Category: Personal Finance

A credit score plays an important role in our financial lives! After all, it defines our creditworthiness! Creditors use this score to evaluate the risk of lending money.

Having a good credit score means you can pay off your accumulated debts on time! So, the higher your credit score, the higher your chances of approval for a credit line!

In our country, one of the prominent credit scoring models is the FICO score which was first introduced in 1989 by the then Fair, Isaac, and Company.

In the FICO scoring model, a credit score ranging from about 670 to 739 is considered a good one!

But recently, Fair Isaac Corporation introduced a new scoring model, known as FICO 10. According to Joanne Gaskin, vice president of scores and analytics at FICO, about 40 million people might notice their credit scores increase by 20 points or more.

But another 40 million people might notice their scores slashed by 20 points or more. And about 110 million people might see their credit scores increase or decrease by less than 20 points!

And you know what? These people include retirees too! Yes, you heard it right! Here we are going to discuss the new FICO score 1O suite. And how it can affect the retirees of our country!

Why is FICO coming up with new credit score changes?

In 2017, all credit bureaus of our country implemented changes to eliminate civil judgment records. By 2018, all tax liens were eliminated too from the credit reports by the bureaus. Eventually, many people noticed a boost in their credit scores. This resulted in many people opting for loans that they couldn’t afford to pay off!

However, the new FICO score 10 suite focuses on rising debt levels due to the changes mentioned above.

We hope that you will be able to reduce your default payments and improve your financial behavior to maintain a decent credit score!

What are the new changes that FICO is going to implement?

Well, FICO is trying to provide the lenders or creditors a more accurate analysis of your credit risk based on trending data. For this, we have come up with a new FICO 10 Suite model.

It consists of the FICO 10 score and the FICO 10 T score. Like the previous versions, FICO 10 score will consider these 5 factors, i.e,

1. Payment history
2. Amounts owed
3. Length of credit history
4. Credit mix
5. New credit lines

But FICO 10T is the first of its kind! It will contain the information of how you have managed your credit account for the past 2 years, like,

• Your outstanding balances
• Minimum payments required
• The amount you paid on your most recent credit card

It means, if you don’t have a history of paying off your outstanding balance amount in full each month, your credit score may drop.

Generally, creditors report an account delinquent when you miss payments for at least 30 days. And once delinquency is reported, it stays on your credit report for approximately 7 years! Eventually, your credit score drops!

But in the FICO score 10 suite, late payments are taken much more seriously than previous versions. So, being late on your payments can lead to a substantial drop in your credit score! That’s why always remember to make payments on time!

With a FICO score of 10 suites, opting for personal loans might reduce your credit score. Taking out a personal loan to consolidate debts is a common affair. It helps you to pay off your high-interest debts with a single loan. And that too at a reduced interest rate than that of your existing loans.

Well, that’s fine!

But let’s say, you are paying off your consolidation loan. At the same time, you are using credit cards to make new purchases. In short, you are building up new outstanding balances along with paying off a consolidation loan. In that case, your credit score will take a hit in this FICO score 10 suite!

So, if you have taken out a personal loan to consolidate your debts, make sure that you don’t fall prey to credit card debt again! It will be beneficial for your finances and credit score too!

Why is a credit score important in your retirement?

Often, people ask me “does retirement affect FICO score?”. Well, retirement doesn’t affect your FICO score. But yes, how you manage your credit lines after retirement affects your FICO score!

Many people think a credit score is not that important for retirees! But it’s completely wrong! A credit score is equally important for retirees too! Having a good credit score can help you to get:

• A lower interest rate of the mortgage
• A chance to refinance your mortgage if interest rates drop
• Comparatively lower interest rates for credit cards, auto loans, etc
• Lower insurance premiums

The bottom line is, your credit score remains an important factor in your retirement too! So, you need to improve your financial behavior by paying off your outstanding balances in full and always on time, taking out a personal loan wisely, etc.

By doing so, you can maintain a decent FICO score and relax during your golden years!

If you want to get good financial health and maintain it for a long time, then you should try to change your lifestyle, just like you do to have a good, healthy body. What type of changes do you need to consider? You must adapt to the changes that will put you on a positive lifestyle and add good financial habits to your daily routine.

