topic Re: Chase card for college student with 720+ score? in Credit Card Applications

Chase card for college student with 720+ score?

masscredit — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 00:03:16 GMT

My girls started their credit journey in their own name a year ago. Their Mom and I each had have them as AUs on one of our cards. One got a student Discover and a Cap1 card. The other got a Student Discover but didn't have time to follow up with verification to get the Cap1 card. Last I knew their scores were in the mid-700s. Not bad for 18 year olds. Current income is about $35K per year. I'm thinking they should establish a long relationship with a good national bank like Chase. They can each open a checking and maybe a savings account. Don't know if they should wait a few months after that to apply for one of their cards or do it at the same time. Also don't know if Chase would approve them with a thin file. Anyone have any experience/advice for this?

They each like to travel for travel rewards will be very helpful. Only thing is they don't have heavy spending for big SUBs.

Re: Chase card for college student with 720+ score?

FicoMike0 — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 00:22:26 GMT

No personal relationship with chase, but I haven't heard that they favor existing clients. Amex, on the other hand seems to, they call you a member. In fact, amex only offers checking accounts to members.

In my area, Huntington, a regional bank, is known to favor customers. Then there are credit unions like nfcu, who's all about relationships.

As long as lobby service isn't required, I like amex. Many cards, checking, savings and personal loans available.

Re: Chase card for college student with 720+ score?

dfwxjer — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 15:42:13 GMT

Personally, I'd have them check out the Freedom line of cards and focus on cash back. $35k annual income isn't enough income to worry about travel cards since the spend won't amount to anything meaningful and an AF for a college student doesn't make sense.

What is the purpose of them adding a 2nd and 3rd credit card to their profile at 18? What are they not getting from Cap1 and Discover with their current cards? Both are national banks that will grow with time, and should be able to handle an 18 year old's necessary spend.

Re: Chase card for college student with 720+ score?

coldfusion — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 16:23:30 GMT

They align with the target demographic for the Chase Rise (straight-up 1.5% cashback, no minimum redemption) card, per Chase their best odds of approval come from opening a checking or savings account with a $250 deposit and then applying for the card. In a year if they've met all the conditions they'll qualify for an automatic PC to a Freedom Unlimited. They need to keep in mind that since they're under 21 they're supposed to only include earned income as wages, not household income, allowances, and so on.

Re: Chase card for college student with 720+ score?

Patient957 — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 16:25:39 GMT

I would recommend to anyone starting their credit journey to select high quality no-AF cards for their first 3 cards. These should ideally be keeper cards that will form the base of their age metrics, without ever feeling pressure to cancel due to AFs.

Agree with @dfwxjer that Freedom line would be a good choice. Whether they're in a good position for approval would depend on the age of their current cards, utilization and recent use.

Also agree with @coldfusion regarding Freedom Rise.

Re: Chase card for college student with 720+ score?

masscredit — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 15:39:32 GMT

Good info here! Thanks! I like the idea of the Chase Rise card that can can turn into a Freedom in the future -

You will be automatically evaluated each year to upgrade to your first Chase Freedom Unlimited® card when:

Your Freedom Rise® account is open, and you've made a purchase on your Rise® card in the past 12 months
You've made all payments on time to all financial lenders in the past 12 months, and none of your Chase accounts are suspended.

They can open a student checking account that has no fees and a $125 SUB.

They current cards are fine (Both have a Student Discover and one also has a Cap 1 Savor). I think it's beneficial to have at least 3 cards early to lay the foundation for a long AAoA and be able to grow they cards while they are in school.

Re: Chase card for college student with 720+ score?

dfwxjer — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 16:05:26 GMT

@masscredit wrote:
Good info here! Thanks! I like the idea of the Chase Rise card that can can turn into a Freedom in the future -
You will be automatically evaluated each year to upgrade to your first Chase Freedom Unlimited® card when:
Your Freedom Rise® account is open, and you've made a purchase on your Rise® card in the past 12 months
You've made all payments on time to all financial lenders in the past 12 months, and none of your Chase accounts are suspended.

They can open a student checking account that has no fees and a $125 SUB.

They current cards are fine (Both have a Student Discover and one also has a Cap 1 Savor). I think it's beneficial to have at least 3 cards early to lay the foundation for a long AAoA and be able to grow they cards while they are in school.

They certainly don't need 3 cards in college. Seems borderline reckless to have the temptation of 3 credit cards at 18.

Re: Chase card for college student with 720+ score?

masscredit — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 21:23:30 GMT

@dfwxjer They each make decent money and are very responsible. They don't want to pay interest. So they pay their cards down to mostly zero. Just leave one with a small balance. Saving money is a hobby to them.

