DS will graduate in the fall. He's got no credit history. Has a paid undergrad summer internship lined up, as well as a paid post-grad internship lined up.
Any recommendations (or good sites) on how he can most effectively start to build his credit profile?
Add him as an AU on a couple of your cards, then do not give him the card, well unless you want to. He will then benefit by your history assuming the history on the card is good.
@TaperRandy wrote:Go to BoA and have him open a checking account and use it. After 3 months, apply for a Cash Rewards card there. They may or may not issue a secured one. The institution must value his checking account activity however. Even if they do offer a secured one, in 3 months of responsible utilization, BoA will bounce him into a $1000 unsecured card...and from there the sky is the limit. Credit isn't an instantaneous process, and there are no shortcuts really. Time though, it passes quick..and it doesn't take long to see the light and reap the rewards.
Thanks. That gives me an additional idea. He's had a TD account for 3-4 years. He should ask them about getting a card - especially once he starts depositing income from his internship (I'm thinking TD particularly since he's likely to spend time in both the U.S. and Canada).
@TaperRandy wrote:Yeah..that dynamic has always been a murky one for me. I could never really pinpoint with any degree of accuracy, how one measurably benefits as an AU. It's a tough one, and I'm sure that it doesn't hurt unless the primary defaults...but at the same time, it always struck me as an element that is just kind of...there. If you catch my drift. It says that one is an AU, but how does one actually reap the score benefits? I guess calling the bureaus and asking a rep maybe. Would be interested in hearing the findings though.
I can just speak from my own experience. I was added as an AU to a card my wife obtained just last week. All my scores jumped from 17-27 points as a result of the additional account and increased available credit. Now I do have other credit( not all of it good) so I'm not sure what it would do for someone who had a thin file. There may be others in the Credit Card forum who could give you a better description and help determine if it would help in your case or not.
I started building from scratch last month, and this is what I have so far.
1) Got a Discover secured credit card for $200
2) Got a share-secured loan from DCU for $200 and immediately paid off all but $17.80, or 8.9%
(it shortened my loan term from 24 months to 5 months 
)
#2 reported first, and it brought my FICOs from nothing to 600 on all 3 bureaus. Roughly the same VantageScores on CreditKarma.
When #1 reported, it brought my VantageScores to 650 and 643 on CreditKarma. I haven't checked FICO scores for this yet.
I hope to open an additional share-secured loan and a couple secured cards soon, to lessen the hit on Average Age of Accounts when I open more cards later down the road. Having as many accounts as possible from the start, aging at the same time, would help keep my scores stable.
-> For example, if I had only 1 credit account, in 2 years my AAoA would be 24 months. As soon as I open 1 more account, my AAoA would be back down to 12 months ((24 + 0) / 2 = 12), and I'd have to wait another year to get AAoA (and credit score) back.
-> If I had 6 credit credit accounts all aging together from the beginning, in 24 months my AAoA would be 24 months. After opening 1 more account, my AAoA would be 20.5 months ((24 + 24 + 24 + 24 + 24 + 24 + 0) / 7 = 20.57), or 8.5 months better than the above.
-> The above are just examples... most people recommend 3 cards + an installation loan to start, not 6. AFAIK there are also bonus points for the first few accounts that may negate penalties, but you get the idea -- growing and aging accounts from the start so you have a strong base.
Opening secured cards that *graduate* to unsecured without having to close and open a new account would help reduce credit score hits from hard pulls and new account creation in the first 1-2 years. There's a helpful thread that lists some of the most popular ones:
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Best-Secured-Cards-that-Graduate/td-p/4912438
Starting Scores: No Scores (03/2018)