Don’t wait for a financial crisis knocking at your door. You should manage your finances by increasing your financial knowledge, making proper plans, and most importantly maintaining good financial habits.

So, what are you waiting for? Gather knowledge and become smarter so that you may use every dollar to grow your wealth more. Follow these 9 tips and stay financially fit as much as you can.

9 Amazing tips you must follow to stay financially fit

Here are 9 tips that may help you get good financial health:

1. Analyze all your monetary activity

You should find the specific reasons for your money-oriented activities. You must know why you are doing a job, why you are saving, why you should invest, and why you need to spend on a thing. If you don’t know why you are doing such money activities, you’ll practically run out of motivation to work for a purpose. You can’t live without any monetary aim, because there’s nothing that may guide your financial behavior.

2. Learn from your past financial mistakes

You should review your old money mistakes and take notes on the things that you have learned from them. You might have gathered too much debt during the last vacation tour you had. You might have purchased insurance for your car without analyzing the benefits and the additional costs. You might have purchased too many commodities by using your credit card, due to impulse buying habits. Mark my words, you should learn from these mistakes and avoid such activities in the future.

You can consider yourself as a financially literate person, only if you identify your past mistakes and take the necessary steps to rectify those wrong financial moves. That’s how you can start following wise financial habits and stay financially fit.

3. Set goals and make a proper assessment

Did you set a target that you want to achieve in the coming 5 years? Is there any plan that may engage your mind and resources to get something beneficial for your future? Ten years from now, where do you want to see yourself, both personally and professionally? Sort out these answers and pick the top 5 out of them. These five objectives might be your top five goals for the coming years. Keep those goals pinned in front of you, where you may see them regularly.

Financial goals should be categorized into short, medium, and long-term goals. One of the most popular ways to define financial goals is the SMART method that you can use:

• Specific-Setting up a specific amount of goals.
• Measurable-Where progress can be measured or tracked.
• Assignable-Take personal accountability.
• Realistic-Setting up practical goals that can be achieved.
• Timeline– Goals should have a specific deadline.

4. Create a budget for financial freedom

Making a budget is nothing but forming plans on how you should use the available money properly. Making a proper budget and following it exactly the way it is planned, is necessary for good financial health. It is proven that the first step in completing financial goals is budget planning.

Budgeting will indicate where your income is going and how you can reduce unnecessary costs from each category. This way you may save enough money from your allotted monthly budget and use that money for other purposes, such as paying off debts, doing some repairs on your car, or you may deposit it in a retirement savings account. You might have issues setting it up initially, but once you chalk out a plan and use it for a couple of months, you’ll get it right.

5. Create an Emergency Fund 

Creating an emergency fund is a necessary step for every individual who has a family, earns money by doing a regular job, and pays taxes. You never know when you have to face a sudden financial crisis, such as sudden medical emergencies, job loss, or urgent car repair or home repair jobs, etc.

If you don’t have an emergency fund ready, to fight against such a financial crisis, you might be forced to use other money resources like credit cards or personal loans. The main issue with this solution is that they are costly and hamper your monthly budget for the next several months.

6. Diversify your investment

You should diversify your investment options to get better returns from different types of investment resources. Every investment carries a typical amount of risk. So, if you want to minimize the risk of your capital loss, you must diversify the investments and build a strong portfolio.

Investing in multiple types of investment options is a wise financial habit that can keep your finances healthy. The variation of return rates and risk factors may enrich your investment portfolio and also increase your net worth.

7. Work on investment costs and tax management

The cost of investment and taxes may affect your finances well. If these costs increase too much, it can lower your total amount of investment returns. You should work on a strategy that may allow you to reduce the cost of investments and also give you tax efficiency.

8. Increase your income by doing different side hustles

Your monthly income will determine how much you can, save, invest, and spend each month, towards small and big financial goals. You should focus on increasing your income as much as possible. If you are doing a full-time job, and you have enough time after that, then you should engage in some side hustles to earn some extra.

You may invest your time in giving online tuitions, music classes, working in a library, working in food joints or cafes. This income is considered passive income, which is very important for financial development.

9. Get out of debt burden

Whether it is a good debt or bad debt, secured or unsecured, debt is debt!!! You should always focus on getting out of debt as soon as possible. Normally secured debts, such as a home loan, have a long loan term to pay off. So, comparatively unsecured debts, such as credit card debts, payday loans, or medical bills, are easier to pay off.

