which is the 'best' 1st credit card?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>D and I agree that it’s important to start establishing credit in her name so she’s going to apply for a credit card. She’ll use it rarely and will pay off any bill in full each time. We fully expect a low credit limit to start and for some time. Having said all that, she certainly could just get the one her bank offers which doesn’t have an annual fee (important) but doesn’t have any benefits either. Wondering if anyone’s done any research on cards available to college students and if there’s any one that seems any ‘better’ than others. Since my D won’t use it often and will pay any bill off in full that month, we’re less concerned about the interest rate. </p>

<p>Incidently, D will have a copy of one of mine and her dad’s for textbooks and other approved items and will have her debit card for incidentals.</p>

<p>What was your S or D’s first credit card and would you recommend it?</p>

2

<p>I’m wondering this as well. I’ve heard good things about the mtv credit card? Don’t get turned off by the association with the tv station, apparently it has great benefits especially for amazon and book purchases. Haven’t looked into it myself but my brother has.</p>

3

<p>Citibank has some decent programs for college students. That’s the route we took.</p>

<p><a href=“Citi Credit Cards – Find the right Credit Card for you – Citi.com”>Citi Credit Cards – Find the right Credit Card for you – Citi.com;

4

<p>I got D a card on my Bank of America Visa account. The card has her name on it, but her charges of course show up on my statement. </p>

<p>Last fall, when I was pulling credit reports for DH and me, I pulled one for D as well, thinking there would be nothing there. To my surprise, she has a credit history, beginning the month that she got the card.</p>

5

<p>The only good credit card is no credit card at all. </p>

<p>Why would ANY parent want to encourage their kid to start taking on debt? </p>

<p>And, “oh, it will get paid off every month” is a chimera. </p>

<p>Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using CC App</p>

6

<p>I would disagree with the the above poster.</p>

<p>Having 5 kiddos go through and complete the undergrad process, having credit established in their own name has provided to be extremely useful for them. </p>

<p>Now that they have had 5+ years of established credit history significant obstacles that a few of their peers have encountered have been absent for them.</p>

<p>Son’s first apartment for medical school reqired NO security deposit or last month’s rent, saved several thousand there. His siblings were able to secure the funding they needed for graduate school, when others were not able to based on little to no credit history.</p>

<p>The ease of booking hotel, rental cars, airline services with their own credit cards. Paying tuition, books and other incidentals gaining them rewards in the form of cash back, airline miles or gift cards also was very valuable.</p>

<p>When they needed to put utilities in their own name no security deposits were required, no co-signers required. They were able to secure car loans at the best interest rates possble, in some cases less than 1%, with no co-signer. Another was eligible for a fantastic home loan and various programs due to established, responsible credit history.</p>

<p>If you can join a local credit union often times they offer decent credit cards. Citi(mtvU), B of A, Chase, Amex and Discover all offer cards for college students. If you have any connection and can get a USAA or Navy Federal credit union account with a cc those are extremely helpful, as is their customer service.</p>

<p>We avoided Cap One and a few others.</p>

<p>Again, it has been an asset for all my kiddos for establishing a credit history, instilling financial accountablity and creating an awareness of economic necessities.</p>

<p>Kat</p>

7

<p>

</p>

<p>When we took D (then 17) to the bank to get her a debit card, they ran her info and basically got a “does not compute” that caused the bank to initially deny the debit card. Upon investigation, I found that we had caused this confusion. When she went on a school trip abroad in 9th grade, we got a card with her name on it from one of my cards. As luck would have it, it was a card I had had since before she was born. So it made no sense to the computer how this 17 year old could have had credit since 1988.</p>

<p>What I don’t know is whether that imputes our great credit history to her, and whether the reverse could happen as well.</p>

<p>SO, ask someone more knowledgeable than me how this works.</p>

8

<p>“What was your S or D’s first credit card and would you recommend it?”</p>

<p>All of mine had credit cards from our credit union; got their unsub Staffords through the credit union as well.</p>

9

<p>This topic has been discussed many times. Try a search on “credit card” or save yourself time and go to bankrate.com for the best deals</p>

10

<p>I am in the camp of “why does a college student need their own credit card”? Over the years it’s the position I have taken, and many posters have said it is to help them establish their own credit so they could get their own apartment, credit card, loans when they graduate. I am a believer of people having credit card when they have an income, and when they do, with or without credit history, they will be given credit.</p>

