Does your college student use your credit card for dinners out? ... - Page 3

mamabear1234 · 06-13-2012, 09:26 AM

My oldest D has her own credit card, which she got before the rules tightened, with a low limit, and she has always paid that herself. When she studied abroad, I gave her one on my account for emergencies, which she has used once for airline tickets. Agree with oldfort in that it shows up on her credit report so it helps credit history.

My S uses his debit card linked to his checking account for incidental expenses. The kid spends almost no money at school that I can see. If he wants to make an online purchase, he calls me and asks to use my account, then reimburses me.

bajamm · 06-13-2012, 09:42 AM

My D doesn't have her own credit card, though she does have one in her name from my account. It is a low limit one, it started at $500 and is now $750. She has purchased books on it and paid it off within a month, always telling me before the purchase is made.

We primarily bought it for her because she is 1000+ miles from home and if there is some sort of emergency here, then she may need to be able to get her own plane tickets home. Having her name on the card helps with that. She knows that she needs to leave room on it in order to buy a ticket at any time and so has always paid it off almost immediately after using it.

I just checked her credit rating about a month ago and this card showed up on her credit report, even though it is off of one of my accounts.

megpmom · 06-13-2012, 09:54 AM

Yes, even cards on your account, in the child's name, help build their credit rating. As long as it's paid on time.

I have 2 kids with cards on my account. One is very good about only using it for "approved" purchases. The other seems to think that McDonald's runs are emergencies. But, I also have access to his checking account, so I just transfer money to cover his credit card purchases. He got the idea last month when his checking account got down to $2.56.

mathmom · 06-13-2012, 10:28 AM

My son pays the credit card bill from his account, we reimburse him for things we are happy to pay for like textbooks. Younger son is a cheapskate and never seems to go out, certainly not anywhere expensive enough to use a credit card!

electronblue · 06-13-2012, 10:40 AM

I don't have a credit card so no, my kids do not have an extra card. We all have debit cards. They work year round, and pay their own expenses. I give them $20-40 when I see them as a little gift which they very much appreciate.

Inthebiz · 06-13-2012, 10:54 AM

My kids have credit cards (we have access to the statements) - they pay the balance and if it's something we have agreed to pay for (for example, books) we send them a check for that amount.

This thread got me thinking about a number of years ago when I was living in Chicago. I have cousins who are very well off and their son was attending Northwestern Law School. Apparently, he had a credit card that his parents paid, no questions (or few questions) asked. I would have him over for dinner every so often and I was always shocked when he told me where he had been dining on a regular basis. Some of the best and most expensive places in town! (Most of which I had never been to despite the fact I was an adult with a good paying job.)

emeraldkity4 · 06-13-2012, 10:57 AM

Nope she doesn't use my credit card for going out, neither do I.

romanigypsyeyes · 06-13-2012, 11:01 AM

For those of you that follow your children's credit card statements and debit accounts, do they have a way to hide purchases from you? As in, do they have a separate card where they could buy things without your oversight? I ask because now that I think about it, I wouldn't want my parents to know exactly where I'm shopping. Since we have separate finances, it's not something I'd ever considered. Just wondering.

joszacem · 06-13-2012, 11:08 AM

S1 has one in his name that we pay for, only to be used in emergencies or after contacting us. He has never abused the privledge (So far).

MiamiDAP · 06-13-2012, 11:12 AM

D. was using her credi card for going out. But we paid all her expences anyway, so it did not matter too much. D. was not on any kind of allowance aside from the fact that we did not pay her tuition as she earned full tuition Merit award and that was a biggy, the biggest of them all.

patsmom · 06-13-2012, 11:42 AM

Thank you for reminding us about that full tuition merit award, MD. I had almost forgotten about it.

emeraldkity4 · 06-13-2012, 12:07 PM

I wouldn't want my parents to know exactly where I'm shopping. Since we have separate finances, it's not something I'd ever consider

My daughter isnt currently working much while she is in school, so we know exactly what she has and what she is spending it on.

MiamiDAP · 06-13-2012, 12:11 PM

My D. currently cannot afford working at all, none of them in her class can work. They are all supported either by parents or by spouses or by student loans, including thier credit cards.

Pizzagirl · 06-13-2012, 12:16 PM

Quote:

For those of you that follow your children's credit card statements and debit accounts, do they have a way to hide purchases from you? As in, do they have a separate card where they could buy things without your oversight? I ask because now that I think about it, I wouldn't want my parents to know exactly where I'm shopping. Since we have separate finances, it's not something I'd ever considered. Just wondering

I suppose my kids could get cash and pay cash for a purchase they didn't want us to see. What would be so hard about that? I mean, I don't monitor what they withdraw - if they withdraw $10 or $100 for their walk-around money that week, it's all the same to me and it's their problem if they want to spend it on a t-shirt or treat 5 friends to Starbucks or buy a book of stamps or whatever.

My daughter is currently at a summer school program that doesn't provide a meal / menu plan. So she has to buy food and prepare it, and / or buy pre-prepared food. Food is too important to scrimp on, IMO. She's a careful person by nature, so instead of giving her a budget we just said - use our credit card to buy whatever food you need, end of subject. I'm not worried it will be abused, and I'm not interested in setting an arbitrary food budget.

MaineLonghorn · 06-13-2012, 12:17 PM

I got credit cards for both my sons, ages 17 and 19. The cards were to be used only for gas or emergencies, and occasionally for eating out, IF the boys reiumbursed me. It worked fine with the older one, but the younger one's idea of "emergency" was things like "urge for ice cream." So I took his CC away and got him a debit card linked to HIS savings account. He can go online and check his balance at any point. Amazing, his definition of "emergency" has really narrowed!