<p>Boy, I guess things have changed in the six years since my D got a credit card (at age 17). She received invitations by mail to apply and was just about guaranteed to receive it. The only hitch was I was listed as a co-signer. That was no problem. She was approved for a regular Capital One card with the low credit limit we selected. She had no credit history at the time.</p>
<p>Fast forward to now. S is 18. He has had no invitations by mail - I guess maybe they don’t solicit the younger crowd anymore? We searched online and found many “student” credit cards offered, so he applied for one. They did not ask for much information at all. Just got the letter that he was denied because of “only a limited credit history”. Duh! He’s 18 and … a student!! I even called the card issuer and he said, yeah, I know, that doesn’t make any sense. </p>
<p>So how does one build a credit history now when he can’t get credit because of “limited or no credit history”?</p>
<p>consider yourself fortunate! My S receives, on average, at least 2 per day, everyday. I swear, I’m soon going to just start returning the empty envelopes. My shredder is working overtime!!</p>
<p>go to your bank and ask them about getting a credit card through them. Or just wait till he goes to college and the banks will line up to give them to him.</p>
<p>I had the same card as your daughter when i was 16, and i loved it. i actually still have it… just with a higher limit and my mom is’t on it anymore.</p>
<p>In our case, son got a checking and savings at 16, with only a debit card[checking]- no actual checks. That prevented him from easily writing bad checks, as some youngsters do. Also, when we got his first car, we financed part, debt in his name, us as cosigners. We mostly made payments as gift to him, but it went on his credit history. Its tough to wait until 18 to establish credit then expect it almost instantaneously.</p>
<p>Call 1-888-5OPTOUT or visit <a href=“http://www.optoutprescreen.com%5B/url%5D”>www.optoutprescreen.com</a> to stop being deluged with credit card solicitations.</p>
<p>Go with your child to the bank at age 16 and sign them up for a Visa Check Card. Two years of responsible use of the check card will establish their credit by the age of 18.</p>
<p>S got a debit card from our bank (Wachovia) at 16. He went last summer at 19 to get a Visa credit card. They signed him right up, no parent required.</p>
<p>S said at his college (large public U) there were opportunities everywhere to sign up for credit cards. Card Representatives would offer free pizza, t-shirts, whatever to get kids to sign up. </p>
<p>We also get tons of credit card offers for S everyday in the mail. He doesn’t even live here anymore and gets more mail than the rest of us!</p>
<p>Many student checking accounts will offer you a separate low-limit credit card. There is also the option of adding your son to your card…it won’t help as much, but does establish some credit from personal experience and what I’ve heard. I was added to my parent’s cards at 16 or so, and had some credit by the time I was 18.</p>
<p>I also got denied for my first student credit card though! Trying another company could help. Also, they offer pre-paid credit cards to help raise your credit score and establish history. Just watch out that they don’t charge you any fees besides an initial “deposit!”</p>
<p>Some colleges don’t give out their mailing lists; others do. </p>
<p>I have been very happy with the treatment my kids have gotten from B of A, where they have student checking and student credit cards. Both just switched theirs to “adult” cards and received increases in credit limits based on their new jobs and past credit history.</p>
<p>I got a starbucks duetto visa card with no credit history whatsoever (by the way it’s issued by chase) (<a href=“http://www.chase.com/starbucks[/url]”>www.chase.com/starbucks</a>) and I got a pretty high limit on it($800->$1100). Plus they give out $25 in starbucks dollars after your first purchase, and 1% into a starbucks account. They give out bonuses like candy…but don’t try AmEx until you have a solid credit history…they rejected me like 3 times.</p>
<p>Best to get a credit card linked to a checking/savings acct for a student.
Student should use the credit card once a month initially for school related items and then pay off immediately thru the same acct. Link the savings for automatic overdraft protection. The credit card can also serve to cover overdraft.</p>
Another method, which you can use as soon as you feel comfortable that your young teen will behave responsibly in financial matters. Have the student be an authorized user of your own credit card, with a card on the account in their own name. We did this with DS starting around age 14. He rarely used the card, using it only when we had pre-agreed he would be going out to buy, say, clothes at our expense; or using it to buy something that he wanted (eg, electronic game) and reimbursing us.</p>
<p>With his name on our account, he began to develop a credit history based on our account. Before he was even 18 or have ever had an account purely in his own name.</p>
<p>I first learned that kids having cards on the family account built credit history here on cc. I didn’t believe it until I checked my then hs son’s credit score online. He had a great credit score coming out of the gate.</p>
<p>Another good bank for student credit is USAA – but you have to be a member yourself before your S or D is eligible. They have a great student platinum card – our S started with a $500 credit limit, and they will increase it throughout his college years until it reaches $2500 by graduation.</p>
<p>There is still a loophole in the credit rating system (FICO). Have your child as an authorized user on your card. After about 6 or 8 months they will have a credit history. Fair Issac is proposing to change that, but you may still have some time.</p>
<p>My situation was the exact opposite-- I tried to apply for student credit cards and kept on being denied due to pre-existing credit history [positive].I could never figure that one out… </p>
<p>Which student credit cards are you looking at? Have your daughter look at Amex Blue (Cash/Student). If she lists your income as the HHI [this is legal], then I would expect her to be approved–especially if she has a job. Maybe the Citibank MtvU Student Credit card which was the card that denied me; I think that they want people with no credit history. There isn’t even an option to list HHI or Employment Information on that application. Bank of America cards aren’t bad either. Your choice should depend on how she intends to use it and the benefits she would like.</p>