Credit Cards For Teenagers?
Author: weissheiss
Prepaid credit cards have been around for some time now but only recently have credit card issuers been promoting this product to the youth market. In the past couple of years many advertisements have emerged depicting a teen who has empowered himself by obtaining a prepaid MasterCard or Visa. We have also seen some of the prepaid credit cards feature images pop stars Usher and Hillary Duff. The line of marketing is clearly aimed at our youth, the question is will this make a positive or negative impact in their financial well being.
Plastic is the currency of the world we live in today. Without a credit card you are definitely going to feel the burn of being restricted in your spending. Do you want to rent a vehicle? Rent a movie? Almost anywhere you rent anything from now requires a credit card for the business owner’s security. Do you want to make purchases online? Although there are other options for payment online, credit cards are still the most widely accepted form of currency by far.
Originally Prepaid credit cards were designed for adults who could not obtain a traditional credit card due to having either no or poor credit history. Some of the cards actually have credit rebuilding features that report to the credit bureaus regularly. These same cards can be a valuable asset to our youth. Chances are our children will never use a checkbook so why not teach them how to use and manage a credit card from the beginning.
They are like credit cards wrapped in a life preserver. Your teen cannot damage their credit history with a prepaid credit card. The credit limit on the card is determined by the amount of money they have already loaded onto the card from their bank account. This gives them then chance to learn how a credit card it truly supposed to be used instead of falling into the trap many adults do, spending money that they don’t have.
The issue of “should my teenager have their own credit card” can only be answered by those teens’ parents. If you have decided that you want your teen to have a credit card take the following into consideration. Holding a credit card will give your teen more freedom. Review several credit card applications with your son or daughter. Ensure the credit card that you apply for has safety features such as allowing you to monitor spending. Always read the terms and conditions in the credit card application carefully.
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