Best First/Student CC?

[MarkD]

I want to have my son (18) and daughter (20) apply for their first CC before they move away for college.

Any good recommendations?

I have some preferences.

• No annual fee (required)
• Mobile management app
• Easy approval with a low credit limit
• Rewards not necessary (did I just say that on this forum? ) but movie theaters and grocery stores would be preferred if it did.

 

[InstinctX]

Take a look at http://www.nerdwallet.com/student-credit-cards

 

[godsquare]

My wife and I followed this guide: http://poorstudentblog.com/how-to-build-an-excellent-credit-history-from-scratch-in-12-months/

It works really well for both of us.

 

[incendia]

I would add them as AU s on one of your older cards ( with SS# ) wait a few months and apply for the Discover it card (they have a student version) also BOA 123 card has a student version

 

[Malvina]

I would add them as AU s on one of your older cards ( with SS# )

But, it is better not to give them these AU cards. Even if children look responsible, with money they are not. They will always need $100 "right now" to buy a toothpaste.

The best option is to open Visa Buxx card. You as a parent can use your reward credit card to load money, decide how much you want to load.

AU cards will stay at home and earn your children a credit history. You will get free rewards/miles.

 

[Outlying Anomaly]

Similar questions as OP.

Our 18 yo has been an AU for 2 years on our new cards since our first churn. She's grown up understanding paying via CC = still paying, and asks us about anything she wants to buy. We didn't think to add her to old accounts (duh) - thanks, incendia.

To get approved for her own card, does she:
1) need a current job - we're paying for the CC either way b/c her college expenses > any PT income, and
2) need a bank account before getting the CC? We avoided her getting an acct. for years b/c of the hit on finaid, but that's n/a now. Acct. will likely be opened at SunTrust, if that matters.

She has a "thin file" now - I've set up CK/CS accts for her and done credit reports. How long until she can churn herself, especially w/ $0/tiny income?

When I'm buying stuff online, I try to use her AU Amex #s - does that help her or not matter?

 

[incendia]

Similar questions as OP.

Our 18 yo has been an AU for 2 years on our new cards since our first churn. She's grown up understanding paying via CC = still paying, and asks us about anything she wants to buy. We didn't think to add her to old accounts (duh) - thanks, incendia.

To get approved for her own card, does she:
1) need a current job - we're paying for the CC either way b/c her college expenses > any PT income, and
2) need a bank account before getting the CC? We avoided her getting an acct. for years b/c of the hit on finaid, but that's n/a now. Acct. will likely be opened at SunTrust, if that matters.

She has a "thin file" now - I've set up CK/CS accts for her and done credit reports. How long until she can churn herself, especially w/ $0/tiny income?

When I'm buying stuff online, I try to use her AU Amex #s - does that help her or not matter?

I know having a bank acct at chase does make it easier on recon to get approved for the freedom (they have free student checking accts)
I think students can use 'household income'

 

[Outlying Anomaly]

Thanks again, incendia. Was hoping it's the same as SAHM (household inc.) for at least one student CC.

 

[MarkD]

I would add them as AU s on one of your older cards ( with SS# )

But, it is better not to give them these AU cards... The best option is to open Visa Buxx card. You as a parent can use your reward credit card to load money, decide how much you want to load.

I should qualify my situation more. Both my son and daughter have had Upside Visa (similar to Buxx) pre-paid accounts for at least 3 years. My wife and I even added our daughter as an AU on one of our Chase CCs over six months ago - but did not furnish her SSN to Chase as it was not required. Which CC companies require an SSN for AUs?

Even with this background, my daughter's SSN brings up no history with either CreditKarma or CreditSesame.

 

[Malvina]

Even with this background, my daughter's SSN brings up no history with either CreditKarma or CreditSesame.

The same was with my daughter. You could not see her credit history even through credit bureaus.
When she applied (after graduation) for a credit card, she had a high score.

Which CC companies require an SSN for AUs?

AMEX, Discover, Barclays
Even if you do not provide SSN for your daughter, they know everything about her.

 

[BenT]

2) need a bank account before getting the CC? We avoided her getting an acct. for years b/c of the hit on finaid, but that's n/a now. Acct. will likely be opened at SunTrust, if that matters.

Could you explain more behind this reasoning? I think one of the best things that my parents ever did was open a checking account and give me a debit card when I was in like 6th grade. I learned the responsibility of managing money and watching my savings grow as I transferred money from my checking to my savings accounts.