If you have financial issues paying off debts, then you can talk to your creditor and sort out an easy repayment plan. It is best to avoid high-interest debts, or at least you may try to make debt payments on time. Without paying off existing debts you can’t stay financially healthy for long.

Endnotes

Maintaining good financial health is difficult, but not impossible. You must follow those good financial habits and stay financially fit. This way you may increase your net worth and become financially free. Best of luck.

Credit is a big factor in the home buying process, and can sometimes be the cause behind either delaying, halting, or avoiding homeownership. Don’t let credit be the issue that obstructs your dream of owning a home. A good credit score can mean big savings when you purchase, and it’s never too early to start preparing.

Why your credit score is crucial

More or less we all follow the credit scoring system referred to as FICO score. It consists of a three-digit number anywhere between 300-850. It is commonly used by lenders and creditors to determine the applicant’s creditworthiness.

Normally, your credit score is determined by considering each of the below-mentioned five factors in your credit report, according to a set standard.

• Your payment history – 35%
• Your outstanding debts – 30%
• The length of your credit history – 15%
• Your credit mix – 10%
• The number of new credit lines – 10%

You may face an issue with your application rejection if your credit score falls below 650. If your score keeps going down, then you should put more effort into cleaning up your report and building your credit score. It is possible to improve your credit score within 6 months if you work hard and follow strict financial rules.

You know that after applying for a mortgage, the lender might sneak into your credit report. But what exactly does a lender check before approving your application?

Let’s find out!

Lenders may check:

• Your identity and job history – You need to make sure that all the documents and proofs you are submitting are genuine and completely legit.
• Your credit reports can hurt your credit card when you apply for too many credit cards. For every application, the lender will fetch your credit report and verify the facts. This may end up having five or six inquiries on your credit report. In case of multiple inquiries are made during rate shopping, they are generally counted as one inquiry for a given period of time. This may vary depending on the credit scoring model used, but it’s typically from 14 to 45 days. So, naturally, the lender might get suspicious about your creditworthiness. Credit reporting agencies will also check inquiries if they need to.
• Your past debt records and your credit report reveal how you handled your credits and debts previously. They normally check your credit limits, any late payments, the total duration of debts, etc.
• Your public records information – This record credit report adds up to items like bankruptcies, foreclosures, and liens.

Check out the 7 tips below to help beef up your creditworthiness before buying a house.

1. Start this instant!

If you have a decent score and are still hesitant about buying a home, it is suggested that you should start searching for a new one immediately. Good credit is an asset that may help you get the best deal while you shop for a new home and also for the mortgage. You must remember that due to any sudden financial crunch or any wrong decision, your credit report may add some information that might impact your score. So make sure to get the most out of the market through your credit sooner rather than later.

2. Avoid hard inquiries

A hard credit inquiry might be considered as if you’re actively trying to build your credit score. The lender may assume that you are applying for a credit card, loan, or auto loan. Hard inquiries can lower your credit score, so try to avoid it as much as possible this time. Limit your credit applications before applying for a mortgage.

3. Monitor your credit

This is one of the most important credit tips for homebuyers. Everybody knows that our credit report is the ultimate map of our credit and financial profile. People can get their free credit report from annualcreditreport.com once every year. It is crucial to review your credit report as it will help you to stay on top of your credit. Your credit report will include your credit history which shows how you’ve handled your credit for a long time, what your total debt amount is, and the rate of the interest payment – all these factors will be reviewed by mortgage lenders.

You must monitor your credit reports to avoid any negative impact on your credit score.

4. Pay off credit card balances

Your credit utilization ratio is also important while you hunt for a new home. Your credit utilization ratio impacts about 30% of your overall credit score. The higher your ratio, the more it will impact negatively. Most professionals may suggest that you keep it under 30%.

Also, you must remember that higher credit utilization means more debt, more payments, and fewer funds available for your down payment, monthly mortgage payments, and other related costs.

5. Don’t apply for new credit for 6 months

Your credit score might take a blow if you apply for a new credit card or loan. It might cost you a few points, but what if your score is already low? A credit score drop by a few points might make your situation worse. Losing your credit score may put you below your lender’s cut off-limit.

