My 20-year-old son wanted his first credit card. I told him to skip the most obvious advice and do these 4 things instead.

MW My 20-year-old son wanted his first credit card. I told him to skip the most obvious advice and do these 4 things instead.

By Beth Pinsker

Plus: A credit-building shortcut that many parents overlook

Don't put too much faith in those lists of "best first credit card" or "best credit card for students" you'll find online.

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When my 20-year-old son decided he wanted his first credit card, I silently cheered the prospect of one day getting him off my payroll.

But I also knew that this was a bigger milestone than just getting a piece of plastic shipped to him in the mail.

For better or worse, a credit history opens a lot of doors in adult life. It can help you rent an apartment, qualify for a loan and, in some cases, even land a job. The catch is that you need credit to build credit, which sometimes can make getting started feel impossible.

As a personal-finance pro, it was hard for me not to take charge. Up until this point, my son had been an authorized user on one of my cards, but after turning 20 he wanted more independence.

So I stepped back - mostly.

Before turning him loose, I gave him a few pieces of advice. The biggest one: Don't put too much faith in those online lists of "best first credit card" or "best credit card for students."

After years of writing about personal finance, I've learned that many of those lists aren't necessarily designed with the user's best interest in mind. They're often geared toward broad audiences, major issuers and eye-catching rewards.

So here's how my son chose his first credit card - along with some lessons that can help you choose yours.

Big money idea of the week: Skip the 'best credit card' lists when picking your first card - and do this instead

Your first credit card isn't about rewards. It's about building a financial reputation.

Lesson 1: Start building credit before you need it.

As this was my son's first card, we didn't know his credit score yet. The place to start is with a free annual credit report. This shows you your financial account history but does not give you a credit score, which is the risk assessment that lenders use to assess your chances of defaulting. Still, you need to know if anything is on the report that shouldn't be. If the bank you use does not offer a free-credit-score feature - my son's didn't - then you can look up various versions of your credit score (FICO $(FICO)$, Vantage, etc.) through services like LendingTree, CreditKarma and others.

Bonus tip: You can build credit by becoming an authorized user on someone else's card. My son's first credit check revealed that his score was in the prime range already thanks to being an authorized user on my card. Matt Schulz, chief consumer-finance analyst at LendingTree and author of "Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More: How to Take Control of Your Financial Life," recently went through this process with his son, too. He said it's surprising how much being an authorized user on a parent's account will boost a young person's starting score, even though the reporting doesn't start until age 18.

Lesson 2: Match a card to your actual spending habits.

My son spends the most money on train tickets to travel back and forth to school. So he looked into an Amtrak loyalty card first. If you're spending more on flights, streaming services, groceries or gas, then consider cards that offer cash-back perks for where you're putting your money already. "The best credit card for you is the one that fits your goals and your lifestyle best," Schulz said.

'The last thing somebody in college or just starting out needs to be doing is to overspend chasing rewards.'Matt Schulz, chief consumer finance analyst at LendingTree

Be mindful that, for young people with small budgets, rewards add up to very little. Americans with good credit spend between $1,328 and $1,465 per month on credit cards, according to NerdWallet, and that drops down to $500 and lower for those with credit scores below 600. "It's 2% back on nothing," Schulz said. And to get the top promotional point bonuses, you usually have to pay a yearly fee of about $99 and spend something like $5,000 in the first three months to get 75,000 points, for a translatable value of about $750. To top it off, LendingTree (TREE) has found that most people are sitting on unused points.

"A lot of people don't think about the initial spend," said Schulz. "The last thing somebody in college or just starting out needs to be doing is to overspend chasing rewards. The vast majority of people should just be getting cash back."

Lesson 3: Read the fine print for dealbreakers like high fees or restrictions.

Credit-card issuers are required to disclose all their fees, rates and terms, but you have to dig a little deeper than a "best" list to find them. It means going to each card issuer's website and clicking the "additional terms" link, rather than just relying on the information presented on the list.

In my son's case, there were two Amtrak card options, including one with an annual fee, which my son crossed off the list immediately because he didn't want it to cost him money to get credit. The other had application restrictions for those under 21, as well as a minimum spending amount he didn't think he could make in order to get the bonus points. He was also put off by the annual percentage rate that would be charged if he didn't pay his bill in full, which was listed on the rate sheet as 26.49% - higher than the national average APR of about 20% for new credit-card offers, according to LendingTree.

Lesson 4: Pick a card designed for beginners.

Student cards are designed for people with limited credit histories. Many feature lower credit limits, educational tools and approval standards that are more forgiving than those for traditional cards. And if you use it wisely, you can graduate to a regular card with a higher credit limit and better perks.

Since the Amtrak cards weren't a good fit, my son went back to the drawing board and looked exclusively at student cards.

His final choice: My son settled on a practical, no-frills student card with a $3,000 spending limit and an APR that ranged from 18.49% to 28.49%, depending on his creditworthiness. The specific card he chose matters less than the process we used to narrow down the field.

Key credit-card reads

- One tip for building a credit history after graduation: Get a credit card just for buying gas.

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- Should you ever cancel a credit card? Bilt's rewards shake-up puts renters in a tough spot.

- The pros and cons of paying off your credit card after every single transaction.

Definition of the week: What is an 'authorized user'?

You can help your kids build credit years before they're eligible for their own cards.

You can do this by designating a child as an authorized user, which is a person added to a credit-card account by the primary cardholder, although some issuers have age minimums as low as 13. The authorized user can make purchases with the card but is not responsible for paying the bill.

Making your kid an authorized user can give them a head start in building their credit history before they're old enough to get their own card because credit scores reward a history of responsible behavior: paying bills on time, keeping balances low relative to total available credit and keeping accounts in good standings.

Banks don't typically report any credit information to the three credit-information bureaus - Experian, TransUnion and Equifax - until a user is 18, said Schulz. Even in a small amount of time, charges billed and paid under a young person's name on a parent's card will add up. Without any negative information, a starting credit score could be in the "good" range, and then whether it moves up over time to "very good" or "exceptional" will be up to the new adult.

One important catch: Keep in mind that the primary cardholder is on the hook for any purchases an authorized user makes. But if your child abuses the privilege, you can remove them as an authorized user at any time.

Of course, poor account management by the primary user can also potentially hurt the child's credit. So before adding a child as an authorized user, make sure you're using the account responsibly yourself.

Key money reads

- This "pointsmaxxing" traveler booked a $16,000 first-class Emirates flight for $400. Here's how you can work travel rewards to save big bucks, too.

- The May jobs report blew past forecasts, but this is why it's still taking six months to find a new job.

- Another reason to push teens to get a summer job: Investing those earnings can add up to $570,000.

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-Beth Pinsker

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June 10, 2026 11:34 ET (15:34 GMT)

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