the competition whenever they see yellow plaid or hear bagpipes coming, lol.

I'm surprised your kid's school hasn't gotten everyone on the same page yet, maybe they'll give more details closer to the trip? We've been getting an earful about rules, currency, passports, plugs, chargers, hair appliances, food, lodgings, etc. Over and over. I don't mind though, they want to make sure everyone's safe and has a great experience.

 

[Best Aunt]

They do a great job keeping everything under control and organized. Then again, our school is known as the 'plaid mafia' because of its ability to strike fear in the competition whenever they see yellow plaid or hear bagpipes coming, lol.

I'm surprised your kid's school hasn't gotten everyone on the same page yet, maybe they'll give more details closer to the trip? We've been getting an earful about rules, currency, passports, plugs, chargers, hair appliances, food, lodgings, etc. Over and over. I don't mind though, they want to make sure everyone's safe and has a great experience.

The kids have not received details about any of that. Or flight info. They're not my kids (I'm just the Best Aunt) so I'm trying to be supportive by getting them Christmas gifts which they will be able to use on the trip. Maybe they will get more details later on, but by then it will be too late for Christmas.

 

[Heather07438]

The kids have not received details about any of that. Or flight info. They're not my kids (I'm just the Best Aunt) so I'm trying to be supportive by getting them Christmas gifts which they will be able to use on the trip. Maybe they will get more details later on, but by then it will be too late for Christmas.

You are a great Auntie! Kids are lucky when they have one of those

 

[Best Aunt]

You are a great Auntie! Kids are lucky when they have one of those

Thank you!

 

[RangerPooh]

Our family traveled to Europe this summer. For spending money we got our daughters debit cards through Green Light. We were able to add money to the cards. They were reminded that the amount spend would be more due to the currency exchange. It was safe. No issues using in UK or a France.

 

[Best Aunt]

Update: I contacted my bank and the local AAA store on Friday morning regarding buying Euros.

Both said there would be no fee if I purchased more than a certain dollar amount (I think it was a $10 fee unless you purchased at least $200 worth).

They seemed to have the same exchange rate.

The bank said that if I ordered before the close of that banking day (I think 2:00 pm), my order would be ready for me to pick up the next business day. AAA said that if I purchased before the close of the banking day, my order would be ready for me to pick up within 3 business days. But AAA also said that they had to tell me that, and it normally was sooner than 3 business days.

I wanted to specify denominations because I wanted to place one order which would be divided into gifts for more than one person. The bank said that they would place the order on their computer and that there was no place where they could enter a denomination request. AAA said that they could put in my request for denominations and they thought it would be honored, but could not guarantee it.

I used AAA. The order I placed on Friday was ready on Tuesday. I got the exact denominations I requested.

AAA also mentioned that I could pay with a credit card, but my credit card company might treat it as a cash advance and charge me fees.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Glad it all worked out for you! I've never had an issue with getting foreign currency from AAA. Good thing, too--we have a Baltic cruise going on next summer, I'm going to need euro, kroner, rubles...

 

[msjprincess]

My daughter is going to Europe with her class in the Spring. We had one parent meeting in the Fall. The students have monthly meetings with the teacher running it. They didn't have bank come in or anything. They just told us to give them a credit card or debit card and some cash for places that don't accept cards. My daughter has a debit card already. I plan on getting some Euros for her before she goes. I'm getting her a cross body bag for Christmas. I may put some Euros in the bag.

They don't have flight info yet either. They told us from the beginning that we wouldn't know the flights until a couple of months beforehand. We know 3 of the 4 hotels. The school does 1 or 2 International trips a year, so I figure they know what they're doing.

 

[Best Aunt]

My daughter is going to Europe with her class in the Spring. We had one parent meeting in the Fall. The students have monthly meetings with the teacher running it. They didn't have bank come in or anything. They just told us to give them a credit card or debit card and some cash for places that don't accept cards. My daughter has a debit card already. I plan on getting some Euros for her before she goes. I'm getting her a cross body bag for Christmas. I may put some Euros in the bag.

They don't have flight info yet either. They told us from the beginning that we wouldn't know the flights until a couple of months beforehand. We know 3 of the 4 hotels. The school does 1 or 2 International trips a year, so I figure they know what they're doing.

I think the staff in charge at some schools is better at organizing and providing information than the staff at other schools.

You know how you sometimes see posts here on the Dis where somebody is asking for a spreadsheet to use? The teacher in charge is the exact opposite of that.

 

[QueenIsabella]

My daughter is going to Europe with her class in the Spring. We had one parent meeting in the Fall. The students have monthly meetings with the teacher running it. They didn't have bank come in or anything. They just told us to give them a credit card or debit card and some cash for places that don't accept cards. My daughter has a debit card already. I plan on getting some Euros for her before she goes. I'm getting her a cross body bag for Christmas. I may put some Euros in the bag.

They don't have flight info yet either. They told us from the beginning that we wouldn't know the flights until a couple of months beforehand. We know 3 of the 4 hotels. The school does 1 or 2 International trips a year, so I figure they know what they're doing.

We have the exact opposite situation here. The teacher that's taking them to Italy is NOT sanctioned by the school, so he can't have any meetings there or hand things out during school hours. The reason is, he does this on his own, and it's only open to IB students. That's "International Baccalaureate", it's a fairly rigorous program--I think there are only 37 juniors out of 600 total juniors in the school (probably even fewer seniors). But, since it's not open to the entire school, it's not sanctioned. From the teacher's perspective, he wants a small group, and the IB kids are very motivated and hard-working--plus, he teaches them, so he knows them all. He's using a reputable tour company, and had a well-planned itinerary, so I'm not really worried. Plus, we have his contact info if we need it.

That said, we don't have flight info at this time, and I'm not sure on hotels. I think things get more fleshed out in Jan., when people have to "fish or cut bait" on paying for the trip.

 

[msjprincess]

We have the exact opposite situation here. The teacher that's taking them to Italy is NOT sanctioned by the school, so he can't have any meetings there or hand things out during school hours. The reason is, he does this on his own, and it's only open to IB students. That's "International Baccalaureate", it's a fairly rigorous program--I think there are only 37 juniors out of 600 total juniors in the school (probably even fewer seniors). But, since it's not open to the entire school, it's not sanctioned. From the teacher's perspective, he wants a small group, and the IB kids are very motivated and hard-working--plus, he teaches them, so he knows them all. He's using a reputable tour company, and had a well-planned itinerary, so I'm not really worried. Plus, we have his contact info if we need it.

That said, we don't have flight info at this time, and I'm not sure on hotels. I think things get more fleshed out in Jan., when people have to "fish or cut bait" on paying for the trip.

I only know the hotels because they were added on the itinerary page of the tour company. The school didn't give us the information. Not that it even really matters.

Originally it was only for students in Italian IV or V. Then they opened it up to kids in Spanish IV or V because their trip to Peru was canceled. Which my daughter has mixed feelings about. On one hadn she's glad. Originally the only 2 teachers going were 2 Spanish. Her Italian teacher, who is from Italy wasn't going. But now that they have more than 20 students they need another chaperone so he is able to go. OTOH she's annoyed with some of the kids from Spanish that are going. But that's her issue. LOL.

As of today there are 25 students going. I think the last day to sign up is 12/14.