Your score also factors in the average age of your credit account. So, opening a new account may also drop that average, specifically if you maintain only a few credit accounts with a short credit history.

6. Be current on bill payments

Late bill payments will negatively impact your credit score. Late payments will stay in your credit report for 7 years. Late payments also charge you late fees, which will only set you back financially. Make a plan, list all your bill payment dates, and set reminders to pay every single one on time.

7. Know what lenders are looking for

Review the minimum requirements to qualify for a mortgage. Talk to your lender and get all the details. It will help you to focus your efforts on meeting those requirements. The more you talk to your lender, he will trust you and if you have less-than-perfect credit or are short of funds, he might consider your situation and help you.

Your vacation can be upgraded to a fun-filled journey by upgrading your car rental to a luxury car.

Popular rewards credit cards and airline rewards programs may give you options to use points to pay for car rentals for travel. Many car rental companies also offer their car rental rewards programs for consumers.

To get the most out of your travel credit card rewards program, it is important to know which points you may redeem as per your specific situation. It is also important that you consider the cost of insurance coverage.

Redeeming points on a car rental is more difficult than redeeming it at hotel costs or travel expenses. The major reason for this is that most rental car payments occur upon return of the car and are not prepaid. This is the sole reason that American Express does not provide the option to redeem reward points for car rentals.

Now we will discuss different aspects of using travel credit card reward points for car rentals.

Earn miles and points for car rentals

Isn’t it great if you can drive a luxury car, pay the rental through a travel credit card, and earn miles and points? By choosing the right travel credit card, you have the option to grab extra points to boost your affordability for getting a good hotel, airline, or flexible travel loyalty program.

Here are two options available:

1. The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card – Gives you 7 points per dollar on car rentals booked, on selected car rental companies,
2. CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard® – you may earn 2 miles per dollar on all car rental agencies.

You may choose your car rental company from referrals to your preferred airline’s websites, such as Southwest, Delta, and United Airlines.

Save on high-end car rentals

It is quite challenging to save on high-end car rentals than driving an ordinary vehicle. But before doing that, you need to follow a few tips. Let’s get it through a simple example: Suppose you want to rent an Audi Silvercar which offers 20% off on your first rental after using a promo code available on the company’s website.

But, if you use a Visa Infinite card, which is registered with Silvercar by Audi, it can get you up to a 30% discount on car rentals. Additionally, you may use a few travel cards such as Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card. These cards may offer you credit to meet travel expenses.

You need to research a bit and then use your travel cards for booking luxury car rentals. This way you can save on luxury car rentals as well as drive your dream car.

Choose the right insurance for car rentals

While you are driving a high-end car, you’ll want to be insured in case of an accident. Many travel credit cards provide secondary car rental insurance. It means if you can’t insure your car, you may opt for car rental insurance and save on luxury car rentals. If anything goes wrong with your rental car, then it must be reported to your car insurance company, which can potentially raise your rates.

For example – Chase Sapphire Reserve is a unique travel card that may offer you primary car rental insurance, which pays your dues without involving your primary personal car insurance company.

Now let’s have a look at the available cards that may give you the best car rental rewards programs and other coverage.

Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase Sapphire Preferred

In Chase Sapphire, Preferred cardholders may earn 1.25 cents per point towards travel rewards. Chase offers competitive rental car rates to its consumers. Additionally, it offers greater rewards for flights or hotels.

Chase Sapphire Reserve provides primary rental insurance. Primary insurance coverage can help you avoid most of the out of pocket cost for car rentals.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

This card will provide you with double miles for every purchase. It offers a rate of 1 cent = 1 mile each. The card also gives you a sign-up bonus of 50,000 miles when you spend $3,000 in purchases within the first three months.

Citi Double Cash Card

You’ll get double cash rewards if you earn $25 in rewards without paying an annual fee. You can earn 1% back after making a purchase and again another 1% back after paying off the balance.

Rental Car Loyalty Programs

You may join this rewards program and earn points. You have the option to combine loyalty points with rewards points from another source. This option might be the best choice for cardholders who travel for business including international business travelers.

Hertz Gold Plus

The Hertz Gold Plus program is one of the most popular car rental reward programs available. This program offers 1 point per dollar on rental and service charges, fuel, and other expenses. These rental car programs are beneficial for consumers who are looking for longer rentals. Hertz rental can program can give you the option to redeem points internationally.

