@Sybylla It is my understanding that only AmEx allows you to set different limits for different users.
D2 still has my AmEx platinum card. She will until she is out of law school. It gives her travel protection as well as access to airport lounges. My kids didn’t use my cards enough in college to really made it an issue.
Ooooh, finally something that I can contribute directly lol.
Well, as for authorized usage, I’m only authorized on my Father’s AmazonPrime Visa Card that has a Credit Limit of $!,800 which is quite low of my liking so I only reserved that as Emergency Use.
Here are the cards that I am the primary cardholder and the credit limit:
American Express Gold Card: $2,500
American Express EveryDay Credit Card: $2,500
Bank of America AmeriCard Mastercard: $1,700
Capital One QuicksilverOne: $1,000 → $1,500 limit increase once December rolls in.
Citi by BestBuy: $1,000
Synchrony by SunglassHut: $500
Discover IT Chrome for Student: $500
Target REDCard Credit: $300
I highly suggest getting the Discover card because of the reward points. The Amex’s are a bit of pain to use since not everyone accepts them in comparison to Visa.
My 17 year old son has been an authorized user on my Priceline card since he started driving a little over a year ago. It’s meant for paying for things I normally would anyhow. College testing and application fees, stuff I send him to the store to get, a tank of gas a month (any more he has to cover himself)… He’s very good about texting me to verify it is ok to use it for something, so I have no concerns about sending him to college with it. He’s grown up with me and my “if you can’t pay cash for it you can’t afford it” mentality.
S17 couldn’t get his own card either. His summer job pays very well but it’s all cash, so he had no income to report. I may this year have him be an authorized user on one of my cards - assuming this helps him build credit? He’s not taking a car back with him for junior year, so that was the main reason I wanted him to have a card, in case of emergency. Now the main reason would be just to build credit. Calling Discover is on my to do list before he goes back.
To the OP…please do NOT allow your student to get this many credit cards as a college student.
This is totally unnecessary. I’m with @oldfort on this. No full time job…no need for a credit card in the student’s name. Our kids did have one…but that was back in the day when B of A gave a credit card as part of their student banking package. And it was ONE credit card with a $500 limit or something like that.
If you don’t have a Discover card yourself, find a friend who does so that both your son and your friend (or you) get the $50 referral bonus. I missed that with both of my kids - ah, well.
Graduate student–have had a credit card through one of my parents’ accounts that they pay the balance on since the middle of high school. They live very far away from me and I needed something as a backup in case of emergencies, especially if I had to get an airline ticket to where they live at short notice. They also allowed me to use it for textbooks, which they funded, and occasionally would say to use it if they wanted to “treat” me to something like dinner from my favorite Thai restaurant or a trip to a pricey Boston museum for my birthday. They’ll still “treat” using the credit card. It was recently switched over from an LL Bean Visa card (we liked the free shipping and easy returns, but didn’t like when they switched management) to a local Credit Union card.
I tried getting DS19 a credit card (USAA, where we have accounts) but it was a no-go. I was told that new laws and policies were made where parents can’t even cosign for a card anymore. So we made him an authorized user. It does make me wonder how anyone his age can build credit without a parent helping? I can’t imagine being out of high school, on my own, but no way to get a card (you need one to rent a car, hotel room, etc).
@thumper1 Oh no worries about that. I wonder if MrThatcher isn’t real and just some person toying with everyone so s/he can watch our reactions to his/her mess. I don’t even see how it’s possible for someone that age to obtain that many cards, especially with the walls we’ve been facing now. In our house, we use credit cards like debit cards. You don’t ever charge more than you have in the bank, and always make sure you have emergency savings (and emergency to the emergency savings).
@hopedaisy - that’s what they said to me too. I may make my kids authorized users on my card, but really S16 doesn’t need it anymore. He’s doing fine on his own. It just feels like cheating to me having a kid get their credit score from their parents. But if there’s no other way… In the past I’ve just given them my cards to use. Nobody has cared!
I got an email from AAA today about free credit monitoring and signed us up. S19 doesn’t even have a credit score. LOL. S16 did his own. I don’t think he’s actually looked at his full report before, so that was good homework for him.
Yeah. I call BS on a college student with no full time job can secure that many cards with those limits on his own. But, I call BS on a lot of the things this guy “just above the limit for federal aid” has been saying. None of it adds up.
My S19s and S17 have had checking accounts with debit cards since they turned 18. S17 applied for several credit cards in the past year and was able to get a Discover student card. They are all responsible for their own accounts which are funded with income from their part time jobs, birthday/grad money. They’ve grown up knowing you don’t spend what you don’t have and are all quite frugal. Thankfully.
Discover Student.
What about credit cards that earn miles/points with signing bonuses? Has anyone’s child been approved for such cards?
Chase has a student credit card. Yes walk in a branch to apply, don’t try online.
My two older kids were authorized users on our card, built some credit that way and eventually got their own cards, later in college. One had an easy time. The other was denied twice, no idea why. She tried applying online first and it didn’t work. She may not have understood how to correctly answer all the financial questions on the application, or may have shot too high for a first card.
My husband walked into Chase the other day with kid 3 and kid came out with a checking account, debit card, and credit card—no co-signer, no credit, no job. Too easy.
Our older D had a regular job in HS, with employer deducting taxes and a steady income. She had no trouble getting cc. Our younger S worked contract jobs, no steady income, but made more than his sister ever did. No one would give him cc. Not even with tax records. Finally has taken out a secured cc with his credit union. Very different from my college experience of having multiple pre-approved cc applications mailed out to me every month.
Both of my kids work during school. Both applied for a BOA credit visa card and for $1,000. Both use it to establish credit and sat with our local banker to discuss how to do this so it didn’t come from us. Also both have small Ira accounts and talked to our broker for the same type of reason. So much better not coming from us.
Both have the attitude since they use their debit cards more that if they don’t have the money in their accounts then they shouldn’t buy it. Works for me.
They both use the phones and get alerts and pay whatever monthly.
I didn’t get my D a credit card in college and this negatively impacted her when she graduated and started working. She was making $51K as a NYC school teacher, but couldn’t get a card of her own and I had to co-sign her first lease. So, with S17, I had him apply for a Discover card with a $500 limit. It’s in his name. as apparently Discover does give cards to students. He is now compiling a credit rating.
I never gave oldest son a card, but he managed to get them on his own. Second son has zero interest in money. Third son had an Amex on my account, but when they upped the interest rate, I took the card away.
Why do kids need a credit card? Our S will have a debit card and we can put money into his checking account electronically. What emergency would require a credit card specifically for a student living on campus with no car? I can’t think of one. And don’t say to “start a credit history”. I don’t really think they need to do that.
OP here. I haven’t had a debit card in over 25 years. In college, I was horrible about withdrawing cash and forgetting to write it in the register. That said, my kids have had debit cards for several years.
Why? Aside from a credit history, which I do think it important for them signing leases, getting auto loans, home loans after graduation… credit cards are far better for fraud protection. Our (mine and Hs) cards get frauded all of the time. It’s a PITA but you don’t worry about losing $$$. Also, the kids’ credit cards get declined often in weird places (outlet shopping) because our bank is a local hometown bank. Visa is taken almost everywhere.
For our family credit cards ARE debit cards. We don’t ever charge more than you can pay off in a month. Plus, you get cash back, miles, points, etc.