@havenoidea similar to you but I didn’t have to hand the credit card to her because we gave her a card of her own attached to our account a couple years ago and has worked out well. She is pretty responsible so hoping she enrolled and did everything she was supposed to do. I was completely on top of the process for S19. Different kid, different needs. It was nice for me to have her in charge of her own process once I suggested colleges I thought would be good matches based on what I learned here on cc.
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My D20 hasn’t had a job with a W2 so we haven’t been able to get her a credit card. Seems silly because she gets babysitting and other cash pay and we could co-sign.
If any of you bank with USAA you can request CC for your kids off of your account and they told me it helps your kids build credit even though it’s linked to your CC account. Not sure if that’s true with other CC companies but might be worth checking.
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What you’re saying makes total sense. Most of these kids are 17 or 18. A lot of them don’t even know how to use a credit card for a regular purchase outside of their house so to expect them to suddenly know how to use it to pay a deposit? Having a parent pay is not a big deal. There are way bigger things to worry about.
For those who’s kids have credit or debit cards or about to get them, a great skill to teach them would be how to tip people in the service industry. I think that’s way more important than worrying about hitting the button to pay for the $300 deposit. I mean really, is the kid going to pay the 25k tuition bill when it comes or are the parents? In most of these cases it’s the parents unless the kid has a scholarship or has to take loans which are then through the school.
@annegp You just made me laugh with the “nothing beyond nag her”. Every day when I call my parents my mom used to ask me “what did you make for dinner?” she knows I rarely if ever cook so it is annoying. The last year or so it became “what did you order for dinner?”. Now my father has started to nag about it and ask the same question. So last night I called and when he answered saying they were just finishing dinner I asked “what did you have for dinner?”. He answered and you could tell he was a little annoyed and made some comment and I said back, now you know how I feel!! Point being, I’ve realized my parents will never stop nagging, which means I will never stop nagging my own kids, so we should just tell our kids to get used to it! 
Your kid giving you passwords will probably put your more at ease and make the process so much easier for you anyway. You may actually nag less!
@tristatecoog She doesn’t need a w-2 in order to get a credit card. Try getting her a discover student card. You can also make her an authorized user on your own account but that won’t build credit. If she uses a debit card that will help but only slightly and I think a credit card is better based on a recent experience my 18 year old had with his credit card when he bought something that turned out to be a scam and he noticed it fast enough to call the bank to have it stopped but if he hadn’t the money would’ve been gone from his account like that. I try to tell my kids use the credit card so you can dispute. My oldest still only uses a debit card and it drives me batty. 3 months down the road you can’t dispute that debit!
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That is what we’ve done. My D19 has a great credit score because of it. She always used it for study abroad and travel and then paid it off herself. My younger daughter has the same and has used it at summer intensives and for her pointe shoes- we pay that off, but we let her remind us. Figure it is good practice for when she’s paying it off each month.
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@vpa2019 It’s true it helps to build their credit history, but once they’re 18, I recommend a credit card in their own name/own standing so that they can build it faster. I’m going to open a Capital One Student card for my son when he gets back from winter break this year since he won’t be 18 til a few more months.
Thanks for the tip!
@tristatecoog Since she’s over 18, she can get a student card. No need for W2. You can also co-authorize her as a user so she’ll have her own card, but linked to you. It’s just whatever financial you set up with your daughter. If she’s doing babysitting, I would try to get a tax form. That way she (if she is able to) can open her own Roth IRA account. My son has a W2 from his part time job at a shop last year and this year, but before that, he’d ask his customers (private swim lessons, lifeguarding at parties, etc) for approval for his tax filings so that he could contribute to his Roth IRA.
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My husband and I reviewed my sons essays since we weren’t going to allow him to submit them without someone proof reading.
I don’t have access to his admissions portals, but we will ask him for access to his college portal.
My son works and has his own debit card, I will get him a CC after he turns 18.
Speaking of work, are any of your kids planning on working while at school?
I go around and around about this. What does one need a credit score for? S19 just rented a house from a professor for the summer and they didn’t check his credit score. If he graduates with a job with a decent salary and has no credit card, what’s wrong with that? Not sure if he will need a car upon graduation (likely not if he ends up in a big city). Will other landlords check his credit score? We only have one credit card and pay it off each month so it’s really no different than a debit card but we have it to get Southwest miles. I guess we could put him on that account but I’m still trying to understand why -what won’t he be able to do if he’s never had a credit card?
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Yes, landlords do normally check your credit score.
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Landlords do tend to check credit scores and I think the cell phone companies check it, too? And whenever he does potentially need financing for a car or house, the longer the credit history the better the rate might be, I believe…? Also, if he has some credit, I think he can get a better first credit card on his own.
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Can you even imagine if this was your kid!!! Although with the UKentucky situation this year, some of the parents in this group were accepted, as I recall. Don’t forget to order your twin XL sheets!
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Thanks for this! We have USAA so I will inquire. Have you been doing this with your kid? My D just uses her debt card from her bank acct but we need to give her access to some $ when she’s away.
Yes all 3 of mine have a card. Debit cards make me nervous tbh. Wanted them to have a card for emergencies and they all traveled for activities and sports. I also like it because the statement shows who charged what as each kid has a different number. Also nice if one is lost. Only one replacement needed.
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@homerdog I bought a house a year after I graduated from college and my credit score helped my loan. Also helped when I bought a car. My new hires have bought condos within 2 years of working with us and credit scores helped them get a better loan rate.
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@Aguadecoco My son is hoping to get a job as a scribe and said he was trying to get EMT certified in the next couple of years. Not 18 yet. I’m hoping he can find a research position that is paid, but I’m not sure how that works nowadays. It’s a good idea for your son to get a CC sooner than later. We’ll send my son with the ATM card for his account (opened this when he started working so that he could practice online deposit, etc) to pull money.
At the campus visit, he went thru the bank app to find an ATM that doesn’t charge a fee and practiced the PIN number routine, but I told him to put it in the safe and only access it when he needs money since fraudulent activities are much better to manage on a CC than a debit card.
My son won’t be 18 until later in the yr, so I will put him on my USAA card for now like suggested above.
He was looking at campus jobs and the pay is so low at $9/hr. I am thinking he is better off not working now and just getting used to school this first yr. He is also getting a football pass so will probably spend his free time during the fall tailgating and going to FB games, no time for work.
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Great idea re Roth. Some people never think about this because it’s so far down the horizon. My kids have had them since they were 16. The benefit of a Roth is if you ever do need the money early, you can withdraw the contributions (not earnings) any time without penalty.
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Buying a house will be more difficult without a credit card. Getting a better loan rate is a function of a good credit score as are many other things.
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