Do I give a pre paid Credit Card as a gift?

[Cardinal66]

My 21 year old nephew is studying in Europe this spring (we are in usa). As a gift this Christmas I want to give him a few hundred dollars for spending money while he's overseas.

Can anyone suggest the better way to give him this gift? Should I buy him a prepaid credit card or just convert dollars to euros and hand that to him? If a prepaid credit card is lost, can that card number be canceled like a regular credit card? If anyone else has a suggestion, I'm all ears.

[kork13]

My family has been giving money to eachother as gifts (vs. physical things) for years... We've all come to the arrangement that direct transfers into the recipient's checking account is the simplest and most preferred option. Sure, it's impersonal, but it's always very much appreciated and meets the intent of what we want to do without the added cost of buying/sending gift cards, pre-paid credit cards, or sending stuff through the mail. All digital, and during the next phone call, we tell the recipient "Hey bro, I added $50 to your checking account -- Happy Birthday, go have some fun!"

[Cardinal66]

My family has been giving money to eachother as gifts (vs. physical things) for years... We've all come to the arrangement that direct transfers into the recipient's checking account is the simplest and most preferred option. Sure, it's impersonal, but it's always very much appreciated and meets the intent of what we want to do without the added cost of buying/sending gift cards, pre-paid credit cards, or sending stuff through the mail. All digital, and during the next phone call, we tell the recipient "Hey bro, I added $50 to your checking account -- Happy Birthday, go have some fun!"

A great idea but this nephew shares an account with his mother who is known to "borrow" funds at times due to her poor money management so i wish to avoid using his joint (and only) checking account. Do you or does anyone have an alternative option?

[feh]

I can't say what's best in your situation (currency exchange), but a couple years ago we gave a prepaid CC as a gift, and I was outraged at the fees associated with them. They are excessive.