<p>D1 only had debit card through out college, and one of our credit cards for emergency. She had a good internship junior summer, which she filed tax on. In the spring of senior year she was bombarded with credit card applications. She just signed for a 2 bedroom apartment in NYC with a roommate. The landlord did a credit check, based on both of their salaries, they didn’t need a co-signer.</p>

<p>People know their kids best, but I think letting kids have their own credit cards only encourage (allow) them to spend beyond their means. D1’s friends have put “special dress” and electronic gadgets on their cards when they couldn’t afford it right away.</p>

11

<p>with the new credit card rules its more difficult now for a student to get a card. If you just get an additional card on one of your accounts that does not necessarily begin to establish credit in their name. i found the only way to establish credit in son’s name was to cosign his application. the credit card also shows up on my credit report. we just went to our local bank where he has had a debit card and checking account for years…applied in his name for a credit card with a 500 dollar limit.</p>

12

<p>We were able to get D’s no-fee credit cards through our local bank. Rewards were not a concern for us … in part because the credit limit was low. (“Let’s see, if I charge $90 a month and I get one percent cash-back, how long will it take to earn enough for that “free” trip to Europe?”)</p>

13

<p>I think that you can get a low limit credit card as a college student through Wells Fargo:</p>

<p><a href=“https://www.wellsfargo.com/student/banking/[/url]”>https://www.wellsfargo.com/student/banking/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

14

<p>I am in the camp that kids need to be taught how to use credit same as anything else. You can’t support them 100%, give them spending money, or allow them to use your card and then magically, when they graduate college, they figure it out themselves. Ours had a card in their name with a very low limit and the bills coming to our house from when they were 16. For the first few years they used it for things they would have spent anyway and we monitored to make sure the card was paid off every month. Then when they went away to college and were living in apartments, we deposited the rent, utility money and anything else we were going to give them in their account for the semester. They were responsible for paying the bills. We, of course, monitored since it was our money.</p>

<p>The older two bought houses a year or two out of college. They had saved up the downpayment by living at home for a year and knowing how finances work. None of ours carry a balance. </p>

<p>

Probably a parent with no self control when it comes to credit cards. Or a student who was never taught how to handle it properly.</p>

15

<p>When we went for summer registration, TCF was offering no montthly fee, no minimum, etc. Card also lonks to his college ID which allos him to buy food on campus. Thought this was a safe way to start his credit. He also has a debit card from my bank in his name as well as a credit card from my account.</p>

<p>Pulling his credit report makes sense. I have been a bit worried through this college application process with the number of times he had to use his social security number.</p>

16

<p>S has a USAA CC that required a co-signer because he has no credit history and less-than-adequate income. However, during the past year S received several mailed offers from Citi, Cap One and others that require no co-signer. These cards allow students to claim income from various sources including student loans, scholarships and allowances from parents, which means that just about anyone can qualify.</p>

17

<p>Right, get your kid a good credit rating so s/he can join the consumption class. Says a lot about values. </p>

<p>Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using CC App</p>

18

<p>one other thing is that often using your debit card puts a hold on the account for that amount…even if the actual charge wont be applied for a couple of weeks ie ordering something,hotel reservation. As son does not keep alot of money in his bank account, a hold for a few days or weeks affects money available at the present time.</p>

19

<p>

I am in the camp of teaching my kids first about making their own money, then get credit, not the other way around. </p>

<p>D1 is in training overseas and she won’t get her first paycheck until next Fri. She is not out there using credit cards to eat out or do shopping this weekend, thinking she could use her future paycheck to pay off her current spend.</p>

20

<p>Yes, oldfort, I agree. It astounds me that parents who would be aghast at their kids getting hooked on alcohol or tobacco or heroin are totally fine with them getting hooked on debt. Of course, they say, it would never happen with MY kid - s/he will pay off the balance every month. Until the first time s/he can’t of course. Sort of like the drinker who can always say no to the next drink - until s/he can’t. </p>

<p>How do the credit card companies stay in business? The same way the tobacco companies do, by getting young people addicted to their wares and into a lifetime of dependency. </p>

<p>So go ahead, teach your kids the American way - covet, covet, covet; buy, buy, buy; owe, owe, owe.</p>