<p>I’m 18 and interested in building up my credit history by getting a credit card and paying it off in full monthly. I have a job where I make 500-600 a month while I go to school. I pay for everything myself (parking-100/month in the city, gas, clothing, etc) and do not receive any sort of monthly money from my parents like some other students do. I’d like to get a credit card and use that for my purchases and then pay it off with my debit card every month, which is what I currently use to pay my expenses since it’s easier than cash.</p>
<p>However, since I don’t have any credit history I’ve been unsuccessful in being approved on my own so my parents said they will cosign for me for a 500 dollar limit credit card. My question is, because they are cosigning for me, will they be able to see my spending activity? I don’t want them to be able to have access to my activity because sometimes I visit my friends at other schools in different cities ~3 hours away and they would not approve of me visiting my friends so far away or whenever I buy birthday gifts for them I don’t want them to see how much I spent/from where. So, will they be able to see if they just cosign?</p>
<p>Maybe you can see online if you are prequalified.</p>
<p>Credit cards send out a monthly statement and you can view your statement online as well. So the only way they should see it is if the statement goes to them or if they register your card online for access… I had a card when I was 16 which my parents had to sign for and that’s how it worked.</p>
<p>Maybe a secured credit card would be an option? That’s what I have. I wanted to establish credit history and my parents don’t cosign anything besides student loans, so this is the route I went.</p>
<p>Do you have a checking account, honorstudent? If so, why not check with your bank and see if you can’t get your own card without a cosigner. My DD has had a checking account since she was 15 and started working. When she was 18 and leaving for college, she needed to switch banks (from our local credit union to a more national bank) and they asked if she wanted to open a credit card. She said no, but the banker and I encouraged her to open one to build her credit. I did not have to cosign. She is 22 now and has built a great credit history. I can’t tell you how important it is to pay the card off each month, though. Those interest charges are horrible. It’s easy to get sucked in to the credit card game … don’t let it happen to you. Keep in mind … if your parents cosign and you are late with your payments, you’re not the only one whose credit report takes a hit. Good luck!</p>
<p>I think the new credit card regulations will affect your ability to get a credit card in your name</p>
<p>“If people under 21 want credit cards in their own names, they must show proof of means to pay or get co-signers – anyone older than 21 who agrees to be jointly liable on the account or guarantee repayment. The letter of the credit card law specifies that parents, guardians or spouses can co-sign, but in the proposed regulations, the Fed expanded the list of those who can co-sign – to anyone 21 or older.”</p>
<p>I cosigned for my daughter to get her own credit card with a $500 limit. She receives her credit card statements electronically/online and I have no access to them, nor do I wish to.</p>
<p>We never cosigned for our kids on credit cards. </p>
<p>They got bank debit/credit cards attached to their bank accounts. If they needed more money in the course of the year, we would occasionally put some in, but in most cases, it was their money, earned pre-college, over the summer, or co-oping.</p>
<p>When they turned 21, they applied for another credit card, if they wanted. Not my job, not my worry.</p>
<p>If you don’t want your parent(s) seeing your credit card transactions, that is an entirely sensible desire for privacy at your age. As a parent I would respect that.</p>
<p>However, that is in conflict with your wanting a parent to co-sign for the credit card. If I am co-signing and responsible for the debt, I would feel it appropriate to be able to monitor what kind of spending is going on.</p>
<p>There are other ways to obtain a card, as posters have outlined above. You should seek out one of those alternative methods. You can build up credit history later in life.</p>
<p>Seems to me it’s a choice - privacy or parent co-sign.</p>
<p>You can also use the credit card for entirely local transactions or whatever you think your parents will approve, and pay for your oot trips and birthday gifts in cash. That will maintain the privacy you want (and deserve).</p>
<p>If you want privacy and be free of your parents’ judgments then go cash.
I may be wrong but I think you just want to be able to whip out a credit card for convenience not as part of a master plan to build a credit history.
