<p>Hi all!
My 18 year old son got a mailer from First Financial Bank about student mastercard. He just finished his first year of college across the country. There were a few times that it would have been easier for him to have a credit card. He only had a bank ATM/debit and checking/savings account. </p>
<p>The mailer says no application fee, no annual fee. If you stay under $250. in charges 0% APR. They offer card with limit of 250, 500 or 1000. If you go over the $250. the monthly interest is 19.95%. </p>
<p>DH is concerned that he won’t make the minimum payment and will be looking at 25% default APR. </p>
<p>Does anyone have experience with this company? Anyone recommend a different card? DH is convinced there is a card out there with a better deal.</p>
<p>My d is a co-signator on our credit card. That way, she can’t get in too much trouble since we see the bill every month! If she overcharges, she can’t hide it.</p>
<p>Is there a reason that your son needs one in his own name now? (I know it’s good to build up credit, but I hope d will wait until she actually has an income that will allow her to pay the bills!)</p>
<p>Both my 19 year old in college and my 18 year old HS-senior have Bank of America Student checking accounts, and Bank of America credit cards with no fees. Credit Limit is $700.00. They receive their bills online, go to BoA Bill-pay and transfer money from their checking account to the credit-card bill account.</p>
<p>$250.00 sounds very low to me. Especially if they decide to use the card to buy airline tickets, concert tickets etc.</p>
<p>Do NOT get that card. My little sister who is 18 has that card and the company is horrible. My mom actually just helped her cancel it yesterday and she is getting a new credit card through our bank this weekend.</p>
<p>They have no 'fee’s that they tell you about, but they charge you for every other little thing. If you call them and make a payment by phone on your card, its $12. If you pay your bill online, it’s $9… and so forth. I would call your bank and see if they offer a student credit card.</p>
<p>We got this FF card for our son with a $250 limit for sundry purchases while at school, but have the bill mailed to our home and pay it out of a joint account we have with him. It was a good way to start his credit (he was still in HS when he turned 18 and began using it.) We haven’t had any problems with the company and they’ve increased his limit since it’s always paid in full and on time.<br>
Discover card has been great - he has received itunes gift cards, bonus cash, etc for using his card during certain promotional periods. No fees and he also earns the cashback feature on top of all of these other promotions.</p>
<p>I second the idea of Chocoholic. My D has had the student checking and credit card through Wells Fargo. She can see all her purchases online. Instead of waiting for the bill and sending a check she just moves the money from checking to credit card. She has had a few mistakes but they have always waived the fee. I have been impressed with how easy they have been to work with. They have over the 2 yrs raised her limit. She is one of those people who wonderfully pays her bill in full each month so doesn’t worry about the interest rate. There is no fee for the card.
I don’t know if we would get my second child a credit card that wasn’t linked to us. I think he would try to use it for online gambling.</p>
<p>yeah, that’s the same kind of card my mom is helping my sister set up with her bank. She just has to transfer the money over to pay off the card (with no fees)</p>
<p>That was my son’s first card. He had it for few months till he got a ‘regular’ card.</p>
<p>But that card could be very awful, specially if you don’t pay on time, don’t pay in full and are ‘over drawn’.</p>
<p>The reviews on that card are just terrible.</p>
<p>Best approach is to apply for a credit card in your son’s name on-line. Many on-line applications don’t ask for applicant’s income. They ask for household income.</p>
<p>yeah, and even if you do pay on time you can be feed depending how you pay the bill. most people don’t want to pay for their credit cards by writing out a check, but that is the only payment they accept without giving you a fee. i would def. stay away from them.</p>