Beginner friendly cards for 18 yr old

[Atonswife]

Hey all!!

It's been awhile but I need some advice.

My son is 18 years (will be 19 this summer) and we are starting his credit journey. He got a pre-approval through Cap One and also Discover. Once we knew he was pre-approved, my husband sent him a referral link for Cap One and he was approved for the platinum mc with $1k limit. Discover pre-approved for a secured card but when my husband sent the referral link, my son was approved for a regular unsecured Discover IT card also with a $1k limit which we found odd but definitely grateful.

Now i'm looking for one more card to establish his 3 tradelines. We tried the Amex & Chase pre-quals but said they couldn't find any offers. 

According to the terms from Discover after approval, it indicated they could not retrieve a score from Experian and it could be because there is sufficient information to determine a score, which is the case. 

Do you think we'd have a chance with any of the Chase cards or Amex? Do you think it makes a difference if he's applying through a referral link as it apparently does with Discover? Or do you guys have any suggestions in general?

My son makes $38k/yr and has $0 housing payment and no other bills.

TIA 🙂

[GZG]

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@Atonswife wrote:

Hey all!!

It's been awhile but I need some advice.

My son is 18 years (will be 19 this summer) and we are starting his credit journey. He got a pre-approval through Cap One and also Discover. Once we knew he was pre-approved, my husband sent him a referral link for Cap One and he was approved for the platinum mc with $1k limit. Discover pre-approved for a secured card but when my husband sent the referral link, my son was approved for a regular unsecured Discover IT card also with a $1k limit which we found odd but definitely grateful.

Now i'm looking for one more card to establish his 3 tradelines. We tried the Amex & Chase pre-quals but said they couldn't find any offers. 

According to the terms from Discover after approval, it indicated they could not retrieve a score from Experian and it could be because there is sufficient information to determine a score, which is the case. 

Do you think we'd have a chance with any of the Chase cards or Amex? Do you think it makes a difference if he's applying through a referral link as it apparently does with Discover? Or do you guys have any suggestions in general?

My son makes $38k/yr and has $0 housing payment and no other bills.

TIA 🙂

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If I was 18 in this situation with everything I know now, I would wait a year, then get started with Chase and/or Amex. 

You can also consider checking if an offer for the Apple Card is avaialble and not <$1000 CL

I would also ask nicely for the money to get a 5 year NFCU/PenFed SSL to get a loan on file if they're not going to have a car loan/student loan on their file 

Do remember to product change to the quicksilver after the 3rd statement posts by adding "/productupgrade" to the end of the URL on the desktop website for that Cap1 account. 

[Atonswife]

@GZG thanks for the suggestions!! 

We don't have a problem waiting at all. It was more me wanting to have him establish the "suggested" 3 tradelines and allow them to age together. My son is not even remotely interested in anything credit at this very moment BUT since he started his job in the hospital and making "real money" as he says, his first order of business was to ask me to help him set up a budget. He's always been great at saving.

He took a gap year this year and is looking to start school in the Fall so we may have him take a student loan to cover whatever we already have saved doesn't cover. In addition, he's also looking to buy himself a car probably by the summer. So that'll give him a good credit mix.

[wasCB14]

A secured Discover is a pretty good card to have at this point as it will likely eventually unsecure, and occasionally getting 5% cash back with no annual fee is generally useful even for people with complicated travel card setups. So he should be selective in what he adds.

[FireMedic1]

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@wasCB14 wrote:

A secured Discover is a pretty good card to have at this point as it will likely eventually unsecure, and occasionally getting 5% cash back with no annual fee is generally useful even for people with complicated travel card setups. So he should be selective in what he adds.

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@wasCB14He was approved for a regular Disco in the opening post.

"my son was approved for a regular unsecured Discover IT card also with a $1k limit"

[SouthJamaica]

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@Atonswife wrote:

Hey all!!

It's been awhile but I need some advice.

My son is 18 years (will be 19 this summer) and we are starting his credit journey. He got a pre-approval through Cap One and also Discover. Once we knew he was pre-approved, my husband sent him a referral link for Cap One and he was approved for the platinum mc with $1k limit. Discover pre-approved for a secured card but when my husband sent the referral link, my son was approved for a regular unsecured Discover IT card also with a $1k limit which we found odd but definitely grateful.

Now i'm looking for one more card to establish his 3 tradelines. We tried the Amex & Chase pre-quals but said they couldn't find any offers. 

According to the terms from Discover after approval, it indicated they could not retrieve a score from Experian and it could be because there is sufficient information to determine a score, which is the case. 

Do you think we'd have a chance with any of the Chase cards or Amex? Do you think it makes a difference if he's applying through a referral link as it apparently does with Discover? Or do you guys have any suggestions in general?

My son makes $38k/yr and has $0 housing payment and no other bills.

TIA 🙂

---

I think 2 cards is enough for him at this stage.

If he's bound and determined to have a 3rd card then I would go with joining a credit union.

[FireMedic1]

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@Atonswife wrote:

Hey all!!

