Anonymous
Post 03/19/2026 05:45     Subject: First credit card for 18 year old
Anonymous wrote:Discover is probably the easiest if a college kid. Limit of $500 or so.

Oh yeah. I’m 34 and my first card was a Discover with a $500 limit back in like 2012.

Have maintained a good credit score and tend to get good limits on my CC’s now.
Anonymous
Post 03/15/2026 21:15     Subject: First credit card for 18 year old
Anonymous wrote:Does your kid have a checking and/or savings account with a bank? Mine did and I also bank with the same bank. It was easy to add him to my bank credit card since they already had his SSN.


Yes he has checking in the same bank
Anonymous
Post 03/15/2026 16:13     Subject: First credit card for 18 year old
Does your kid have a checking and/or savings account with a bank? Mine did and I also bank with the same bank. It was easy to add him to my bank credit card since they already had his SSN.
Anonymous
Post 03/15/2026 13:21     Subject: First credit card for 18 year old
OP. Interesting, just got email from Capital One they sent kid's card .. I assume they sent one but without SSN added to the account, will they be able to report him to bureaus? All this does not make sense. Last week Capital One told me they could not verify kids ssn and I needed to confirm him with credit bureaus. I have not done anything from that point, but credit card is on the way..
Anonymous
Post 03/14/2026 15:31     Subject: Re:First credit card for 18 year old
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I just added my DS to my BofA credit card when he was 16. He now has excellent credit at age 20. When he gets a job after graduation, he can get his own card. He gets plenty of offers in the mail.


They are not real offers


I get them too and I’ve used them to open accounts.


are you 18?


My DD got a Capital One student card from one of those offers that came in the mail. She was about to turn 19 when she applied.
Anonymous
Post 03/14/2026 14:36     Subject: First credit card for 18 year old
Anonymous wrote:Ask your bank about a secured card. Use that and pay the bill for a year. Then apply for a real card. You could probably also do store cards like Target.
+1. This is how I started.

I had a secured credit card and then I had a Sears credit card.
Anonymous
Post 03/14/2026 14:29     Subject: First credit card for 18 year old
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:NP. My 19yo set up his own cc no problem. But, he did it himself, so idk what was required. He also worked and had savings, so that was probably a factor. He switched over to AmEX and set up his own brokerage accounts by 21. Maybe your kid should try it himself. If you have to look over his shoulder. I always made my boys deal with financial stuff (e.g. calls, forms) to get them in the habit.


Op. Kid has checking and Roth IRA, has been working since 14, pretty self sufficient and deals with things on his own. However he cannot add himself to my credit card, thus I had to be involved. I thought the easiest way to get him credit card is to get him added to ours. Apparently not, or we are doing something or capital one...


Let him go to his bank and apply for his own credit card. I’m not sure just adding him on your card helps his credit rating.



It does as long as the bank reports to the credit agencies for authorized users. You have to ask if they do.
Anonymous
Post 03/14/2026 12:27     Subject: First credit card for 18 year old
We had no trouble adding our teens to our Capital One account even though they had no history. They then acquired our credit scores and had no issue getting their own cards when they wanted/needed them.
Anonymous
Post 03/14/2026 12:20     Subject: First credit card for 18 year old
Anonymous wrote:Ask your bank about a secured card. Use that and pay the bill for a year. Then apply for a real card. You could probably also do store cards like Target.

Not OP but we did this with Citibank where we have status and my kid was still rejected. She applied for a card with Capital One (where we have no relationship because I hate them) and was accepted. 🤷‍♀️
Anonymous
Post 03/14/2026 12:15     Subject: First credit card for 18 year old
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:NP. My 19yo set up his own cc no problem. But, he did it himself, so idk what was required. He also worked and had savings, so that was probably a factor. He switched over to AmEX and set up his own brokerage accounts by 21. Maybe your kid should try it himself. If you have to look over his shoulder. I always made my boys deal with financial stuff (e.g. calls, forms) to get them in the habit.


Op. Kid has checking and Roth IRA, has been working since 14, pretty self sufficient and deals with things on his own. However he cannot add himself to my credit card, thus I had to be involved. I thought the easiest way to get him credit card is to get him added to ours. Apparently not, or we are doing something or capital one...


Then it sounds like you don't need to micromanage, which is great because it will save you precious time. Suggest that he open a Discover cc to build his credit score, but to be sure to pay it off every month. Tell him you're there for him if he needs help with the application and that he should use his home address. Done!
Anonymous
Post 03/14/2026 10:33     Subject: First credit card for 18 year old
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:NP. My 19yo set up his own cc no problem. But, he did it himself, so idk what was required. He also worked and had savings, so that was probably a factor. He switched over to AmEX and set up his own brokerage accounts by 21. Maybe your kid should try it himself. If you have to look over his shoulder. I always made my boys deal with financial stuff (e.g. calls, forms) to get them in the habit.


Op. Kid has checking and Roth IRA, has been working since 14, pretty self sufficient and deals with things on his own. However he cannot add himself to my credit card, thus I had to be involved. I thought the easiest way to get him credit card is to get him added to ours. Apparently not, or we are doing something or capital one...


Let him go to his bank and apply for his own credit card. I’m not sure just adding him on your card helps his credit rating.
Anonymous
Post 03/14/2026 09:50     Subject: Re:First credit card for 18 year old
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I just added my DS to my BofA credit card when he was 16. He now has excellent credit at age 20. When he gets a job after graduation, he can get his own card. He gets plenty of offers in the mail.


They are not real offers


I get them too and I’ve used them to open accounts.


are you 18?
Anonymous
Post 03/14/2026 08:40     Subject: Re:First credit card for 18 year old
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I just added my DS to my BofA credit card when he was 16. He now has excellent credit at age 20. When he gets a job after graduation, he can get his own card. He gets plenty of offers in the mail.


They are not real offers


I get them too and I’ve used them to open accounts.
Anonymous
Post 03/14/2026 08:29     Subject: First credit card for 18 year old
Some parents use their kids ID to get credit cards for their own (parent) use. Sad.
My kids got a credit card from credit union at age 18, no need for secured or for my signature. Interest rates are lower than any others I’ve seen.
Anonymous
Post 03/14/2026 07:47     Subject: First credit card for 18 year old
Anonymous wrote:Discover and/or one of the Capital one cards. One of the orange cards is awesome. Skip the authorized user one for 18-year old.
They can go for student card and/or secured card.
Have the kid check their credit with the three bureaus to make sure all information is correct there.


Called one of the bureau, they could not find him. I wonder how kid would have credit status with bureaus if they never had any credit cards and no institutions filed for the kid?