Re: Chase card for college student with 720+ score?

dfwxjer — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 16:16:33 GMT

@masscredit wrote:
@dfwxjer They each make decent money and are very responsible. They don't want to pay interest. So they pay their cards down to mostly zero. Just leave one with a small balance. Saving money is a hobby to them.

What you responded with has nothing to do with the number of cards an 18 year old should have. There's no benefit to adding a third card here. They can, and should, be paying the balances in full on their current cards. One card is plenty to build credit with, and two is good in case the first card is lost/stolen/compromised. There's no benefit to a third card with their income levels and it just increases the risk of debt.

Re: Chase card for college student with 720+ score?

NoHardLimits — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 16:39:36 GMT

@dfwxjer wrote:
@masscredit wrote:
@dfwxjer They each make decent money and are very responsible. They don't want to pay interest. So they pay their cards down to mostly zero. Just leave one with a small balance. Saving money is a hobby to them.

What you responded with has nothing to do with the number of cards an 18 year old should have. There's no benefit to adding a third card here. They can, and should, be paying the balances in full on their current cards. One card is plenty to build credit with, and two is good in case the first card is lost/stolen/compromised. There's no benefit to a third card with their income levels and it just increases the risk of debt.

Since Discover is now part of Capital One, they only have a credit card relationship with one financial institution. It could be a wise move to add a card simply to grow the number of lenders from one to two. I agree with the earlier recommendations to try Chase Freedom Rise.

Re: Chase card for college student with 720+ score?

dfwxjer — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 16:47:07 GMT

@NoHardLimits wrote:
@dfwxjer wrote:
@masscredit wrote:
@dfwxjer They each make decent money and are very responsible. They don't want to pay interest. So they pay their cards down to mostly zero. Just leave one with a small balance. Saving money is a hobby to them.

What you responded with has nothing to do with the number of cards an 18 year old should have. There's no benefit to adding a third card here. They can, and should, be paying the balances in full on their current cards. One card is plenty to build credit with, and two is good in case the first card is lost/stolen/compromised. There's no benefit to a third card with their income levels and it just increases the risk of debt.
Since Discover is now part of Capital One, they only have a credit card relationship with one financial institution. It could be a wise move to add a card simply to grow the number of lenders from one to two. I agree with the earlier recommendations to try Chase Freedom Rise.

That's a fair point. I still stand by college age kids only needing a max of 2 cards. It avoids the later conversation that starts with "It was just so easy to sign up for new credit cards at 18, and I slowly snowballed myself in to debt/BK by the age of 25".

Re: Chase card for college student with 720+ score?

NoHardLimits — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 17:36:27 GMT

@dfwxjer wrote:
@NoHardLimits wrote:
@dfwxjer wrote:
@masscredit wrote:
@dfwxjer They each make decent money and are very responsible. They don't want to pay interest. So they pay their cards down to mostly zero. Just leave one with a small balance. Saving money is a hobby to them.

What you responded with has nothing to do with the number of cards an 18 year old should have. There's no benefit to adding a third card here. They can, and should, be paying the balances in full on their current cards. One card is plenty to build credit with, and two is good in case the first card is lost/stolen/compromised. There's no benefit to a third card with their income levels and it just increases the risk of debt.
Since Discover is now part of Capital One, they only have a credit card relationship with one financial institution. It could be a wise move to add a card simply to grow the number of lenders from one to two. I agree with the earlier recommendations to try Chase Freedom Rise.
That's a fair point. I still stand by college age kids only needing a max of 2 cards. It avoids the later conversation that starts with "It was just so easy to sign up for new credit cards at 18, and I slowly snowballed myself in to debt/BK by the age of 25".

I hear you clearly. I snowballed into debt between the ages of 20-27. Took a decade to get everything paid off. Thankfully, I managed to avoid BK.

Re: Chase card for college student with 720+ score?

masscredit — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 19:16:25 GMT

Good point about having too much credit at their age can possibly get them into trouble. I can see it from both sides. I was talking to one of my daughters last night (the one with 2 cards). She said she doens't think she wants a third card because she feels 2 is enough to manage with work, school and everything else she does. She likes the idea of the Chase card though. The other daughter who only has 1 card is looking into it.

Re: Chase card for college student with 720+ score?

Vinjints — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 19:52:17 GMT

For my kids, an auto loan and a secured credit card to start. One year later, discuss the benefits of having access to more than one bank/CU as well as different card networks. But at that point it's up to them whether they want to puruse additional credit. 3 cards and 1 loan is great, but they are very averse to credit cards/debt/interest, which I think is good from a spending standpoint. I won't push them to get more than what they are comfortable with, outside of getting their feet in the door with the intial card + loan. We can have discussions on benefits and strategies, but it's up to them to decide once they're set up. Giving and saving are much more important than credit lines.

