Good first credit card?

[mommy2mrb]

Hi!

Need some advice on a CC for my DD. Will be for emergency use and to start building her credit history.

She is a senior and want to get her started on the right foot before she starts college next fall.

If I add her to one of my cards as an authorized user will that give her credit history? Know I will have to be a co-signer (she had a summer job) since she's not working now.

TIA!!

 

[Marionnette]

Hi!
two
Need some advice on a CC for my DD. Will be for emergency use and to start building her credit history.

She is a senior and want to get her started on the right foot before she starts college next fall.

If I add her to one of my cards as an authorized user will that give her credit history? Know I will have to be a co-signer (she had a summer job) since she's not working now.

TIA!!

It might help her credit score to be an authorized user on your card but it might be of little use when/if she applies for a loan on her own later. My son has been on one of my cards since he started driving (16) and he is now 25. When he went to apply for a car loan two years ago, he was told that he would need a co-signer because he had no credit history in spite of having an excellent credit score. He ended up getting a car "loan" from us. I then told him to get a CC in his own name from the bank with which he had been doing business from the time he entered college. Even with 2 years of on-time payments and an excellent job, he was still turned down for a motorcycle loan this past spring because he lacked enough credit history (no student loans, only one credit card with a 2-year history).

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

I was an authorized user on my mom's Disney visa from the time I was 16 or so. I don't know how much it helped my credit history, but if she's going to college I'd consider having her apply for a "student" credit card. They're usually aimed at people with little to no credit history and they start you out with a low limit and work your way up. They're only for students, (they'll upgrade you to a different version of their card when you graduate) so she might need to prove her student status, but it really helped both me and DH! I got one through Discover and DH's first one was through capital one. He also got one through State Farm (who we have car insurance through). He had maybe six months of having a credit card when he got that one.

I really like Discover because with their rotating cash back it taught me a lot about credit card rewards and paying attention to categories to maximize cash back. I want to say they started me out with a $500 limit and I now have $6500 in my mid twenties even though I only use it for its rotating rewards.

Good luck! Good for you for getting her credit history started!!

 

[wenrob]

My DD started out with a card from our Credit Union. The limit was $500 to start then went up after 6 months. Not sure what it's up to now but she charges everything to it and pays off bi-weekly. Once that was established she got a Disney Visa and uses that often as well. She had no problems getting a car loan on her own.

Start with your bank, in her name if you can and go from there.

 

[mommy2mrb]

Thank you for your quick responses!!

Thought about our credit union but we will be moving to other state next summer so probably not an option. I do have a capital one, didn't know they had student cards.

 

[SharonZ]

I would apply for one from her banking institution, wherever she already has checking/savings account. I also second having her as an authorized user on one of your cards for larger emergencies. Discover is a good one, too.

 

[mum of two pirates]

My son who's 20 in oct got one when he turned 18 from our credit union then they gave him another one. He's been really good with them and said they don't charge him much interest if any at all. My other son has been on mine since he started taking dive trips at 16. Alaska said it doesn't get reported to his name because he's a cosigner. But if I had to choose one what I know about them is our Alaska card gives you a free flight every year while basically for $99 but we can fly from Washington to Hawaii for two people and one of them fliers for $99 or are Citi Cards don't charge a late fee or an overdraft fee but I can't remember if they charge a yearly fee or not.

 

[Sandi]

Having her as an authorized user on your card does not give her a credit history. We had our DD as an authorized user on our AMEX and Discover just because she was traveling a lot in late high school and college and it was easier to manage expenses. She also had a Mastercard through her credit union. When she headed to grad school this year, she got the Discover student card and that is working well for her. She is building up a credit history with that and with her lease.

 

[dina444444]

My first credit card was through my bank (BofA), it started out with only a $500 credit line and I had to give them a $99 deposit that they returned after one year since I made payments on time and did not carry a balance. I would look at going through the bank she banks at.

 

[mommy2mrb]

Thanks for all the insight. We will be checking out a couple companies and see what her options could be.

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

Discover seems to be what the kids in my family have gotten. I would recommend getting maybe a gas credit card also but would stay away from cards from multiple stores. A lot of stores will offer a one time discount if you sign up for their credit card and before you know it the bills come rolling in. One card is so much easier to keep track of spending and getting into the habit of paying on time especially if she isn't used to paying bills. I know it's easy now with computers but the money going out still needs to be tracked. My husband sells commercial trucks and he sees people trying to get a loan and their credit rating is hurt if they have a lot of credit cards even if payments are made regularly

 

[mommy2mrb]

It will be a major CC, Not store one.

She has had a checking account and debit card since May 2016 and has done great with balancing it each month with paper reconciliation version to get used to the old school way first. Just recently started doing it on-line. She is very good with her $ and has saved a good chunk of it and helped with the purchase of her first car.

 

[bjscheel]

Our small local bank doesn't offer a card. I had DD18 apply for the Capital One Journey which is supposed to be for students starting out with no credit...she was denied for no credit history . So I put her as an authorized user on one of our cards so she would have something. Not much later she got an offer in the mail from Discover It so we did that one and she was approved.

 

[georgina]

Having her as an authorized user on your card does not give her a credit history. We had our DD as an authorized user on our AMEX and Discover just because she was traveling a lot in late high school and college and it was easier to manage expenses. She also had a Mastercard through her credit union. When she headed to grad school this year, she got the Discover student card and that is working well for her. She is building up a credit history with that and with her lease.

My DD is an authorized user on a Visa of mine and it definitely shows up on her credit history.

 

[hsmamato2]

I mde my ds an Au on our chase freedom card.... soon Id like to see him get his own for building his credit though.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

Discover seems to be what the kids in my family have gotten. I would recommend getting maybe a gas credit card also but would stay away from cards from multiple stores. A lot of stores will offer a one time discount if you sign up for their credit card and before you know it the bills come rolling in. One card is so much easier to keep track of spending and getting into the habit of paying on time especially if she isn't used to paying bills. I know it's easy now with computers but the money going out still needs to be tracked. My husband sells commercial trucks and he sees people trying to get a loan and their credit rating is hurt if they have a lot of credit cards even if payments are made regularly

Not sure why this is. I have 8 credit cards (2 store ones), pay down the balance every month and credit score is in the high 700's - same for DH. I've never heard of having too many credit cards affecting one's credit.

 

[mommy2mrb]

Hmmm

Called both capital one and discover neither one will allow her to apply until 18 or let me be a co-signer. Will try our credit union too or Guess we will be waiting til march.

 

[wenrob]

Not sure why this is. I have 8 credit cards (2 store ones), pay down the balance every month and credit score is in the high 700's - same for DH. I've never heard of having too many credit cards affecting one's credit.

Possible debt to income ratio.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

Possible debt to income ratio.

That's a possibility but the fact of having too many credit cards is not a factor for a low credit score.

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

Not sure why this is. I have 8 credit cards (2 store ones), pay down the balance every month and credit score is in the high 700's - same for DH. I've never heard of having too many credit cards affecting one's credit.

Maybe is makes a difference to commercial l lending companies if they are giving $250,000 for a vehicle that depreciates soon as it is driven off the dealers lot. But I'm sure it won't to a teenager girl unless she want to get into trucking.