completely agree! I've had my debit card compromised and never had an issue getting my money back.
The biggest issue with debit vs credit is that if you *need* the funds for bills or emergencies you might not have it asap. That is less of an issue with a cc, unless the fraudenlent charges max out your limit (which is totally possible too).
I think that is the big thing for me. When we’ve needed money for emergencies it hasn’t been like 50 bucks it’s been a few hundred per person. If I’m a teenager and already stressed am I going to remember to move money from my savings to my checking? If you need an extra hotel because your flight is canceled it’s the cost of the room plus whatever hold they put on the card. Even gas stations will often put a temporary hold of 100 dollars or more, which can have you go negative for a bit assuming you keep a few hundred for emergencies.
My kids all have debit Visa cards and it takes about 10 seconds for them to transfer money between their accounts through the app. In cases of emergency I just etransfer them what they need which also only takes about 10 seconds.
I think that is the big thing for me. When we’ve needed money for emergencies it hasn’t been like 50 bucks it’s been a few hundred per person. If I’m a teenager and already stressed am I going to remember to move money from my savings to my checking? If you need an extra hotel because your flight is canceled it’s the cost of the room plus whatever hold they put on the card. Even gas stations will often put a temporary hold of 100 dollars or more, which can have you go negative for a bit assuming you keep a few hundred for emergencies.
My kids all have debit Visa cards and it takes about 10 seconds for them to transfer money between their accounts through the app. In cases of emergency I just etransfer them what they need which also only takes about 10 seconds.
That’s excellent. We’ve been lots of places that don’t have great (or any) cell service or data. It definitely doesn’t happen to everyone, but it happens enough that I wouldn’t want to rely only on transfers. It might work for lots of people if they are confident they always will have good internet and they are comfortable logging into their bank to transfer money. (I know a lot of people won’t do it on unsecured Wi-Fi).
DD will get a debit card with her account as a child account connected to ours when she's old enough. That's what my parents did; it gave me all the benefits of their accounts and they could transfer money to me as needed.
A CC for emergency use once they start traveling independently is a good idea but probably not needed at this age.
Post by formerlyak on Mar 20, 2023 15:25:56 GMT -5
I'll be another to say some type of teen checking account with a debit card. That's what my oldest has. I can transfer him money when I need to and it takes only a few minutes for the funds to be available to him from my account. He also has a savings account at that bank. So his paycheck goes into savings but he can go in an app and transfer money to his checking when he wants to go out with friends and needs money.
I’d put him on as an authorized user. A debit card won’t help him with his credit history, but being an authorized user will. Edit I think some credit card companies will let you lower the credit limit for authorized users (I know Amex does).
This is not true. I don't know of any credit card issuers that report authorized users to the credit bureau. The authorized user is not liable for the debt on the card, therefore, there is no reporting to the credit bureaus.
Also, you have to be over 18 to get a credit card on your own. You are signing into a legal contract and it's not considered legally binding if you aren't 18.
I’d put him on as an authorized user. A debit card won’t help him with his credit history, but being an authorized user will. Edit I think some credit card companies will let you lower the credit limit for authorized users (I know Amex does).
This is not true. I don't know of any credit card issuers that report authorized users to the credit bureau. The authorized user is not liable for the debt on the card, therefore, there is no reporting to the credit bureaus.
Also, you have to be over 18 to get a credit card on your own. You are signing into a legal contract and it's not considered legally binding if you aren't 18.
I’m still an authorized user on my mom’s Chase credit card. It shows on my credit report that I have the 25 years of credit.
This is not true. I don't know of any credit card issuers that report authorized users to the credit bureau. The authorized user is not liable for the debt on the card, therefore, there is no reporting to the credit bureaus.
Also, you have to be over 18 to get a credit card on your own. You are signing into a legal contract and it's not considered legally binding if you aren't 18.
I’m still an authorized user on my mom’s Chase credit card. It shows on my credit report that I have the 25 years of credit.
I put H on my credit card (& vice versa) but we had I use SS#s to get it to build credit (on our own credit reports). So, not just an authorities signer. Maybe someone did that with your mom’s Chase card?
Commenting so I can save this and come back to it when we decide what to do for DS1. He’s 13, my grandma took me to the bank to open my first checking account (with a small line of credit) when I was 16. It helped me build credit super early on and I still bank at the same place to this day.
I’d put him on as an authorized user. A debit card won’t help him with his credit history, but being an authorized user will. Edit I think some credit card companies will let you lower the credit limit for authorized users (I know Amex does).
This is not true. I don't know of any credit card issuers that report authorized users to the credit bureau. The authorized user is not liable for the debt on the card, therefore, there is no reporting to the credit bureaus.
Also, you have to be over 18 to get a credit card on your own. You are signing into a legal contract and it's not considered legally binding if you aren't 18.
They definitely show up on the credit report. My husband is an AU on my card and it’s on his report. They also do help you build a credit history and are recommended as a method of doing so for teens/college kids. Edit-link
I’m still an authorized user on my mom’s Chase credit card. It shows on my credit report that I have the 25 years of credit.
I put H on my credit card (& vice versa) but we had I use SS#s to get it to build credit (on our own credit reports). So, not just an authorities signer. Maybe someone did that with your mom’s Chase card?
I specifically didn’t put DH’s SSN on his AU card hoping it wouldn’t show up on his credit report, but it did.