Re: Chase card for college student with 720+ score?

dfwxjer — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 20:35:17 GMT

@Vinjints wrote:
For my kids, an auto loan and a secured credit card to start. One year later, discuss the benefits of having access to more than one bank/CU as well as different card networks. But at that point it's up to them whether they want to puruse additional credit. 3 cards and 1 loan is great, but they are very averse to credit cards/debt/interest, which I think is good from a spending standpoint. I won't push them to get more than what they are comfortable with, outside of getting their feet in the door with the intial card + loan. We can have discussions on benefits and strategies, but it's up to them to decide once they're set up. Giving and saving are much more important than credit lines.

Curious what purpose the car loan serves for an 18 year old?

We added all of our kids to our Amex Platinum account as AUs when they turned 13, and will have them apply for the Chase Freedom card when they are 18 so they can have a Visa in addition to their Amex. Once they can apply for their own Amex, no annual fee version to start, we'll remove them as AUs from our account. That'll leave them with an Amex, and a Visa with sufficient credit lines for their age. We advise them to not take out any loans/car payments until they have their first real job.

But I'm willing to adjust if there are better ways.

Re: Chase card for college student with 720+ score?

Vinjints — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 21:06:37 GMT

Ownership of a vehicle. Ownership in the process. Relief of entitlement. This was for the vehicle itself, not for credit building purposes. The quaternary (I googled that) benefit is that they have now acquired loan history. But, credit building was not the primary driver. That was the initial secured credit card.

Back to you (because I really don't know and am sort of adverse/uncertain on the AU status). Why the AU at 13? I thought regardless of when they are added, your history becomes their history. So 5 years as an AU or 1 month, your 20+ whatever year history is what they get. And then they lose all of that once they are removed.

Re: Chase card for college student with 720+ score?

masscredit — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 21:48:50 GMT

@Vinjints wrote:
For my kids, an auto loan and a secured credit card to start. One year later, discuss the benefits of having access to more than one bank/CU as well as different card networks. But at that point it's up to them whether they want to puruse additional credit. 3 cards and 1 loan is great, but they are very averse to credit cards/debt/interest, which I think is good from a spending standpoint. I won't push them to get more than what they are comfortable with, outside of getting their feet in the door with the intial card + loan. We can have discussions on benefits and strategies, but it's up to them to decide once they're set up. Giving and saving are much more important than credit lines.

My friend's 21 year old son is like that. He makes good money and has a lot saved. He didn't have any interest in credit. Even when it came to buying a car, he was going to pay cash. His Mom had to convince him to get a loan. He's paying it down quick. He also got one credit card. Maybe some of the younger generation is adverse to credit?

Re: Chase card for college student with 720+ score?

dfwxjer — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 21:51:10 GMT

@Vinjints wrote:
Ownership of a vehicle. Ownership in the process. Relief of entitlement. This was for the vehicle itself, not for credit building purposes. The quaternary (I googled that) benefit is that they have now acquired loan history. But, credit building was not the primary driver. That was the initial secured credit card.

Back to you (because I really don't know and am sort of adverse/uncertain on the AU status). Why the AU at 13? I thought regardless of when they are added, your history becomes their history. So 5 years as an AU or 1 month, your 20+ whatever year history is what they get. And then they lose all of that once they are removed.

I appreciate your insight in to your process. Our daughter had to pay 1/2 of her car upfront, and has been making payments for the remainder so by the time she's 18 she'll have it paid off entirely with her money.

I need the kids to have a form of payment so they're not carrying cash around, and this builds their credit history in a passive way until they're old enough to apply for their own Amex. 13 years old is the minimum age Amex allows AU to be added. The goal is to give them a leg up so they don't have to work through secured cards/subprime cards and get trapped in fees or other nonsense.

Re: Chase card for college student with 720+ score?

NoHardLimits — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 22:26:36 GMT

@masscredit wrote:
My friend's 21 year old son is like that. He makes good money and has a lot saved. He didn't have any interest in credit. Even when it came to buying a car, he was going to pay cash. His Mom had to convince him to get a loan. He's paying it down quick. He also got one credit card. Maybe some of the younger generation is adverse to credit?

Some younger cardholders were children when the great recession hit, and may have witnessed their parents going through hard financial times (e.g. home foreclosures). There may be some generational trauma at play here. A similar situation took place during the mid-70s stagflation era.