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Credit Cards for College Students


Miss Marple
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How does one go about getting a credit card for a college student? Our oldest, who just graduated, is having trouble getting a credit card because he has NO established credit. He owes nothing, but he is really just off the credit grid.

 

He was encouraging me to get his next brother a credit card so that when he graduates and gets a job and an apartment, etc., he will have some established credit. He said that other students he was in school with had cards.

 

Any ideas?

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We put our college dd on our credit card account as an authorized user. I'm not sure if that will establish credit in her name, but I vaguely remember reading somewhere that it did. We did it because she has to travel coast to coast by herself. If there are any travel emergencies, she is in a better position to handle them. We put a spending limit on her card and are automatically notified when she reaches it.

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We just went through this at our local bank with our ds. Although he has done a great job saving, and he has a part time job, the only way he could get a card in his own name (rather than a card with his name on it--but on our account) was for his dad or I to co-sign on the account.

 

I believe there are also options to get a pre-paid credit card -- which doesn't offer some of the credit card "benefits," but helps a young person begin establishing a credit history. Either way, pre-paid or co-signed, the student needs to use the card and make payments in order to establish a credit history. Kind of scary.

Edited by Brigid in NC
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Discover sent my oldest an advertisement in the mail that I had him fill out. They approved it for $500 with no co-signer. He's never actually used it even though he has it in case of emergencies. I use it for books (those I buy online) and pay for it here. It still builds his credit for him and he'll have the cashback bonus whenever he wants to get it.

 

I'm hoping to get one in the mail for middle son as they're the only company that seems to solicit with reasonable fees (without a fee and no interest if kept paid off). Time will tell.

 

To us, establishing credit is incredibly important, but I don't want high fee cards to do so. I've heard that it's next to impossible to get a card without a co-signer if one doesn't get it while a student.

 

Now that I'm thinking about it, I might have middle son check out Discover's website to see if they offer something online for soon-to-be college students.

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My son just went to the local credit union earlier in the year, and they gave him a credit card with no problems. It started out with a $300 limit, and after he paid the bill on time for 3 months, the limit is now $500. He also got the solicitations from Discover. I think if you just look around, you'll be able to find a place that will issue your son a credit card.

 

Brenda

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How does one go about getting a credit card for a college student? Our oldest, who just graduated, is having trouble getting a credit card because he has NO established credit. He owes nothing, but he is really just off the credit grid.

 

Does he have a job and has started it? If not, wait for that. If he does, then he needs to buy "large" items for his new home on short term credit to get some credit history. He can pay them off quickly and often places like furniture and electronics stores have "90 days, same as cash deals."

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:bigear: I'm following this one closely for future advice!

 

When my son turned 18 I switched his savings acct. over to a checking acct. with a debit card. He hasn't needed to write a check yet, but he uses the debit card all the time.

 

Will this help him to be able to get a credit card in the far, far future from the same bank? :D

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We put our college dd on our credit card account as an authorized user. I'm not sure if that will establish credit in her name, but I vaguely remember reading somewhere that it did. We did it because she has to travel coast to coast by herself. If there are any travel emergencies, she is in a better position to handle them. We put a spending limit on her card and are automatically notified when she reaches it.

 

Yes it does. We put our kids on our cards as authorized users as soon as they turn 15 so they can begin establishing a credit history and learning to use credit wisely well before they actually need to. My 22yo started receiving pre-approved offers of platinum and gold cards when she was around 20. It's also easier to keep an eye on what they are spending when they are on your card.

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:bigear: I'm following this one closely for future advice!

 

When my son turned 18 I switched his savings acct. over to a checking acct. with a debit card. He hasn't needed to write a check yet, but he uses the debit card all the time.

 

Will this help him to be able to get a credit card in the far, far future from the same bank? :D

 

No, credit cards are approved based on credit report and Fico score. Checking accounts aren't taken into consideration.

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Yes it does. We put our kids on our cards as authorized users as soon as they turn 15 so they can begin establishing a credit history and learning to use credit wisely well before they actually need to. My 22yo started receiving pre-approved offers of platinum and gold cards when she was around 20. It's also easier to keep an eye on what they are spending when they are on your card.

