<p>Im almost 18 and I'm gonna open a savings and checking acc, etc thats required for college spending. My question is that is it ok to open two credit card for college? I dont spend alot but i want options to choose from. I planned to open a student credit card, and another of my choice.</p>
<p>Are you employed? Are these your first bank accounts? Once you’re 18, you can apply for as many credit cards as you like but, without existing credit, income and employment history, you may not be approved unless one of your parents agrees to be named on the account. If you’re not used to handling checking accounts and bills, I would start with the student card. Use it carefully and make sure you make all the payments on time - this will help you establish a positive credit history. Likewise, be very careful handling your checking account - overdraft and service fees are very expensive so keep a close watch on your balance and reconcile your checkbook at least once a month. If your bank offers online access, it’s very easy to keep track of things like when deposits become available.</p>
<p>Be very cautious.
Our son managed very well through 4 years undergrad with no credit card.
Checking acct only with debit card, online acct access.
He only now at 22 obtained first credit card, which he pays off each month.
There is no need to rush into credit card debt! Maybe one student card with a low credit limit for emergencies. Just a mother’s humble opinion.</p>
<p>Why do you need 2 credit cards? Isnt one for emergencies enough?</p>
<p>My son got 1 credit card after he opened a checking/savings account. He used it maybe 4 or 5 times over a year and a half. He always paid it off or paid it over 3 months. The interest rate was 11% I think which wasn’t bad for a first card. You have to be careful but if you are, you can build credit. If you aren’t the interest rate can default to a large amount and you can start off your credit journey on a bad foot.
My son also has the option online to have them automatically take the minimum due which might be a good option for some who tend to forget. You can always pay more another time of the month.</p>
<p>I believe the new law that just passed Congress requires a cosigner for credit cards issued to anyone under 21:
See: [Key</a> provisions of credit card reform bill - Personal finance- msnbc.com](<a href=“http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30846334/]Key”>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30846334/)</p>
<p>Hallelujah! It’s about time they put a stop to the insane marketing of these cards to inexperienced, cash strapped young people! I’ve read so many tragic stories of kids who got in over their heads and did horrible things to cover up or escape from it.</p>
<p>Well, I was laughing. My younger kid - my daughter- turned 21 last month. She has had her own Visa card since she was 8. </p>
<p>She had filled in one of those mailings that come & sent it off - it actually came from the same bank where she had a “student savings account” – one of those plans for kids. I don’t know what they were thinking … but at the time it arrived I had recently split up from her dad, I was up to my eyebrows in debt… and I just saw an extra line of credit that could be tapped in an emergency. So I made her put away the card and told her she could use it once a year for online purchases at Christmas time, to be approved by me, and I would pay it. Well – I actually managed to avoid ever needing more credit – I had put my own cards away in a “safe” place so I couldn’t use them either while I was trying to pay them off, one by one. When my d. got to high school I started letting her carry the card and use it, mostly as a matter of convenience – it was nice if she could go shopping for clothing at the mall without me. When the bill came, she would look at it and give it back to me marked up with the stuff she would pay and the stuff she thought I should pay. I would pay it in full every month and deduct her expenses from her allowance. When she went off to college she became solely responsible for the bill.</p>
<p>She is obsessive about paying it the day the bill arrives, and she never carried a balance until she was living abroad last summer and worried that she was running low on cash. Then I told her to just pay the minimum until she got back & could start earning money again, rather than risk running out of money abroad. </p>
<p>She has lived and traveled all over the world and I can’t imagine her doing it without the credit card.</p>
<p>The funny thing is that I tried to get a checking account for her when she was a teenager and the bank refused to give it to her – she had a debit card and a credit card… but they said she was too young for a checking account. I ended up opening a joint account with her just so that she would be able to write checks for basic purchases. </p>
<p>I do understand that a lot of youngsters really mess up with credit – but then again a credit card can be a nice way of getting some extra time to pay for necessary purchases. My kids have always paid for their own college text books, for example. They have jobs while they are at school, but that doesn’t meant they have the cash on hand if the books cost several hundred dollars.</p>
<p>Sounds like you trained D well, from a very early age, lol! Not the “inexperienced” kid most of them are! Our bank has never allowed my kids to open any kind of account without me being on it, which is okay I guess. My D has had a debit card since she started driving and became responsible for filling her own tank and is obsessive about keeping track of it.<br>
I’m not anti-credit, but believe they should start slowly and develop good financial habits first. I use my Discover for almost every purchase now, especially since I got caught up in the Hannaford credit card hacking thing last year and had, unfortunately, used my debit card for that transactions. Never heard a thing about it until a week, and $4K, later when I suddenly couldn’t get cash at an ATM the day after a large direct deposit…what a hassle that was! Anyway, I’ll give D a Master Card (with my name on it too) before she goes to college…but only a $1K limit to start. I think that’ll cover her adequately and certainly should be enough for a month since she won’t be travelling.</p>
<p>Our son currently just pays cash for his expenses. I added him to our checking account and he has a debit card and checkwriting privileges so he could buy a car if he chose to. He’s never taken any money from the checking account nor has he written a check but he has the card in case he needs money (cash or from a check) in an emergency.</p>
<p>I’ve been meaning to get him a CC or add him to ours but I never got around to it. I don’t think that he would use it.</p>