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Good Student Card

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DrJim
Frequent Contributor

Good Student Card

I have a 20 year old daughter that I want to learn about credit from me in a way I never did from my dad.

 

She will also spend a month in Germany this summer and I want her to have a card for minor emergencies.

 

So, looking for a quality student card that will offer her a low limit, but will grow with her as she finished school (nursing) that she will keep until she is old.  

 

She works part-time and has no CS.

 

Ready, go!



Starting Score: TU 672 EQ 654 10/20/09
Current Score: TU 775 EQ 783 EX 799 (PLUS)
AMEX Delta Platinum $35K, NFCU Visa Signature $30K, HHonors Reserve Visa $35K, WF $13.5K, IHG Rewards Club MC $25K
Message 1 of 13
12 REPLIES 12
jsucool76
Super Contributor

Re: Good Student Card

I would try for the usuals first, citi forward, discover it (for students), the cap1 journey (No foreign transaction fee) card (I would app in that order if she plans to app for all of them and/or doesn't get approved for one and tries another).

 

If she has no luck there, her best bet would be to either get a secured card, or maybe have you co-sign something. You could also try adding her as an AU to one of your cards, and then not give it to her. You might actually want to try doing this first and waiting for it to report to help increase her chances of approval. (AU doesn't always help, but its worth a try in my opinion). When you add her as an AU and it reports, she will inherit the entire history of your account (IE, if your account is 15 years old, she will then have a 15 year history).

 

Best of luck! 

Message 2 of 13
Datx
Valued Contributor

Re: Good Student Card

Citi Forward for College Students seems to be a very popular card.

 

https://creditcards.citi.com/credit-cards/citi-forward-for-college-students/

Message 3 of 13
sengpatt
Regular Contributor

Re: Good Student Card

For your daughter's travel abroad, the Bank of America Travel Rewards for Students might be a good choice,
EX: 758 (10/12), TU: ???, EQ: ???

BankAmericard Travel Rewards // Citi Forward // Amex Blue Cash Preferred // Gap Visa
Message 4 of 13
HiLine
Blogger

Re: Good Student Card

I agree with jsucool76.

Does your daughter already have a bank account? Does the bank offer a student credit card? That may be the best shot. 

Message 5 of 13
jsucool76
Super Contributor

Re: Good Student Card


@sengpatt wrote:
For your daughter's travel abroad, the Bank of America Travel Rewards for Students might be a good choice,

this card proved very dificult for me to get when I tried in the beginning, flat out denial. I just got approved recently (my TU08 was 693 but I don't remember what they pulled) and they only gave me a $700 limit. 

Message 6 of 13
sengpatt
Regular Contributor

Re: Good Student Card


@jsucool76 wrote:

@sengpatt wrote:
For your daughter's travel abroad, the Bank of America Travel Rewards for Students might be a good choice,

this card proved very dificult for me to get when I tried in the beginning, flat out denial. I just got approved recently (my TU08 was 693 but I don't remember what they pulled) and they only gave me a $700 limit. 


Yikes, maybe not a good choice for a first card then.

EX: 758 (10/12), TU: ???, EQ: ???

BankAmericard Travel Rewards // Citi Forward // Amex Blue Cash Preferred // Gap Visa
Message 7 of 13
solstice00
Regular Contributor

Re: Good Student Card


@DrJim wrote:

I have a 20 year old daughter that I want to learn about credit from me in a way I never did from my dad.

 

She will also spend a month in Germany this summer and I want her to have a card for minor emergencies.

 

So, looking for a quality student card that will offer her a low limit, but will grow with her as she finished school (nursing) that she will keep until she is old.  

 

She works part-time and has no CS.

 

Ready, go!


I personally wouldn't recommend FOR HER to apply right now. Even if it is a student card. The reason is because of her very limited credit history(if any), even if she gets approved for a credit card, it will be of a modest limit, which might be a hurdle for her(since the card is for an emergency and a 300/500/1000 limit emergency card is practically useless. 

Also that card limit will not grow as fast as you would want to. For example in one year of usage the credit limit of the college credit card will maximally reach 1-2 times its orginal value. 

I would suggest adding her as an AU to one of your cards. Let her inherit the history. Or you can do both. You can get to apply for a secured/unsecured credit card for a small amount and also add her as an AU to one of your cards with a higher limit, so that if an emergency arises, she will not be handicapped with an unsufficent credit limit.

In that way, when she comes back and applies again after one year, her history and credit usage will be more than sufficient to obtain a better credit card. 



"Its your AAoA, Sir. It seems, Sir, that it is so short that i dont think it would hurt for it to get a little shorter"
Message 8 of 13
SnackTrader
Valued Contributor

Re: Good Student Card

It also might be helpful to look into a 0% FTF card if she is traveling abroad.

Discover and Capital One are included in this category. There are many others, however, her limited credit will hold her back from most 0% FTF travel cards.

Without ANY information on her credit report, many lenders will decline her on just the inability to verify identity. That may not be the case if she has student loans reporting, but you said she has no score, which seems to indicate it will be difficult for lenders to verify identity.

With all that said, I also suggest a secured card. There are many lenders who graduate secured cards to unsecured after a certain period of time and therefore meet your requirements of long-term possession. 6 months to a year of secured credit will definitely open up unsecured options, especially in the current banking environment.

In My Wallet: Amex BCP (12/12) $50,000, Chase Freedom (12/12) $16,500, Cap1 Quicksilver (6/12) $14,000, Barclaycard Rewards (5/13) $10,500, Citi Prestige (4/16) $30,000

Last App: June 27, 2015
Message 9 of 13
enharu
Super Contributor

Re: Good Student Card

Like what Snacktrader said, it's best to check out a card that has no foreign fees.

You could also make her an AU on the cards you have presently.

Also to take note, certain payment networks are not as common in certain countries, so it's best she brings at least 2 cards issued by 2 different networks.

 

JPMorgan Palladium (100k), AmEx Platinum (NPSL), AmEx SPG (46k), AmEx BCP (42k), Chase Sapphire Preferred (47k), Citi Prestige (31k), Citi Thank You Preferred (27k), Citi Executive AAdvantage (25k), JPMorgan Ritz-Carlton (21k), Merrill+ (15k), US Bank Cash+ (22.5k), Wells Fargo (12k), Bloomingdale’s (12.4k), Chase Freedom (5k), Discover IT (5k).
Message 10 of 13
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