Can a son/daughter use his/her parent's credit card without the parent
being present during the transaction? What is the regulation(s)
covering this?

Hi shopscarlet,

Simply, only owners of the card may use it. Merchants are supposed to
verify that the signature on the card belongs to the presenter and if
it doesn't, they are supposed to issue a "Code 10" which alerts the
authorization center of a possible fraud.

American Express
General ways to prevent fraud
Be Alert
"Ensure that the person presenting the Card is the Cardmember. The
American Express® Card is not transferable, even amongst members of
the same family. Simple checks include matching the full name and
Member Since date on the Card with the Card presenter."
"Cardmember signature is required on the printed receipt for all
face-to-face transactions. The signature on the receipt must match the
name on the front of the Card and the signature on the back of the
Card."
http://www24.americanexpress.com/thailand/en/merchant/manage/reducefraud.asp

VISA Canada
What You Can Do To Prevent Fraud
"At Visa we know merchants are concerned about credit card fraud. To
help protect you and your customers against fraud, Visa has developed
a multi-faceted fraud prevention program."
RECOGNIZE IT
? Compare signatures ? The signature on the receipt should match the
signature on the back of the credit card.
http://www.paymentech.ca/pdf/Visa_FraudPrevention.pdf

A credit card may be bad if:
 * The individual offers the credit card but no other identification.
 * The name on the credit card is different from the name on other identification.
 * The card is unsigned.
 * The signature of the individual appears different than the
signature on the card.
 * The expiration date has passed.
Call for a Code 10 authorization:
Call your authorization center immediately and ask for a "Code 10" if:
   1. You believe you have a counterfeit or altered card.
   2. The transaction is suspicious.
   3. The account number is listed on the warning bulletin.
   4. The signatures don't match.
   5. You become suspicious for any other reason.
http://www.ckfraud.org/credit_card.html

If you would like your son or daughter to use your card, you may
request that an additional user be added to your card.

Authorized User
"An authorized user is someone who has the privilege of using a credit
card without the legal liability to repay the charges made. Authorized
users do not sign the credit card application indicating they accept
the credit card and the responsibility of repaying it. The credit card
may even contain the authorized user's name.
As the credit card owner, you may designate authorized users at any
time. When applying for a credit card, there is typically a blank
space on the application for authorized users. If you already have the
card and want to add an authorized user, contact your credit grantor.
They may accept a telephone request or require a written request. Some
security measures will be in place to prohibit strangers from becoming
authorized users on your credit cards.
Common examples of authorized users are:
    * Teenagers
    * College students
    * Business associates
    * Unmarried significant others"
[more info follows]
http://afs.careonecredit.com/Knowledge/Article.aspx?article=142

Each bank's card policy will differ slightly so you'll have to contact
your own bank, but here are a few examples:

How do I add an additional cardholder to my credit card?
"As the primary credit cardholder, you can have an additional credit
card issued, up to a maximum of 3 (maximum of 2 for the US Dollar VISA
Card and the Dividend Platinum VISA cards; maximum of 9 for Aerogold
VISA Card for Business and CIBC bizline? VISA* Card) for your spouse,
other family members, or other designated persons. If you would like
to add an authorized user to your credit card account, you must
contact CIBC Credit Card Services. They, in turn, will issue you an
authorized user form, which you will need to complete. Two signatures
are required in this form: your own and that of the person you are
designating as an authorized credit cardholder."
http://www.cibc.com/ca/faq/credit-cards.html#q2

Additional Cardholder Request Form
"You may request an Additional Card for anyone over the age of 16 you
choose. You can obtain additional cards for your partner, your family
or friends. All charges will be billed to you and appear on your
monthly statement. Simply fill in and sign the form below and send it
back to us ? we?ll do the rest."
http://www.gomastercard.com.au/Forms/AdditionalCardRequest.pdf

How do I add an additional cardholder to my account?
"An additional Bendigo Bank Credit Card on your account lets someone
else over the age of 16, share all the freedom and convenience that
you enjoy from your Bendigo Bank Credit Card. If you would like to
apply for an additional card for a family member or someone close to
you, visit any Bendigo Branch, call us on 1300 366 666 or apply
online."
http://www.bendigobank.com.au/public/personal/cards/credit_cards/faqs.asp

That all said, some people prefer to give their teens prepaid cards so
that it's impossible to go over the limit.

The Visa Prepaid Card for Teens
http://visabuxx.com/

I hope this helps. If you have any questions, please post a
clarification request and wait for me to respond before closing/rating
my answer.

Thank you,
hummer

Google Search Terms Used:  visa additional cardholders credit card
users offspring son daughter family members

Thank you, this was the answer I was looking for. Good job!

I agree that the official policy of the credit card company holds that
no one but the cardholder can use the card, but that is not always the
case in practice. Really, it is up to the individual store to manage
such transactions.  When I was in high school, (in the 1990s) a friend
would regularly use her mother's credit card at a mall department
store, with a note from her mother.  Whether that would work today I
can't tell you.  My college's bookstore also had a policy that parents
could leave their credit card information at the bookstore and their
kids could come in and place purchases on their parents' credit cards.
When I did this, I signed the slip with my name and put my dad's name
underneath.

And of course, there are many occasions in which someone could do this
now, with the "swipe it yourself" credit card machines at every store.
You never even have to hand the card over to the cashier, and you
could easily sign for a parent.  At gas stations, you pay at the pump.
If you give your kid your credit card at your house, they can go
online and buy things.

So I would say that it's entirely possible that this could be done. It
is against the cardholders' agreement, however.

If your objective is to permit such uasge, just make your child an
authorized user and get a card with their name on it.  The bank will
help.

Although it may be against policy, the practice is that anyone can use
any card.  For about 3 years I used my boss' credit card at about 10
stores per week(with permission of course) and not once was I
questioned by the clerk or did they even check to see that the
signature matched.  This might not stand out too much except that my
boss happened to be female with a very feminine name and I am a male.

It is rather unfortunate how easy it is to use someone else's credit card.