Also, avoid SunTrust. Not the best online system. BofA and Capital One / Capital One 360 all have great online interfaces for checking/savings products. If she's going away to college, look for a bank with good remote deposit capture technology for when the grandparents send her a check (so that would be BofA, Capital One (& 360), or Wells)

 

[MarkD]

Even if you do not provide SSN for your daughter, they know everything about her.

They do? Can they tell us? She tells us NOTHING!!!

It is good to know that maybe there is a little more going on behind the scenes and she actually is building a good credit score.

 

[Outlying Anomaly]

@BenT, yeah, I had a savings account when I was around 7 yrs old, but with hardly any interest now, it was pointless, so we just kept her money via Quicken/Excel. Financial aid take for students is 50% at most colleges, so for us keeping it, it lowered the hit against her savings.

She's watched her money grow, just in the Bank of Mom & Dad instead, where significantly higher interest rates prevail! She also started using CC's once she started going places w/ friends as a teen, and would always be the one to pay and have friends give her cash. Helping with the spend from day one. ;-)

Thanks for the heads up on SunTrust's online issues. My hubby says he hates to switch from BOA (our main bank) b/c of the online stuff. We wanted a bank with plenty of ATMs in the area, so it still may have to be SunTrust for her. Having her suffer through having to actually deposit a physical check won't be too bad since they are so close.

 

[augustus23]

Try Discover. I applied for 3 cards when I turned 18 and only Discover approved me, but with a small limit ($500). Several of my brothers have opened Discover accounts as well, leading me to think that they might be more trusting of thin (or no) credit histories.

 

[augustus23]

BofA and Capital One / Capital One 360 all have great online interfaces for checking/savings products. If she's going away to college, look for a bank with good remote deposit capture technology for when the grandparents send her a check (so that would be BofA, Capital One (& 360), or Wells)

Also check to see if any banking centers or ATMs are located on campus, too. The university I work for has a Santander banking center and ATM in the student union.

 

[TheBOSman]

Also check to see if any banking centers or ATMs are located on campus, too. The university I work for has a Santander banking center and ATM in the student union.

But check if they might be fee-free for all users as well. My former university has fee-free ATMs for all users, no matter what card is used. They are branded and operated by a large national bank, but are fee-free.

 

[thatrik]

When I moved from Canada to the US as a student, the Chase Freedom was the only card I could be approved for. It can do cash back, but note that you can also accumulative Ultimate Rewards which can be much much much more valuable!

FYI I applied for the Sapphire Preferred first and was denied, but was approved easily for the Freedom. After using for a few months I was able to get right into the churning game, so it was a good place to start for me.

Good luck!

 

[3rddayfan]

IMHO:
1. Chase Freedom. Rotating bonus categories
2. BOA Cash Rewards (Grocery category bonus, 2%)

One would assume there would be a low income but here's the neat thing on the application for young adults living at home. Housing cost: $0

The CL will probably be about $1K, plenty for a starter. And, both come with nice starter cash bonuses for a low minimum spend. No AF (annual fees).

 

[raenye]

I suggest the Sallie Mae card from Barclays.

Easy to get and yields 5% on gas and groceries (up to $250/month in each category) and bookstores (up to $750/month).
The latter includes all products sold by my favorite bookstore Amazon.com
(really, it's better than the Amazon chase card!)

Another nice card is Discover it (1% general, 5% rotating categories, ShopDiscover portal, bonus cashback when redeeming for merchant giftcards, really good CS).

Both of these give you a free monthly FICO score (TU). Mild signup bonuses for both cards exist.

 

[zeitgeist]

I would have them apply for an amex as they will enjoy it for life and can backdate on anything.

And Fidelity Visa.

 

[raenye]

Amex backdating is by calendar year, so they may as well apply for it in December.

 

[smittytabb]

But, it is better not to give them these AU cards. Even if children look responsible, with money they are not. They will always need $100 "right now" to buy a toothpaste.

The best option is to open Visa Buxx card. You as a parent can use your reward credit card to load money, decide how much you want to load.

AU cards will stay at home and earn your children a credit history. You will get free rewards/miles.

I think it really depends on the child. I have four children who are now adults. Two of them I would have given the card, no prob. One was responsible but I still wouldn't do it, as the taste was expensive. Fortunately, now that child is very successful so can afford that taste. One is still not one I would give a card to. I am not sure there is a rule for this. You need to know the child.