Establishing Credit – When Should You Start ?

- Age of the oldest account established, as well as the age of your newest established account. An average age of all accounts is also calculated.
- The amount of time that specific credit cards have been established.
- Amount of time since certain accounts were used.
- Credit card: Parents will need to co-sign on any credit card opened for their child if they’re under 21 years of age and don’t have a consistent, reliable source of income. Many credit card companies offer student credit cards, with low credit ceilings to help teens start establishing credit.
- Authorized user: An alternative to co-signing on a credit card is adding a teen as an authorized credit user on an existing account. This is a preferred route by many experts, as the child can simply be dropped as an authorized user if things go awry – something that’s much easier to do than get out of co-signing.
- Secured credit card: A “secured” credit card is similar to a regular card, except that users are required to put down a deposit as assurance to the creditor that payment can be met. Usually, the amount you’re able to charge with a secured card is limited to the deposit you put down.