Dave_Berry

The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act prohibits card issuers from extending credit to a person under 21 unless one of two conditions is met...[However] a young adult could get a credit card if a parent, legal guardian, or an individual 21 or older agrees to co-sign.

washingtonpost.com

oldfort

I told my D1 that I would co-sign a credit card for her when gets her first job, but not before.

3bm103

All mine have had a credit card since they were 16. The two oldest (29, 25) own their own homes due to the good credit they had built from that age. I think teaching them how to use a credit card wisely while they still live at home is my responsibility. I don't see how I could have done that if their first card was after they moved out. None of my three carry a balance.

MidwestParent

Same 3bm103 - both of ours have had credit cards since the age of 16. I think you have to really know your child and be truthful with yourself as to whether or not they possess the maturity to hand the card responsibly. We've never had any trouble with either of our kids charging anything remotely questionable.

toadstool

I'm confused. The auther asserts that "student name only" credit cards are not needed to start building a credit agency file, but the first criteria listed for starting a file is having a loan or a credit card account for at least 6 months. How does a young person take out a loan or get credit card with out a credit agency file, except through the now eliminated student credit card programs? Isn't that a sort of catch-22?

The classic advise was to grab a couple of credit card offers in college; put them on automatic payment to a parent-monitored checking account with overdraft protection, to build a credit history. Once graduated, while job hunting or in that first job, credit card companies will not look at you.

They can't really be serious about sending college students across country to school, or functionally looking for jobs/internships or that first apartment in a distant city without credit in their own name. What were they thinking?!

Amendments anyone?

sallyawp

It is extremely important to start building credit at a young age. If you trust your son or daughter, make sure that the credit limit on the card is low, and explain that the card is only to be used for emergencies, books or whatever you decide, I think that it is a good idea to co-sign for a credit card for your son or daughter as they head off to college. Most credit cards allow you to access current billing and statements online, so that you can both keep a watch on the use of the card.

Of course, if he or she abuses the privilege, the card gets cancelled and taken away.

BCEagle91

It's on my list of things to do. Son is gone for the summer so it will have to wait until he gets back. He has a debit card though.

NewHope33

Same as 3bm103 and Midwest Parent and sallyawp.

ellemenope

D1 started college with a credit card with her own name. It didn't have a giant limit, but she used it a little every month and paid off the bill promptly. She is one year out of college and has a GREAT credit score. Good thing, because she will be needing to buy a car soon and renting an apartment.

We're sending D2 off to college this fall and will send her with a credit card. Looks like we'll have to send her off with a credit card that we'll have to co-sign for and that won't be any help in building her own credit. Too bad--will it be just like the olde days when I went to college?...it took a year of working after college to get my own credit card.

mathmom

I'll cosign if I have to, but mathson got his own credit card (through USAA) the summer before starting college and I plan to do the same for S2. His limit is tied to the year of college he is in, it goes up each year. He makes good money in the summer, if he's old enough to vote, it seems to me he should be old enough to have his own credit card.

entomom

Add my kids to the list of having credit cards since they were 16. It's part of my parenting course: Fiscal Responsibility 101. They learn two important lessons: don't spend more than you have and pay it off in full every month.

Hunt

My kids have additional cards on one of my cards (not my primary one). They get the convenience, and I get the points.

JHS

My kids don't have credit cards, at least not that I know about (or have co-signed). Both of them have worked since they were 15. They have bank accounts, debit cards, checkbooks, and so far that's been fine. There is the occasional call for parental assistance with large purchases, but that's OK, too. Neither of them has ever asked about getting a credit card. If they had, I probably would have thought it would be a good idea, but they haven't.

I think they have their own credit ratings based on their leases, utilities, etc.

Yalemom2

"Looks like we'll have to send her off with a credit card that we'll have to co-sign for and that won't be any help in building her own credit. "

Ellemenope - I think that your D will build her own credit if she has a credit card in her name that you cosigned for. That's different than having an account in your name and giving her a card. Anyone know for sure?

over30

Both of our boys got their own through USAA when they turned 18. The bill comes to me and I pay it until college graduation. The oldest now pays his own. They use their cards for airline tickets, books, food, eyeglasses, etc. They both work in the summer, and use mostly cash or debit cards, from their own money. I had to encourage them to use their credit cards each month, to help build up their credit. They both had a BP gas card once they started driving, but the gas cards weren't in their names.

Yalemom, it's my understanding that the card needs to be solely in the student's name to build credit.