<p>Title says it all. I feel like I need a credit card so I can start building up my credit, especially with the ridiculous amount of money I'm spending on books, fees, etc. As parents, I thought most of you would have the best knowledge about this topic. Which credit card should I get as a student who has no credit?</p>
<p>aaymeer…why do you feel you need a credit card? Just work in a “cash economy” until you graduate and have a job.</p>
<p>As a student, the credit card offers have declined significantly due to credit card debt issues. I’m not sure you will find much out there anymore in your own name. Some banks USED to offer student credit cards with low limits (my kids had ab out $500 credit limit…but their bank no longer offers these credit cards).</p>
<p>We will be facing the same issue with one of our kids who is currently in the Peace Corps. When she returns, she will have no job, and no credit card…and no way to get one. We will put her on one of OUR cards with a short leash. In other words, if she doesn’t pay in full at the end of EVERY month (like we do), we will cut her off.</p>
<p>ayymeer actually has a good idea. Having a credit card while in college makes it possible for the student to build up a credit rating, which can have advantages later. For example, ayymeer might be able to rent an apartment without a parent as a co-signer after graduation if he/she has enough of a credit history.</p>
<p>But it may not be possible for a student to get a credit card alone. Sometimes, the student may need to get a joint credit card account with a parent (who already has a credit rating) at first. In this case, it may be easiest to get the card at the same bank where the student has a checking account, so that funds can easily be transferred from the checking account to pay off the credit card balance every month.</p>
<p>We didn’t think of doing this until the kid in question was a senior in college. It should have been done earlier.</p>
<p>Try getting your credit card via a credit union.
Use it only for things you will be buying anyway. Only spend what you can pay off each month.</p>
<p>Thumper, did your DD deactivate the card she had while in college?</p>
<p>You can not get a card in your own name. I went through this with DS last year and got nowhere even after showing he had savings well beyond any amount he could deplete before they theoretically would cut him off for non-payment. I also asked for a favor from a bank from which I have a strong banking relationship. Nada. He ultimately did get a department store card in his name to start building credit and I made him an associate signer on a card of mine and transferred the billing to his college address so he gets the bill and pays it each month. I understand that this does not build credit but I looked at this as part of his financial education in young adulthood. This is risky for a parent since your kid hurts your good credit rating if they forget to make a payment. I certainly wouldn’t recommend this for all. After carelessly missing one payment I made him eat the $50 in late fees and interest (which I probably could have called and had written off based on my other history) and it now defaults to auto-pay from his checking account.</p>
<p>I am not a believer of students having credit cards while in college, as in not having a job to support the spending. D1 used her debit card exclusively. One of the stipulations we had for her was - no credit card while in college. </p>
<p>I have seen and heard too many students using their credit cards to get toys that they couldn’t afford - Mac, iphone, clothes, bags (top keep up with their friends) - because they could pay over time.</p>
<p>D1 graduated with a job, was able to get her own apartment (based on her salary) without any co-sign, and was given a credit card with limit of $18K. </p>
<p>People are given credit because of their ability to pay. To me, ability to pay means having a job. D1 still uses her debit card to buy most things because she doesn’t want to incur unnecessary fees or interest.</p>
<p>“As in not having a job to support the spending.”</p>
<p>Well, that’s just silly. Many students do work at least a few hours per week in college.</p>
<p>Getting a credit card in my second year of college was a great decision. I got a Capital One, with a credit limit of $500, which has significantly increased since then. I used it only for my textbooks, and now only use it occasionally for gas to keep it active. I worked 20-30 hours a week so I had no problem making large payments each month and had it paid off by the end of each semester. Also, it offered a year of no interest, so I never paid any interest on those books and have never paid interest since because I pay it off each month.</p>
<p>I graduated college last December and by June 2011 I was able to get a very nice car, and hence a decent-sized loan, without a co-signer, and at a very low rate. I have a very high credit score and was on the credit bureau just long enough because of building credit early and responsibly.</p>