 

Oh, that makes it easy. I'll check into it. Thanks

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How does one go about getting a credit card for a college student? Our oldest, who just graduated, is having trouble getting a credit card because he has NO established credit. He owes nothing, but he is really just off the credit grid.

 

He was encouraging me to get his next brother a credit card so that when he graduates and gets a job and an apartment, etc., he will have some established credit. He said that other students he was in school with had cards.

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks for all the suggestions. They give me something to start with :001_smile:

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Is it really that hard these days? When I was in college, credit card companies had tables lined up on the main campus walk. (All things considered, not necessarily a good thing for society - ha!) But anyways, you just signed up and you had a CC. Generally very low-limit, but with no annual fees. I think the interest rate was horrible, but if you just pay it off every single month it doesn't matter. Good reason to start off the habit of never having a balance on your CC - a practice I started at age 19 and continue to this day! :)

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My 18 yo is obsessed with the idea that she needs a credit card and I keep telling her it will be the biggest mistake of her life to get one now. She likes to shop and I think she will get in over her head in no time. However, sometime before her senior year, I am planning to get her started with a prepaid credit card. We belong to a credit union where she has her own checking and saving accounts, and I think she could get a cc there with a low limit, too.

 

My 16 yo is going to Europe next year, and I'll probably add her as a user on one of my cards before the trip. So she'll get an earlier start because of that, but I will take the card from her after the trip. :)

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My 18 yo is obsessed with the idea that she needs a credit card and I keep telling her it will be the biggest mistake of her life to get one now. She likes to shop and I think she will get in over her head in no time. However, sometime before her senior year, I am planning to get her started with a prepaid credit card. We belong to a credit union where she has her own checking and saving accounts, and I think she could get a cc there with a low limit, too.

 

My 16 yo is going to Europe next year, and I'll probably add her as a user on one of my cards before the trip. So she'll get an earlier start because of that, but I will take the card from her after the trip. :)

 

LOL! My boys are tightwads. I can't get them to let me buy them clothes :D. I don't think he will misuse the card but he is more likely to lose it :tongue_smilie:

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Doesn't help with establishing credit, but may be a good solutions for younger high schoolers, travel etc: we use prepaid credit cards from US Bank (Visa Buxx). Kids have to be 13. You can load money electronically and they can use them like normal crdit cards- just as long as they have money on the card.

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Doesn't help with establishing credit, but may be a good solutions for younger high schoolers, travel etc: we use prepaid credit cards from US Bank (Visa Buxx). Kids have to be 13. You can load money electronically and they can use them like normal crdit cards- just as long as they have money on the card.

 

He has been using a debit card for about a year now. We just make sure he has a minimum balance in his checking account. Whatever way we go I would like to see him establishing his own credit rating.

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We can get a student one from our local bank based on DH and I's credit with a $500.00 limit. We will definitely be doing this and the kids will be given a strict list of what is or is not allowed. It's the best thing we can think of in terms of dealing with an emergency. Our bank is locally owned establishment with no branches anywhere near the colleges the boys are looking at, so getting money to them quickly will not be easy. But, if they put unapproved expenses on the card, it will be pulled and they will suffer the consequences. Oh yes, Momma has NOOOOOOOOOOOO problem driving to campus, seizing a wallet, and cutting that puppy up in front of the offender. :D

 

(Remember that scene from the movie "Glory" when the young man was in danger of losing his eligibility to play b-ball because of his college chem class...next scene, momma shows up to live in the dorm with said young man and in the following scene when the prof asks a question, she volunteers her son to answer it???? Remember that??? I could EASILY be that momma if I didn't reign myself in!!!)

 

Faith

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This was a problem my son had. At a certain age, we added our children's names onto one card that we have that doesn't charge international conversion fees. (For emergency use when they travel or study abroad.) I don't know if that helped or not, but after looking into a lot of different cards, our son was finally able to get a card in his own name from Discover. Others have mentioned that too? Maybe Discover in general is easier to get? After about two years of using his Discover card and paying it off 100% every month, he was finally approved to get a Master Card. (He had applied for this same Master Card a few years earlier but was denied because of lack of credit history.)

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