High Schooler and Student Credit Cards
Most credit cards designed for students were actually created for college students. Can a high school student get a student credit card? The short answer would be yes. The long answer would probably contain a great deal of discussion!
As teenagers, they will go out and get their first jobs, or may be earning income from allowances or babysitting jobs. This can be the perfect time for parents to step in and help them learn all about money management. Unfortunately, this is a subject many families will just skip over thus leaving graduating high schoolers to move on to college or the even the real world with very little real world knowledge of the financial issues.
Until recently, it was not only next to impossible to give a teenager a student credit card, but you would probably be considered a little bit crazy to do such a thing! Times have changed and there are various student credit cards on the market for teenagers that parents can use as a tool to help them learn the basics of financial responsibility.
Student credit card features will include parental control and digital allowances. It can be a sweat-inducing act to give your teenager a credit card, but a student credit card can make a good educational financial experience for your child before it becomes too late for you to help them become financially responsible young adults.
With so many older adults currently struggling to re-establish their credit or increase their income so it will be easier to keep up with their monthly payments, it is never too early to teach your teenagers how to manage there money. Teaching them at a younger age can help prevent them from over spending once they are on their own. Many financial institutions claim that the average freshmen college student will have over $1,500 in student credit card debt; and once a college student realizes how easy it is to get what they want, it becomes habit to use there student credit cards to buy the things they want while attending college. If a teenager enters the adult world with some solid money management skills, they will be less likely to get in over their heads in debt.
If you are not so concerned about your teenager actually establishing a credit history at this time, and just want a way to teach them the basics of money management, you can obtain a prepaid debit card with a Visa or Master Card logo. Many of these cards may have annual fees or transaction fees, which will just gives you more opportunity to show how using a student credit card is not the same as buying with cold hard cash. You could also open up a checking account with a debit card for your teen; or even put them as an authorized user of a credit card account you already hold. Alternatively, just open a new credit card account with a low limit and put your teen on as a cardholder.
When your children become a teenager, chances are they will be spending more time away from you and on their own or with friends. There may be time when they have a need for cash if a car breaks down, or for long distance phone calls just for example. Having a student credit card in their pocket will make it possible and much easier for both of you to handle an emergency that requires access to money and will give you a little more peace of mind.
Student credit cards.com @ September 21, 2008