You will be more responsible with discretionary spending because you will only spend what you have in your wallet.</p>
<p>My 18 year old has a credit card (his own, no co-sign) through Wells Fargo; he has had his checking/savings accounts there for several years. Is there one of those in your area? I don’t know why they have it and others don’t, because he was not able to get one through his on-campus bank. </p>
<p>At this point, our agreement is that he only uses it for charges I approve with him in advance. The bill comes here (but it wouldn’t have to) and I pay it online. He is building credit, and I feel that he has a card to use in case of “emergency”.</p>
<p>I have never been an “all cash” person…I agree the card is all about convenience, and there’s nothing wrong with that - you seem to have been responsible to this point and taking care of your own expenses with a debit card. Same idea. And…I would be too nervous for my kid to be so far away and not have a card in case of emergencies. Or taking a risk by carrying around too much cash.</p>
<p>My 22 year old has had a card for years with no problems. Fast forward to 19 year old and she was turned down for card of her own, turned down for secured card even. I had to cosign for her. The laws have changed…</p>
<p>I’m offended you guys think I just want one for convenience and not for credit history In case you missed it, I already have a debit card, so I already have the convenience. I’ve always been really independent, and I know that later down the road I will need a good credit history so I want to start early. My cousin is 23.5 with average-slightly bad credit and she was just rejected for a car and has no one to help her cosign. I even already have a roth IRA I’ve established myself in my own name of my own accord. Can’t an 18 year old be truly financially responsible without suspicions?</p>
<p>I don’t know–D was just mailed a Morgan Stanley credit card (she didn’t even apply for & no one co-signed). The same thing happened with S shortly after he turned 21. (They had been on joint accounts with us and once they turned 21, they were on their independent accounts). I do have joint credit cards with my kids as well–the statement comes to me & I pay it, as long as they tell me what it’s for & we have agreed that I would pay those expenses (otherwise they send me a check to reimburse). It’s mainly for emergencies.</p>
<p>Don’t know about building credit–regularly paying utility bills builds credit, as does just about anything. I never found out my credit score or H’s but believe it’s excellent as we’ve never been late in any payments, pay off all credit cards in full every month, and never had any trouble getting any loans. Believe it should be the same for my kiddos, but we have not yet inquired.</p>
<p>IMO, there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting a credit card for convenience and avoiding the need to carry a lot of cash.</p>
<p>That’s exactly why I carry one (we already have great credit history and score). And we get mileage points for ours :). </p>
<p>What is wrong is using it for convenience and finding it so convenient that you spend more than you can pay off in full monthly. That doesn’t sound like you at all, honorstudent.</p>
<p>I don’t know what percentage of financially not-smart people spend more via credit card than they can afford to pay in full monthly, but that’s a percentage you don’t want to be in… and it sounds like you never plan to be.</p>
<p>Your only problem right now is wanting financial privacy, but needing a co-signer. Those might not go together… but remember it will be temporary if your co-signing parent can see your purchases on line, and you can pay cash for purchases you’d rather keep private.</p>
<p>Soon enough you’ll be able to get a card on your own and stop using the co-signed one.</p>
<p>Yes, I charge most of my purchases because I get 2% cash back on everything, which I like. I also agree that you can pay for purchases you don’t want the co-signer to know about via your debit card, cash, or a check. You can also ask that the bill be sent to you, but probably the co-signer will have the ability to view the account on-line, as the above poster noted. Wherever you bank may be willing to give you a credit card with a low limit & increase it over time–give them a try. Our banks were willing to give our kiddos credit cards if they had wanted them. </p>
<p>(My D doesn’t even have a current job & neither does S–he just graduated & will start his job soon–maybe in a month or two & D had a part-time job which ended when funding dried up.)</p>
<p>I charge everything because I get cash back and I pay my bill at the end of the month in full. My cell bill goes to my card, my cable bill, etc. I’ll take all the free money I can get.</p>
<p>Paying bills like utilities on time doesn’t build credit… as far as I know. Maybe they only show up on there if you don’t pay them and go to collection? None of that stuff shows up on your credit report at all. Things on my credit report include a credit card I got at 16, former car loan, current credit card, two store credit cards, student loans, and my mortgage. I just got my current score a week or so ago.</p>
<p>I’d definitely suggest getting some card to get your credit started at a young age… A friend of mine is 30 and is just now trying to get a credit card and nobody will take him because he has no established credit. Now he’s looking into getting a secured card. He’s trying to build up credit so he can attempt to get a mortgage for a house down the road. He’s always used a debit card or cash to pay for things. He attempted to get a car loan and got declined due to lack of credit also. He was only asking for a small loan of like 4 or 5k too. Didn’t matter.</p>
<p>My sister, who is 8 years younger then my friend, went to get a car loan when she was 20 and the person at the dealership told her they thought she’d need a co-signer. Then they ran her credit, saw she had a credit card since 16, had some student loans on there, and was working a full time job, and gave her the loan on her own. I think her car was 16k… she put 8k down on it and borrowed 8k. It’s very important to establish some credit… but you have to be serious about it and build it not destroy it.</p>
<p>I got a pre-paid credit card through my bank to build up credit when I was nineteen. After a few months using that, the bank changed the card to a regular sort with a 700 dollar credit limit. You should easily be able to do this. Also, another easy solution: use the co-signed credit card for everything except the trips to see friends. Voila.</p>
<p>My 18 year old daughter got a Citibank student card with no-cosigner. They ask her to report all grants, scholarships she was receiving, she has no income. She was approved for a 4k limit. You can google “citicard for students” to get the link.</p>
In case you missed it, I already have a debit card, so I already have the convenience. I’ve always been really independent, and I know that later down the road I will need a good credit history so I want to start early. My cousin is 23.5 with average-slightly bad credit and she was just rejected for a car and has no one to help her cosign. I even already have a roth IRA I’ve established myself in my own name of my own accord. Can’t an 18 year old be truly financially responsible without suspicions?</p>