It's been awhile but I need some advice.

My son is 18 years (will be 19 this summer) and we are starting his credit journey. He got a pre-approval through Cap One and also Discover. Once we knew he was pre-approved, my husband sent him a referral link for Cap One and he was approved for the platinum mc with $1k limit. Discover pre-approved for a secured card but when my husband sent the referral link, my son was approved for a regular unsecured Discover IT card also with a $1k limit which we found odd but definitely grateful.

Now i'm looking for one more card to establish his 3 tradelines. We tried the Amex & Chase pre-quals but said they couldn't find any offers. 

According to the terms from Discover after approval, it indicated they could not retrieve a score from Experian and it could be because there is sufficient information to determine a score, which is the case. 

Do you think we'd have a chance with any of the Chase cards or Amex? Do you think it makes a difference if he's applying through a referral link as it apparently does with Discover? Or do you guys have any suggestions in general?

My son makes $38k/yr and has $0 housing payment and no other bills.

TIA 🙂

---

If you son is brand new to credit. It will take 6 months for a score to generate. But congrats on a great start!

[Atonswife]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Atonswife wrote:

Hey all!!

It's been awhile but I need some advice.

My son is 18 years (will be 19 this summer) and we are starting his credit journey. He got a pre-approval through Cap One and also Discover. Once we knew he was pre-approved, my husband sent him a referral link for Cap One and he was approved for the platinum mc with $1k limit. Discover pre-approved for a secured card but when my husband sent the referral link, my son was approved for a regular unsecured Discover IT card also with a $1k limit which we found odd but definitely grateful.

Now i'm looking for one more card to establish his 3 tradelines. We tried the Amex & Chase pre-quals but said they couldn't find any offers. 

According to the terms from Discover after approval, it indicated they could not retrieve a score from Experian and it could be because there is sufficient information to determine a score, which is the case. 

Do you think we'd have a chance with any of the Chase cards or Amex? Do you think it makes a difference if he's applying through a referral link as it apparently does with Discover? Or do you guys have any suggestions in general?

My son makes $38k/yr and has $0 housing payment and no other bills.

TIA 🙂

---

I think 2 cards is enough for him at this stage.

If he's bound and determined to have a 3rd card then I would go with joining a credit union.

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Agreed. My husband and I are currently with DCU as our credit union of choice and have no complaints so that may be a starting point for him when that time comes. They may also be a good option for a car loan like we had as well when we first joined. Thanks so much for the suggestion.🙂

[Atonswife]

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@FireMedic1 wrote:

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@Atonswife wrote:

Hey all!!

It's been awhile but I need some advice.

My son is 18 years (will be 19 this summer) and we are starting his credit journey. He got a pre-approval through Cap One and also Discover. Once we knew he was pre-approved, my husband sent him a referral link for Cap One and he was approved for the platinum mc with $1k limit. Discover pre-approved for a secured card but when my husband sent the referral link, my son was approved for a regular unsecured Discover IT card also with a $1k limit which we found odd but definitely grateful.

Now i'm looking for one more card to establish his 3 tradelines. We tried the Amex & Chase pre-quals but said they couldn't find any offers. 

According to the terms from Discover after approval, it indicated they could not retrieve a score from Experian and it could be because there is sufficient information to determine a score, which is the case. 

Do you think we'd have a chance with any of the Chase cards or Amex? Do you think it makes a difference if he's applying through a referral link as it apparently does with Discover? Or do you guys have any suggestions in general?

My son makes $38k/yr and has $0 housing payment and no other bills.

TIA 🙂

---

If you son is brand new to credit. It will take 6 months for a score to generate. But congrats on a great start!

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Thank you!!

I figured it'd take time for a score to generate. I meant to say above "insufficient information" but you understood perfectly. 

We're pleasantly surprised and pleased that with no score he is 2 for 2 with $1k limits. Like I said, right now he's not so much into the credit mix. He's focused on budgeting, building his savings and wants to start investing for retirement. So we're just taking things one step at a time. 🙂

[MT64]

I've never heard of someone being approved for an unsecured credit card, least of all for $1k starting limits, with zero credit history. I would dare to say it's impossible but would like to know from someone who may have the experience explain how that actually is possible. Everyone I've dealt with (even the kids with close to $40k salary in their 20s) always end up with a $200-$300 secured credit card offer from CAP1 having zero experience. Discover has never been one to offer without a credit history so it's kind of baffling or an ultra rare fluke in your sons favor? I don't know but it would be interesting to know why.

Assuming he already has a bank account (not sure why it wouldn't be through a Credit Union if given the option / direction), I agree that establishing at least a bank account relationship with a CU is ideal. I don't see any mention of Cred.AI either, which while not an actual Credit Card, does report $1500 credit and is treated as such. I know if that was an option when I was younger, that would have been my first go to card to build credit with next to a Capital One, because no way Discover would have approved.

Does make me wonder if they're changing approval requirements for the younger kids now or what the story is behind that approval.