Can you open a credit card for a baby?
Because people under age 18 can't open their own credit cards, you can't technically open a whole new credit card in your child's name — but you can still add them to yours.
You can add a child under the age of 18 to a credit card as an authorized user as long as the child meets any age restrictions set by the issuer. If your child is 18, then the field is wide open for adding them to your card.
- Start early.
- Teach the difference between a debit card and a credit card.
- Incentivize saving.
- Help them save early for a secured credit card.
- Co-sign a loan or a lease.
- Add your child as an authorized user.
- Have them report all possible forms of credit.
However, adding your child to your credit card account can help foster an understanding of finances and debt that could prepare them well for their financial future. Kids can't open their own credit card account until they turn 18, and will need to prove independent income until they're 21.
They may think it's okay to use their child's identity temporarily. But if you don't pay it back, you will damage your child's credit score and set them up for financial hardship when they reach adulthood. The law remains the same, regardless of the circ*mstances.
If you're interested in building your child's credit before they turn 18, you can explore adding them as an authorized user to one or more of your credit cards. There is no legal minimum age for adding a child as an authorized user, however you should check your credit card issuer's policies.
Adding your children as authorized users on your credit card is one way to help teach sound credit management skills, and it might give their credit scores a head start. Read on to learn the best time to add your child as an authorized user on your credit card account.
Because people under age 18 can't open their own credit cards, you can't technically open a whole new credit card in your child's name — but you can still add them to yours. Adding someone to your account turns them into an authorized user, which gives them many of the same perks you have as the primary cardholder.
| Bank | Minimum Age Required |
|---|---|
| Bank of America | No minimum age requirement |
| Barclays | 13 years old |
| Capital One | No minimum age requirement |
| Chase | No minimum age requirement |
Credit reports are not established at a certain age. Children may have a credit report because they are listed as authorized users or joint account holders on an adult's account, or any time a credit account is reported by a lender for that individual.
How to build your child's credit score?
- Add Your Child as an Authorized User to Your Credit Card Account. ...
- Encourage Your Child to Complete the FAFSA for College. ...
- Cosign Private Student Loans. ...
- Consider a Secured Credit Card. ...
- Research Student Credit Cards.
A credit card is essentially a means of taking out a loan; as such, you must be 18 to get one. If your child is under 18, the only way for them to “get” a credit card is to add them as an authorized user to an existing account. An authorized user is allowed to use the card but isn't responsible for paying the bill.
Greenlight reports activity from the authorized user to the credit bureaus, and that's a good thing for building your child's credit — as long as the primary user pays off the card's balance on time and in full each month. Authorized users may use a credit card, but they aren't responsible for making payments.
That includes “borrowing” a child's identity to obtain credit or something else in their name. This is actually a type of fraud, although many parents may not think of it this way. It's largely a crime of opportunity.
- Rates & Fees. ...
- Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card *
- Navy FCU nRewards® Secured Credit Card *
- Petal® 1 “No Annual Fee” Visa® Credit Card *
- Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit *
- Rates & Fees. ...
- Rates & Fees.
While some card issuers may allow your child to use your card with permission, your child is technically committing fraud without permission.
How old do you have to be to get a credit card? You can be an authorized user as young as 13, but you have to be 18 to sign up for your first credit card on your own. When you're ready for this step, you'll need to be prepared to show some documentation.
What is the lowest credit score possible? Most of the credit scores that lenders use in the United States, including most versions of the FICO Score, range from 300 to 850. Therefore, most financial professionals generally accept that 300 is the lowest credit score a consumer can have.
For kids under 18 years old, a parent or guardian will need to sign up for an account and add the child as a co-owner. The parent or guardian will have control over the account and debit card usage, as well as administrative control over the mobile app connected to the account.
If you've ever wondered what the highest credit score you can have is, it's 850. That's at the top end of the most common FICO® and VantageScore® credit scores. And these two companies provide some of the most popular credit-scoring models in America. But do you need a perfect credit score?
How much will my credit score go up if someone adds me to their credit card?
2. Being an Authorized User Might Not Impact Your Credit. Credit scoring models only consider information that's currently on your credit report—nothing more and nothing less. So, in order for a credit card to affect your scores, it must show up on your credit reports with Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.
Before children are eligible to apply for a credit card on their own, parents may be able to add them as authorized users to help establish their credit at a young age. Then, when they're eligible to apply for their own, they'll have a strong foundation to build upon.
Some parents put some or all of their assets into their children's names while the parents are still alive for one of the following reasons: (1) tax reasons; (2) protection from nursing homes; (3) lawsuit protection; or (4) probate avoidance.
7. Dispute fraudulent charges and clean up your credit report. A family member opening a credit card in your name can cause serious damage to your credit score. Call any company where fraud has occurred and dispute new accounts, incorrect information, and fraudulent transactions on your credit report.
You may be able to help your teen build their credit before they're 18 by adding them as an authorized user on your credit cards. That's if the card issuer reports information to the credit bureaus and the credit bureaus include that information on credit reports.
