How do you start to build a credit history for an 18 year old

katies_mum

Thanks izzy65. Can I ask, how do you find out which are the easier credit cards to get (not too bothered about the rate as any spending would be paid off straight away), are store cards easier to be accepted for? she only has a Saturday job at the moment.

thebritishbloke

katies_mum wrote: »

Thanks izzy65. Can I ask, how do you find out which are the easier credit cards to get (not too bothered about the rate as any spending would be paid off straight away), are store cards easier to be accepted for? she only has a Saturday job at the moment.

Vanquis or Aqua are the most popular "credit building" cards.

You don't need to pay it off straight away, just set up a direct debit to pay the statement in full every month. If your statement always ends up being 0, it won't be beneficial on your credit report.

katies_mum

Thanks, that`s what I mean...sorry if it didn`t sound right. Pay the account in full when the statement comes.

I`ll have a read up on Vanquis and Aqua, thanks again.

izzy65

katies_mum wrote: »

Thanks izzy65. Can I ask, how do you find out which are the easier credit cards to get (not too bothered about the rate as any spending would be paid off straight away), are store cards easier to be accepted for? she only has a Saturday job at the moment.

Yep I agree with Aqua , vanquis or in my dds case capital one, capital one has different levels of credit and some have very high apr, maybe try for one of these, my dad had a limit of five hundred when first opened now it's £1500, she never pays interest.:)

katies_mum

Great advice thanks.

Thank you all for taking the time to reply, much appreciated.

Dobbibill

katies_mum wrote: »

Brilliant thanks Dobbibill, will get Electoral Roll sorted first. Any idea how often the Electoral Roll gets updated?

Only every few months. My DS's updated their details in December 2014 and it's not showing on their CR yet despite having confirmation that it would be by 1st February. We regularly check Noddle, just because it's free for a snapshot to see if it's updated.

I appreciate its going to take a good while to build credit worthiness but thought it a good idea to think about it now and do whatever she can which will hopefully help in the future.

It will take a while. There is an eligibility checker here to give you a guideline (it's never guaranteed) but given the info you have said about your daughter not being on the ER and only having a Saturday job I would be very surprised if she was eligible for any yet.

All the best

bengal-stripe

katies_mum wrote: »

......has a Saturday job, Lloyds bank account with a healthy balance (the one you can have until aged 19), a debit card, ISA etc.

Lloyds Bank should be her first port of call to ask for a credit card. If her account has been kept in good order, she shouldn't have a problem getting her first card (with a relatively low limit).

Only if Lloyds is not willing to supply a card, she might want to approach the likes of Aqua or Vanquis.

katies_mum

Thank you both.

Will get onto the Electoral Roll stuff now. Haven`t heard of Noddle before.

I discovered the checker last night as was reading up about the Clarity card (have saga card but wanted another for holidays) and did a check on myself. Never thought to try for my daughter.