Thread: Current by Discover

What is this Discover Current card (credit card) that is now out on the market? I received a mailing about this and they say it is a credit card for teens with built in parental controls. The feature that caught my eye is it allows parents to set daily/weekly/monthly spending caps and also the ability to block certain kinds of purchases like liquor stores and ATM withdrawals.

The one thing that the literature didn't make clear was whether this a was a debit card or a credit card for teens. No where once did it state if purchases on the card were taken from a cash balance or on credit. One of the drawbacks that I didn't like was that Discover charges $5 monthly for this card. Their promo code they included will waive the fee for one month only and a pitiful $5 incentive is not reason enough for me to jump at the opportunity.

If any of you on this forum can tell me more about the Current by Discover card please reply to my posting.

Thank you for the info this forum is great. I think I may go ahead and do it. I'm not crazy about the fee but I like the parental control features the Current by Discover offers. You could say that is the feature I'm willing to pay $5 a month for, not the card.

Thanks again and I will update you guys on how it works out.

Smart move. Get the kids familiar with the brand and by the time they are in college they will want to stick with the credit card they are use to- Discover. You see the banks doing this all the time with checking accounts. They know once you get a checking account with them folks will get credit cards and then mortgages through the bank too.

I came across your post while doing a Google search so I figured I'd provide the information that I know about the card.

The card is technically a debit card in the sense that you load it up with money which is then spent. However, you can use your credit card to make the load - so in that sense... it's kind of like an extension of your own credit. If that makes sense. But you can also use a Checking/Saving account or Direct Deposit to do loads also.

I also don't like the whole $5 a month fee thing, but in the end it's a lot better IMO than giving the kids cash. Not only can I make sure they are doing what they say their doing, like going to the movies, but I don't have to worry about them losing the money.

Hope that helps.

Hey Keith62,

So glad you heard about the new Current by Discover Card which we publicly launched yesterday! To answer your questions, Current by Discover Card is a debit card for teens that helps them develop smart spending habits. Though it's designed for teens, the Current Card also has the parental controls mom and dad want, and allows them to foster a sense of financial responsibility in teens. We believe this is critical in today's economy.

Parents can load money directly onto their teen's card from their credit card, bank account or through recurring deposits at no charge. Parents have the ability to set spending limits, block merchant categories and track spending. Importantly, Current Cardmembers cannot spend more than the available amount on the card -- in other words, teens cannot accumulate debt with this product.

If your interested in learning more about the features and benefits of the Current card go to Discover Financial Services - Investor Relations - Press Release

Thanks!
Kate, Discover Community Manager
social@discover.com

Does anyone know that if I want to put money to the current card with my credit card, will I be charged as Cash Advance or Purchurse in my credit card?

it matters a lot, I don't want a high fee high APR cash advance suddently show up in my credit card statement.....

We just recently requested our son's Current Discover account be closed.
I will try to make this brief, though it's all been one long nightmare.

His card was stolen. We suspended the account.
Almost two weeks after requesting a replacement card, it never arrived.
Called again. There was some unexplained glitch, it would be sent again.

We finally received it. All is well, right?
Wrong.
He could not use it. Money was there, we just had no access to it.
How it works is this:
'Account Holder' has the means to transfer the money to the teen's account. The parent (or adult in charge of the account) is the 'Account Holder'.
We (as the account Holder) were unable to do anything to the account. At the time, there was $678 in the account but my son could not use his money.

We repeatedly called the Customer Service Center, to no avail. We were first told it was a security issue, then a glitch of some sort.
All the while, noone was able to figure out how to rectify the situation.
We finally gave up and requested the account be cancelled and the money be returned. You'd think that would be the end of it. Nope.

We are now in the process of fighting to get our money back. They don't seem to have figured out how to return our money!

This has now turned into a five week battle. We are so done with this.
The money is now in limbo. They wanted us to fax proof that the account holder was our funding card source, despite the fact that the money deposited in the account was funded through Direct Deposit, which is money made through my son's employment. So basically, he has been working, yet is unable to utilize his money.

The idea is great; parents can monitor and help guide your child toward making correct spending decisions. However, how it is is handled on the part of Discover has been disappointing and frustrating. Perhaps the program is too new and needs time to work out kinks. In the meantime, we just want a return of our money and to be done with this program, once and for all.