<p>However, if you do not work more than 5-10 hours a week or do not feel able to make more than the minimum monthly payments, I would not suggest getting a credit card. Simply having student loans (even if you’re not paying on them yet) helps build credit, or if you make monthly interest-only payments on them. Store credit cards don’t carry as much weight as a general use credit card. And having a co-signer or parent on any of those greatly lessens the effects on credit rating because you’re splitting that credit with the other person.</p>
<p>Novalynnx, I think the credit card “industry” for students has changed since you were a freshman. It is now MUCH more difficult for college students to get credit cards in their own names unless they have very dependable and reliable income they can show over time. We used to get Capitol One offers for everyone in this family every week. Not anymore. </p>
<p>Also, I would never advice any college student to incur LARGE sums on their credit cards to pay off even IF they can pay them off every month. Sorry…but this is the voice of a parent speaking. Why not just save up and THEN make those expensive purchases?</p>
<p>My kids do not use the credit card for “credit” but rather as a glorified debit card. In no way would I condone purchases paid over time and that is not the example they received from me. Nevertheless, there is a certain benefit in carrying a credit card with regard to fraud prevention and rights as a buyer that is not there with debit cards. Especially because college kids do not have the income to obtain their own cards, it gives a parent an opportunity to supervise this financial responsibility. No doubt some young adults get a credit card with an $18K limit with a first job and do all the irresponsible things mentioned by oldfort but how about the missed opportunity for the parent to instill a common sense financial education when they were more supervised?</p>
<p>I just got one with discover as an 18 y/o with no credit history. I’d look into them, it’s completely in my name, my parents weren’t cosigners.</p>
<p>Credit card offers used to pour in for undergrads back when I was in college. However, after seeing several classmates get into overwhelming ccard debt, I opted to use cash and the occasional debit card even when several older relatives expressed concerns about building my credit history. </p>
<p>In retrospect, not getting a ccard in undergrad was a mistake as it caused me problems in areas like purchasing a critically needed laptop for school after my first one crapped out for a second time in two years because it turned out my well-meaning relatives didn’t realize that brand/model had known manufacturing defects before purchase, getting my first apartment without a co-signer, and making online purchases safely. </p>
<p>The last really burned me when I ordered RAM that was defective, returned it for replacement, the online merchant never followed up, and the bank said there was nothing I can do because once they accepted the debit payment…it was out of their hands as debit provides no protections on defective purchases or merchant fraud. Ended up having to go through a long convoluted process to get satisfaction. A reason why I have not used debit cards ever since. </p>
<p>Moreover, it also made getting a credit card with a reasonable spending limit harder than what my peers experienced because “I had no credit history”. A reason why I wasn’t even able to get bank credit cards at first…much less AMEX Blue. Fortunately, Discovery was the “starter ccard” by default so I used that once I had my app approved 1+ years after graduating college. After another 2 years, AMEX Blue which initially rejected my app for “insufficient credit history” sent me an unsolicited app encouraging me to apply and then approved it. </p>
<p>In short, it is better to start building up your credit history during college…provided you are willing and able to do what it takes to pay off the full balance at the end of each billing cycle.</p>
<p>I only got my credit card about 2 years ago, and I know a few of my younger cousins and friends who had no problem recently getting one. Yes, there are fewer offers, but there are still some out there.</p>
<p>The problem I have with the “college kids shouldn’t have credit cards” argument is that the type of kid who will overspend is the type of kid who has always been over sheltered and offered no lessons on responsible spending/saving. The kids I went to college with were primarily upper-middle class, never had to work through college, and yes, they were the ones who got into trouble with credit cards. The ones who were required to work, or who worked because they wanted to earn/save money, were not the ones who would overspend their credit cards. </p>
