Daughter wants a Credit Card (and yes that is a good thing)

[Anonymous]

WOW, Thanks for all the great advice.

I had forgotten about Discover. Is it accepted everywhere? (Grocery stores, Gas Stations, Auto Shops)

A little more rambling to follow....

Even though I said my daughter "wants" a credit card, She really doesn't want one.  I know that probably does not make sense. She wants to have one for emergencies. IE: needs a pack of diapers and there is no money in the savings accounts, or an emergency car repair comes up.

She does not understand a lot of this financial stuff. I understand it, but I have a hard time putting it into practice. My ex-wife(an accountant), on the other hand, is very good with budgeting and stuff like that but she is not on speaking terms with my daughter.

With that being said, my daughter understands....My advice is pretty good and she should follow it. This is a perfect example of "Do as Dad says....Not as Dad Does"

[LuckyBird]

I have only ever run into one place that didn't accept Discover and I've had it forever.  It was a regional fast-food chain restaurant (& was a pretty new one).

[Anonymous]

Credit cards should never be used as an emergency fund. 

If you need an emergency fund, get a line of credit through the bank or CU so you'll have a much lower interest rate. 

[Anonymous]

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@LuckyBird wrote:

I have only ever run into one place that didn't accept Discover and I've had it forever.  It was a regional fast-food chain restaurant (& was a pretty new one).

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My car insurance company doesn't accept it... Guess who's getting kicked to the curb in September? 

My old job's cafeteria didn't accept Discover, but then again, it was the typical overpriced food place with crappy food, crappy credit card readers, and complaining about being poor, so I didn't care to eat there much. 

A local bowling alley I went to only takes V/MC. 

Plastiq only takes V/MC/AMEX.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

WOW, Thanks for all the great advice.

I had forgotten about Discover. Is it accepted everywhere? (Grocery stores, Gas Stations, Auto Shops)

A little more rambling to follow....

Even though I said my daughter "wants" a credit card, She really doesn't want one.  I know that probably does not make sense. She wants to have one for emergencies. IE: needs a pack of diapers and there is no money in the savings accounts, or an emergency car repair comes up.

She does not understand a lot of this financial stuff. I understand it, but I have a hard time putting it into practice. My ex-wife(an accountant), on the other hand, is very good with budgeting and stuff like that but she is not on speaking terms with my daughter.

With that being said, my daughter understands....My advice is pretty good and she should follow it. This is a perfect example of "Do as Dad says....Not as Dad Does"

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Good plan getting her started.  This will help her in the future for many things to come.

[ddemari]

I think discover is good option. I have only run into a hand full of places that don't want to use Amex or discover, but if she has a visa debit card and cash along with her discover I think she is fine for almost any day to day transaction. I like capitalone too, they are good for bulking credit and she could get a visa that would grow with her.

[Anonymous]

Hey Solo,

I was in your daughters shoes 3 years ago when I was 19 except I have a job that paid minimum wage and no rent.  I had applied for the Chase Freedom and I was auto-approved for $1400.  Yes, $1400 is not a lot but today my Freedom is sitting at a $10,500 credit line from 3 hard pulls.

She could try for Chase however it is hard to get credit line increases from them.  Discover is probably going to be a good bet, especially with the double cashback promotion currently going on.  The other option is, if she or anyone in the household is a member at a credit union, you could try to get a credit card from the credit union.

I wish her luck getting a credit card.

Please keep us up to date on what she gets.

Thanks,

Michael

[Anonymous]

This may go counter to what some people would say, but instead of looking at the big, well known options, she could go to the bank where she has her checking account. That is where I got my first card at 19, and it has served me well these past 10 years. The starting limit was higher than anticipated and over these 10 years it has grown to a $15,000 credit line. Overall it could be less hassle due to not having to manage multiple accounts, you just have one login and can see it all. At least that is how my bank operates. There may also be a higher chance that she gets one given she may have no real credit history (pure conjecture, but it was my feeling when I got my first one).

Now if she can get pre-qualified for some of the better rewards cards, either cash back or points, then that is a slightly different story. But if all she "wants" is a plain credit card I stand by checking her primary bank for options.

The other thing about getting a credit card is it protects your bank account. If she currently uses a debit card for most of her purchases, she is risking ACTUAL money instead of someone else's should her card get compromised. Also, credit cards tend to have much better protections on fraudulent charges, and if she is lucky she could get some good benefits such as warranty extension and travel insurance.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

This may go counter to what some people would say, but instead of looking at the big, well known options, she could go to the bank where she has her checking account. That is where I got my first card at 19, and it has served me well these past 10 years. The starting limit was higher than anticipated and over these 10 years it has grown to a $15,000 credit line. Overall it could be less hassle due to not having to manage multiple accounts, you just have one login and can see it all. At least that is how my bank operates. There may also be a higher chance that she gets one given she may have no real credit history (pure conjecture, but it was my feeling when I got my first one).

Now if she can get pre-qualified for some of the better rewards cards, either cash back or points, then that is a slightly different story. But if all she "wants" is a plain credit card I stand by checking her primary bank for options.

The other thing about getting a credit card is it protects your bank account. If she currently uses a debit card for most of her purchases, she is risking ACTUAL money instead of someone else's should her card get compromised. Also, credit cards tend to have much better protections on fraudulent charges, and if she is lucky she could get some good benefits such as warranty extension and travel insurance.

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She actually just had her Joint account card (with her bf) compromised. The card  was skimmed at a gas station.

[Anonymous]

Remember, she CANNOT get a prequal until she is 21, per federal law...