topic Re: First CC for my 19yo son! in Credit Card Approvals

First CC for my 19yo son!

noonway — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 17:49:16 GMT

My 19yo son has zero credit history. I mean zero. I went to grab his 3B today and all three sites threw all kinds of errors. haha!

Anywho, I was about to get ready to plan to go into my local CU and request an SSL and/or secured card or bite the bullet and add him as an AU on one my cards but then on a whim I decided to check out what was available for students. Not much, honestly... Capital One and BoA both declined him on student and secured cards. But then DISCO!

Discover Student card CLI $500

I'm a proud poppa who can now say I have helped him start his journey. My daughter turns 18 in December and I'm going to make an effort to start her even earlier. Kudos to many of you for the ideas!

Re: First CC for my 19yo son!

pizzadude — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 18:31:06 GMT

@noonway wrote:
My 19yo son has zero credit history. I mean zero. I went to grab his 3B today and all three sites threw all kinds of errors. haha!

Anywho, I was about to get ready to plan to go into my local CU and request an SSL and/or secured card or bite the bullet and add him as an AU on one my cards but then on a whim I decided to check out what was available for students. Not much, honestly... Capital One and BoA both declined him on student and secured cards. But then DISCO!

Discover Student card CLI $500

I'm a proud poppa who can now say I have helped him start his journey. My daughter turns 18 in December and I'm going to make an effort to start her even earlier. Kudos to many of you for the ideas!

Congrats on setting him for success ! Disco Student is a great starter card

Re: First CC for my 19yo son!

MissLiz — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 19:06:34 GMT

Congratulations to your son!

Re: First CC for my 19yo son!

keekers — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 19:30:16 GMT

Congrats. Disco is a good student card for sure. Chase Freedom Rise is another good one for just starting out.

Re: First CC for my 19yo son!

NoMoreDebt — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 23:27:22 GMT

Congrats

Re: First CC for my 19yo son!

IcyCool7227 — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 05:32:07 GMT

You know there used to be a Deserve credit card for students but they have paused new applicants from getting it for some reason and no longer has a page of it's own. But there are other ones in case he's interested. These are probably already ones tried:

- Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card for Students (https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/products/unlimited-cash-back-student-credit-card/)

- Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card

- Also there's a student Quicksilver version

(https://www.kiplinger.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/the-best-reward-cards-for-students)

But then there's this one:

- Fizz student debit card that builds credit (not very well known yet): (https://joinfizz.com). Has cashback offers too.

and of course Discover Student Chrome which I'm sure you already know about.

Re: First CC for my 19yo son!

noonway — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 13:28:27 GMT

Nice! Yes, we tried all of those except Fizz. Thanks for the tip, we'll take a look!

Re: First CC for my 19yo son!

Rdbeetle — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 01:05:11 GMT

Congrats on your son's Discover approval!

Re: First CC for my 19yo son!

cashorcharge — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 22:53:28 GMT

That’s Terrific!! Congratulations to your son on his Approval!!👏🏼🍾🥂

Re: First CC for my 19yo son!

titancylinder — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 23:57:22 GMT

@noonway wrote:
My 19yo son has zero credit history. I mean zero. I went to grab his 3B today and all three sites threw all kinds of errors. haha!

Anywho, I was about to get ready to plan to go into my local CU and request an SSL and/or secured card or bite the bullet and add him as an AU on one my cards but then on a whim I decided to check out what was available for students. Not much, honestly... Capital One and BoA both declined him on student and secured cards. But then DISCO!

Discover Student card CLI $500

I'm a proud poppa who can now say I have helped him start his journey. My daughter turns 18 in December and I'm going to make an effort to start her even earlier. Kudos to many of you for the ideas!

Just an FYI, you can add someone to a Discover account as early as 15 as an authorized user.

You do not need to wait until 18 to start building your children's credit.

Re: First CC for my 19yo son!

CreditAggie — Sun, 18 Aug 2024 19:57:26 GMT

Congratulations on DS Discover approval! I got one as one of my first cards as an undergraduate and it has been a great card! I continue to use it well after graduation.

Re: First CC for my 19yo son!

stonedog23 — Sun, 18 Aug 2024 23:21:31 GMT

I think you should still make your kids AU's, but in name only.

Re: First CC for my 19yo son!

Thomas_Thumb — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 00:33:30 GMT

Good card!

My daughter started with a couple student cards in college. One was Discover with a $1800 SL and the other Wells Fargo with a $1200 SL. Both cards converted to non student versions after graduation. Her Discover CL has now grown to over $20k.

No need for credit builder loans. Establishing a revolving credit history should be the focus. It has a greater impact on score, greater utility than a loan and you can get cash back bonuses or rewards on many cards.

Expect to see Fico scores after 6 months of activity.

Re: First CC for my 19yo son!

noonway — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 01:38:54 GMT

@stonedog23 wrote:
I think you should still make your kids AU's, but in name only.

Does making my kids an AU count as one of their three cards? If so, that might be a good way to get there.

Re: First CC for my 19yo son!

noonway — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 01:38:32 GMT

@titancylinder wrote:
Just an FYI, you can add someone to a Discover account as early as 15 as an authorized user.

You do not need to wait until 18 to start building your children's credit.

Is this just for Discover or do other CCCs also allow AU before 18?

Re: First CC for my 19yo son!

Thomas_Thumb — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 02:18:16 GMT

Even though a minor could be listed as a AU, they won't have a credit file until they are 18. Vantage Score views AU accounts same as primary. Fico does not.

An account as a primary cardholder is more beneficial to building a credit profile than an AU account. Secured cards are a good 1st step if student cards are unobtainable.

Re: First CC for my 19yo son!

stonedog23 — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 10:20:05 GMT

@noonway wrote:
@stonedog23 wrote:
I think you should still make your kids AU's, but in name only.
Does making my kids an AU count as one of their three cards? If so, that might be a good way to get there.

If I'm not mistaken, they get the same credit history of that card. If it's in good standing, it's a positive for their score. Likewise, if it's a one in bad standing.

Re: First CC for my 19yo son!

Thomas_Thumb — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 14:38:15 GMT

@noonway wrote:
@stonedog23 wrote:
I think you should still make your kids AU's, but in name only.
Does making my kids an AU count as one of their three cards? If so, that might be a good way to get there.

AU cards are not included in revolving credit utilization or # of accounts with balances. For example, if someone has an AU card and only that card reports a balance, that person would be penalized 15-25 points for "no recent revolving activity" (Fico 8 and Fico 9 models). The older Fico mortgage models and VantageScore count an AU card the same as a primary card.

The AU card counts toward file thickness and may help credit history. However, my understanding is an active personal account is needed on file in order to generate a Fico score.

Re: First CC for my 19yo son!

Relatxbles — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 15:10:03 GMT

Congrats to them! Cause for celebration