Avis Preferred

Avis Preferred rental program offers one point for every $1 on rentals and two points for buying car accessories. Once you, being a member, reach the number of 12 rentals or pay $5,000, you will be upgraded to Plus status and able to get points at higher multipliers.

National Emerald Club

If you want to save on luxury car rentals, the National Emerald Club is another option for you. It provides credit toward free rentals. Emerald Club members can earn one point per rental. A free rental is available to regular members (7 credits), executive members (6 credits), and elite members (5 credits).

Enterprise Plus

The Enterprise Plus program creates the option for members to earn one point for each $1 spent. Members can get free rentals as soon as they reach 450 points or more. The best thing about this luxury car rental program is there are no blackout dates. The program has three status levels for members: Silver, Gold, or Platinum. Each category has its benefits and amazing reward options.

Southwest Airlines

Southwest airlines don’t have the option to redeem points to get a cheap luxury car rental. But they provide vouchers to get a decent rate at prime car rental companies such as National, Alamo, Budget, Hertz, and Avis – for just 1 cent per point…

Owing to lucrative rewards and benefits, store cards have gained popularity in the last few years. Store cards like Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card and the Target REDcard™ Credit Card give a flat 5% discount on eligible purchases at Amazon and Target. Plus, they offer free shipping and a long return window. Needless to say, people are happy to use these cards.

However, there is one point that people are forgetting. Store credit cards have loads of drawbacks. They leave you unprotected and vulnerable to unauthorized charges. They offer minimum protections when it comes to disputing charges. Other credit cards running on a network like Mastercard or Visa give you more protection than store cards.

How store cards leave you unprotected

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) receives hundreds of complaints from consumers regarding unauthorized charges. Most of them have been charged for purchases that they didn’t make or aren’t satisfied with.

A New York-based teacher recently complained to the CFPB that he has been charged $7300 for a prepaid cruise, which he is completely unaware of. Again, a Florida based chef paid $2600 for installing a front door in his home. But he was not satisfied with the product. So, he wanted to get back a portion of his money. He complained that store cards didn’t provide him comprehensive coverage and faced a lot of issues in reversing a portion of the transaction.

These are only a few instances. If you explore popular credit card forums, you’ll hear more stories from consumers. As of now, let’s find out how store cards leave your money protected.

1. Store cards offer minimum protections for billing errors

As per the 1974 Fair Card Billing Act, store card issuers have to follow proper dispute procedures when consumers aren’t happy with a product or service. They are also required to look into billing errors. But the requirements are not stringent and comprehensive.

Normal Visa and Mastercards give additional protections to consumers, which makes it easier to dispute charges. They provide extensive coverage to consumers to contest fraudulent charges.

2. Store cards have geographical limitations

Most store cards, like the Home Depot Consumer Credit Card and My Best Buy Credit Card, come with geographical limitations. For instance, the terms and conditions of a closed-loop card issued by Comenity Bank clearly state that consumers can get back their money under the following circumstances:

1. Consumers aren’t happy with the quality of goods or services
2. Consumers have already complained about the product to the retailer
3. Consumers have purchased the product in their home state or within 100 miles of their current mailing address

This has become a major problem for the consumers especially after the emergence of e-commerce websites where they can buy products 3000 miles away from their home.

Normal credit cards like American Express, Visa card, and Mastercard allow consumers to contest charges irrespective of the geographical location of the place from where a product was purchased.

3. Store cards have high APRs

Most store cards charge higher-than-average APRs, which implies that consumers have to pay more when they carry a balance. They have to pay more in interest. Some store cards even have a deferred interest feature where interest accrues in the background. If consumers can’t pay off the entire balance before the deferred interest offer ends, they will be charged interest on the purchase price, retroactive to the date they bought it.

How credit cards give you more protection than store cards

Store cards	Credit cards
You have fewer options to get your money back.	You have various options to reverse a transaction.
There are geographical limitations in the case of store cards.	There are no geographical locations in the case of credit cards.
Closed-loop store cards offer minimum protections for disputing charges.	Mastercard and Visa cards offer additional protections and coverage for contesting charges.
Store cards offer a deferred interest feature where interest accrues in the background.	They give a 0% introductory APR offer where consumers can save money on interest for 12-18 months.

