topic Re: Next card for college kid? in Credit Cards

Next card for college kid?

tcbofade — Sat, 29 Aug 2020 14:13:26 GMT

Howdy, howdy boys and girls.

I know that some lenders love college students, and some do not.

Just celebrated her 21st birthday, so she can use household income on her application if she wants to.

She's got one credit card. A Discover IT that she pays in full every month. TU08 is 755, zero inquiries, and 17% reported utilization.

No lates, no baddies of any kind, just a very new skinny profile. (There are a couple of student loans reporting, but she's not making payments on them yet as she is still in school.)

I would like for her to get her second card to help her build her profile and to reduce her use of mine.

Thoughts? Recommendations?

Re: Next card for college kid?

Jnbmom — Sat, 29 Aug 2020 14:19:49 GMT

Are you a member of NFCu? That was my daughters second card after disco. She gets tons of offers from Amex and chase but she only wants 2 cards at the moment .

Re: Next card for college kid?

tcbofade — Sat, 29 Aug 2020 14:26:49 GMT

I am, and she is too.

Re: Next card for college kid?

RockinRay — Sat, 29 Aug 2020 14:41:16 GMT

Hey -

Go that route, NFCu. They have some pretty good cards, and I bet it would be fairly easy for her to be approved. Might be a small limit to start, but thats fine.

When my girls were ready for college, we started them with USAA VIsa's. Small initial limit but those have grown over the years.

Good luck and let us know what you decide to do!

Re: Next card for college kid?

Jnbmom — Sat, 29 Aug 2020 14:42:34 GMT

@tcbofade wrote:
I am, and she is too.

That would be my choice for her .

Re: Next card for college kid?

Anonymous — Sat, 29 Aug 2020 14:49:57 GMT

Another vote for NFCU.

Citi DC would probably be on my radar too. That or PenFed if she's willing to leave $500 in the checking or send a direct deposit there. They have been really pumping out the nice approvals lately.

If she has too much in student loans, they may preclude her from being able to get the AOD 3% card (they calculate repayment at 3% per month which drives up DTI a lot) otherwise I would definitely try for that because its a great card and a great CU.

Re: Next card for college kid?

Kforce — Sat, 29 Aug 2020 15:40:59 GMT

My youngest daughter got the Bank of the West (3% in gas, grocery, restaurant, fast food) as her #3

Worth a look if in one of the 12 states. (geo restricted).

My older daughter got the City DC as her second card.

Navy is also a good choice

Re: Next card for college kid?

Duke_Nukem — Sat, 29 Aug 2020 15:53:56 GMT

My now 19yo and 23yo college kids started off with the Disco Chrome Student about 1.5 years ago. They got the Amex BCE 4 or 6 months later (main goal was to get nice CL's, but the Amex offers have been nice grabs too). My 23yo now uses the Amex for Walmart Grocery orders and gets the 3% grocery spend.

My 23yo got an offer from Chase before her 1st card was 1 year old, and was accepted with a $800 CL. My 19yo used a Chase referral from the 23yo after her Disco was over 1yo and got a $4700 CL with only $12k income. This was all before the current pandemic really slammed the economy, however.

Both have gotten 2 NFCU cards since then (the More Rewards and Platinum). The MR really fits their spend patterns, and is their main card now. The Plat is to build history, low APR, and BT if needed (both got the current 5.99% which is awesome).

Your DD should have no problem with any of these options IMO. So, my recommendation would first go for a Chase F or FU to get a Visa in the wallet (in case Disco or Amex is not accepted). My two DD's have it a few places where their Disco nor Amex worked, so that was a priority earlier this year for them.

If another card is needed a little later, then possibly go for the NFCU MR if the spend categories fit. Can't go wrong with NFCU in my book.

GL!

Re: Next card for college kid?

VPExecutive — Sat, 29 Aug 2020 18:13:38 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Another vote for NFCU.

Citi DC would probably be on my radar too. That or PenFed if she's willing to leave $500 in the checking or send a direct deposit there. They have been really pumping out the nice approvals lately.

If she has too much in student loans, they may preclude her from being able to get the AOD 3% card (they calculate repayment at 3% per month which drives up DTI a lot) otherwise I would definitely try for that because its a great card and a great CU.

If I'm helping my kid with a credit card, I'm having them choose one through a credit union. Not a bank where the slightest mistake can result in catastrophic financial consequences.

I'm also looking at a secured credit card with rewards (like one at NFCU) - not one that can cause him/her to accumulate debt before their student loans are even paid off.

Re: Next card for college kid?

M_Smart007 — Sat, 29 Aug 2020 23:38:34 GMT

@tcbofade, I was going to say Navy, before reading the thread.

I think a good choice would be a widely accepted Visa or MC. .. JMO

Re: Next card for college kid?

tcbofade — Sun, 30 Aug 2020 11:11:24 GMT

Thanks all.

I will chat with her about Navy tomorrow...