First credit card for 18 yr old son

Pete=]_2-2

Hi Moneysavers!

My son is 18 and we are looking at getting him his first credit card. He is very sensible when it comes to money - saving up an' all - and as having a strong credit report seems to be vital in today's society we feel it's best he builds it up from an early age.
He understands the concept of credit cards: pay off in full each month, don't use atms, yady-ya, and he's fine with any credit restrictions. (tbh, he'll use it for everyday spending as he's done that with his debit card for a while now - added consumer protection for purchases too, I guess)

He currently has a current account, savings account (and more recently an ISA) with Santander for the past 7 years - is Santander the most likely place to get one as he has built up a 'relationship' with them?
There is a Capital One card with 1% cashback, Capital One Classic, which he seems to tick all the boxes to: on the electoral role, 18, says you can get one with 'poor credit history' - but he has no 'bad' report, just very little. What do you think?

Which credit card is best to apply for, for someone with little credit history?

Many thanks!

stephane_2

Best place to start is Santander...if they say "no" then very unlikely that a mainstream credit card lender will consider is application due to lack of credit history. The other option would be to apply for a card like Vanquis, Capital One, Aqua or Barclaycard Initial, those cards are for those with poor or little credit history. The interest on those cards will be very high, Vanquis interest can be up to 50% to 60% but if he use it wisely, paying in full each months, and never ever missing or being late for a payment then he'll be fine. Once he has run the account for a good 12 to 18 months then he will be in a better position to apply for a credit card with a better interest rate with high street lender. To start with he'll probably get a very small limit, around £250to £500 which should be more than enough for him to start with....

PursuitOfHappiness

Crazy credit card at 18.
Even if he is a sensible lad don't you think he'd be better off using his own money at the time being? What advantage would a credit card bring to him?
I'm 21 and the amount of people that I know who've had credit cards and have misused them is unbelievable. They're sensible now, were sensible then but on the other hand temptation is temptation.

KingElvis

Always try your bank first as they know you best. But you could try the following.

Type Barclaycard pre-application check into Google, fill it in and see what it says.

Not a 100% certain you'll get one.

Modmedia

PursuitOfHappiness wrote: »

Crazy credit card at 18.
Even if he is a sensible lad don't you think he'd be better off using his own money at the time being? What advantage would a credit card bring to him?
I'm 21 and the amount of people that I know who've had credit cards and have misused them is unbelievable. They're sensible now, were sensible then but on the other hand temptation is temptation.

Not really. I've had one since I was 18, I now have 2 at the age of 20. One with Tesco and one with Halifax (£1700 and £1000 limits) and I simply use them as a card for buying things either online or in-store and for diesel. It offers a bit more protection than a debit card. I don't use them to spend money I don't have.

However, checking my credit history now and I got a score of 999 as I mentioned in another post, which means when the time comes when I do need say a mortgage or the likes, I will be in far better position than someone with no credit history what-so-ever.

Modmedia

By the way OP, make sure you know his login details for the credit card so you can check on him and make sure he doesn't get tempted to use it.

pinkarsenalprincess

Modmedia wrote: »

Not really. I've had one since I was 18, I now have 2 at the age of 20. One with Tesco and one with Halifax (£1700 and £1000 limits) and I simply use them as a card for buying things either online or in-store and for diesel. It offers a bit more protection than a debit card. I don't use them to spend money I don't have.

However, checking my credit history now and I got a score of 999 as I mentioned in another post, which means when the time comes when I do need say a mortgage or the likes, I will be in far better position than someone with no credit history what-so-ever.

That number means absolutely nothing at all!
As for the mortgage, we got one with no difficulty at all last year. At that point I had never had a credit card and neither had my OH. He hadn't even had any form of mobile contract either to build up history with.

samwsmith1

I applied for a Vanquis card 2 days after turning 18 and was accepted - so I would recommend them (and there's £25 quidco as well for an application).
As other people and yourself said, I see it as useful for the future - I just use it for general purchases and petrol, just my friends don't seem to understand the concept behind me having one when I have a debit card.

BugsyBrowne

samwsmith1 wrote: »

I applied for a Vanquis card 2 days after turning 18 and was accepted - so I would recommend them (and there's £25 quidco as well for an application).
As other people and yourself said, I see it as useful for the future - I just use it for general purchases and petrol, just my friends don't seem to understand the concept behind me having one when I have a debit card.

Personally mate at 18 with a vanquis card is not the best move as their credit increases are quite fluent,

In my opinion you should keep a good relationship with your bank and b4 long they would be your best bet for giving you a decent card.

18 years old + vanquis = trouble

PursuitOfHappiness

Modmedia wrote: »

Not really. I've had one since I was 18, I now have 2 at the age of 20. One with Tesco and one with Halifax (£1700 and £1000 limits) and I simply use them as a card for buying things either online or in-store and for diesel. It offers a bit more protection than a debit card. I don't use them to spend money I don't have.

However, checking my credit history now and I got a score of 999 as I mentioned in another post, which means when the time comes when I do need say a mortgage or the likes, I will be in far better position than someone with no credit history what-so-ever.

Good on you. Now you must be the exception to the rule considering at a guess a few thousand have wrote on this forum since it was started saying they've racked up a shed load of debt when they've been youngsters, an also I personally know a few people.
These few people had been induced to it by the parents too. There you go your old enough now so go on buy some clothes and a nice TV, but the repercussions aren't highlighted. The sheer hell that people can through.

Gordon_Hose

Modmedia wrote: »

By the way OP, make sure you know his login details for the credit card so you can check on him and make sure he doesn't get tempted to use it.

lol, why?

He's 18, an adult, and responsible for his own bills.