4 Steps to safeguard yourself when you’re using store cards

There is no doubt that store cards offer big discounts on purchases. But they have a few drawbacks also. If you still want to use a store card, then here are a few steps you can take to safeguard yourself.

1. Read the terms and conditions of a store card before accepting it. Find out how to dispute unauthorized charges and when rewards will expire.
2. Contact the retailer directly when a product is not delivered or you’re not happy with the item. Ask him to solve the problem first and then contact the store card issuer.
3. Review your monthly bills and statements every month to find out if there is an unauthorized charge. This can help you to dispute charges within the specified time limit of the store cards.
4. Save all the receipts. You’ll need them at the time of disputing the charges.

Final notes

File a complaint with the CFPB if you’re not satisfied with how a store card issuer has addressed your problem. You can also report the matter to your State’s Attorney General.

The perfect age to get your child a credit card may depend on a few reasons. He or she may have to be prepared to manage the card properly. Also, you must find out which credit card to obtain so that you can benefit most from the arrangement.

Why it’s wise to get your kid a credit card before he/she becomes 18

Here are the reasons why you might want to get your child a credit card before he/she turns 18:

1. Building credit

Presently, most parents might want to help their kids to get a credit card. It is only because they want to help their kids to build credit on their own responsibly.
If you are following FICO credit score, then you must also know that FICO considers 5 factors to calculate a credit score. They are as follows:

• Payment history
• Credit utilization
• Length of credit history
• New credit
• Credit mix

A decent length of credit history will help your kid build good credit. So, if you’re going to help your kids build credit, you’ll also have to teach them good spending habits.

2. Teaching healthy habits

As I said earlier, to get your child the first credit card, you should concentrate on teaching your kids good habits and healthy thinking towards money. It will make your kids responsible enough to manage their credit cards. A majority of people, who find themselves in knee-deep debt, may carry a bad spending habit from the very beginning of their lives.

As a parent, work with your kids and differentiate between what you really need and what you want! Once they know the difference and learn how much it can cost them, it will go a long way toward keeping them out of financial trouble.

3. Controlling impulse buying

By analyzing your kid’s monthly purchases and other expenses, you can help your kids to have an insight that they are spending more (if they are doing so) than they can afford.

So, you should teach your kids about avoiding two things that can hurt their credit score the most. The first one is keeping high balances and the second one is making late payments.

4. Providing a safety net

Good credit habits are behaviors we hope our kids will start following on their own. But practically, as they grow older, they would make mistakes and gradually learn from them. Unfortunately, each “learning opportunity” stays on a credit report for seven years. Thus, the last reason to get your child the first credit card while they are still under your financial roof is for you to be able to provide a safety net.

By keeping an eye on their card statement, you can be sure that they aren’t wasting their money on silly things, or getting into a trap of monthly charges. You may also secure them from identity thieves if you keep a proper watch.

5. They can use it in an emergency

If you can give your kid a cell phone so they can call you in case of an emergency, why don’t you give them a credit card for the same reason?

It’s unlikely that your son or daughter will need to use the credit card often for emergencies. But it might give you some peace of mind that they won’t get into any trouble if they run out of gas or forget to carry cash while traveling.

It is a good idea to put rules on using the card, though, so you both agree on what qualifies as an emergency expense. You should teach your kid the value of an emergency fund. You may also tell them to pay off any sudden credit card expenses that arise. This way kids can get the entire credit limit intact for use in emergencies. So, do not waste your time getting your child a credit card.

Which credit card providers issue credit cards for children under 18?

Adding your child as an authorized user can be a wise choice. However, you may face several issues if your credit card provider doesn’t allow it or has an age requirement.

To get your child a credit card, you need to determine how the top credit card issuers set up the age criteria.

Credit Card Consumer	Age requirement
U.S. Bank	16 years
Discover	15 years
Barclays	13 years old
American Express	13 to 15 years old
Wells Fargo	No minimum age requirement
Bank of America	No minimum age requirement
Chase	No minimum age requirement
Capital One	No minimum age requirement
Citi	No minimum age requirement

If your credit card provider does not belong to this list, call the number on the back of your card and ask them about their age requirements.

If you find that your credit card provider won’t allow you to get your child a credit card as an authorized user, or has a strict minimum age requirement, you may definitely apply for a new credit card from a different provider.