<p>I understand that parents are concerned about their kids getting into debt at a young age, but rather than taking away opportunities to get into debt, they should be teaching them early on how to handle/avoid it. It does no one any good to save up cash for everything and have no credit when they are 22-25 years old. I know quite a few kids from high school who never went to college. They got a job out of high school, credit cards, worked hard, and a few now own their own homes (roughly aged 24-26). I know many kids I went to college with who need to begin building credit and will not likely own a home for quite a few more years and who cannot get auto or consolidation loans without a co-signer. </p>
<p>Learning how to handle a budget and credit early on makes for better savers later. It doesn’t matter if you make less money in college than after - it’s about knowing how to budget according to your current income, and understanding interest rates and credit reports.</p>
<p>Of course if the college kid isn’t working at all, they should not have a credit card. Parents paying on their kids’ cards isn’t teaching them anything, and are worse than parents who won’t let their kids have one. But if the kid works year-round, and is able to handle small, necessary purchases on their credit cards, it would be smart to start learning about it and building up some credit.</p>
<p>“Sometimes, the student may need to get a joint credit card account with a parent (who already has a credit rating) at first. In this case, it may be easiest to get the card at the same bank where the student has a checking account, so that funds can easily be transferred from the checking account to pay off the credit card balance every month.”</p>
<p>this is exactly what we did when DS was in college, and -viola’- our good credit “rubbed off” on DS when he went to apply for his own separate CC after college. There have been other threads on this subject in the parents cafe- I suggest you do a search to get more info and insights.</p>
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<p>I don’t believe it. This is a HUGE generalization and wrong.</p>
<p>Please do a CC search. There have been a milllion threads on this topic.</p>
<p>I applied for a credit card in college in 2010 without much income. It actually took me 3 tries: my first two applications were rejected, and then Citi gave me a card with a $4,000 limit.</p>
<p>I got my Visa check card this past summer when I started my job (I’m sixteen). </p>
<p>I know it’s not a credit card, but I can use it in lieu of a credit card. It has debit AND credit card capabilities (with a Visa logo on the front). I can opt to purchase things as credit or debit. </p>
<p>This has been good enough for me. I did have a learning experience. I wasn’t keeping track of my purchases, emptied my checking account, and it started to withdraw from my savings (I set this up as a default. Well, my parent did). Thankfully I was not charged for over drawing. Now I am more careful with my spending. when I first got the card, I was swipe happy. Now I’m accustomed to my plastic money, I know how much is on it at all times, and I budget in how much per week I make and plan out what necessities and non necessities I am able to buy. If this makes a difference, it’s through a credit union, and my regular teller called and asked me to open a credit card (they get a list of age eligible members, but I don’t know how I ended up there).</p>
<p>CPU_</p>
<p>That is a debit card only despite the VISA logo. As mentioned earlier in the thread, it offers less consumer protections against shoddy service and merchandise and theoretically precludes you from charging in excess of your account balances but you are fully correct in not wanting to do that anyway. I’m glad you are getting a financial education because balancing your checkbook and budgeting are not taught in the ivory towers and have more value to you in the long run than multivariable calculus.</p>
<p>YaleGradandDad- I know it’s not a credit card, but I was trying to suggest another option instead of a credit card, since the rules have tightened and it’s very hard to get a card as a college student. Personally, this has allowed me more leeway with errors because I learned my lesson without being severely punished, but still punished. </p>
<p>My mom has a credit card from best buy and never uses it. She used it for my college applications and her iPod. She’s told me it’s good to have one for emergencies; she brings it everywhere, especially on trips. She uses the debit card with the Visa logo, like mine, for everything else (day to day expenses, online purchases, etc). </p>
<p>I don’t think I ever want a credit card, but I’ll probably have to get one after college.</p>
<p>Before the credit crunch, I cosigned for cards with my kids as soon as they turned 16. I would not let them drive unless they had a card to get gas, pay for a tow truck, get home, or use for other emergencies. Can you tell I was once stranded somewhere without a credit card? It was in the days before cellphones, too. </p>
<p>Fast forward to daughter driving home from college a couple of years ago - she’s 4 states away from me and gets a flat on the interstate. She had a cellphone, 15 bucks, and a credit card - no problem.</p>