Hey,

I'm wondering if there are any credit cards out there avalible to minros (under 18) that doesn't require a parent's signature. I've looked into Western Union prepaid mastercard, but you have to call them, and its not during the service hours as of now.

It seems like with a pre-paid credit card you wouldn't need to be 18+ because if the money isn't in the account an error will just say "Insufficient Funds". I work as a cashier for 8.5 hours per day, so I know a little about cards.

But, in today's world its getting harder and harder to get things without a credit card, a lot of refuse my money because they only accept Credit cards, my hosting company charges a fee for checks/money orders, and I'm going to finish off my PC on newegg.com, the order is $1,100, but Most places will only write money orders for $500. Plus i'm not happy about $1,100 through the mail. I'd much rather have a credit card.

A simple answer, no. Just be patient and wait until the Western Union phone service is open again (if that is your problem). Otherwise, ask an older person to help you.

In most countries, minors cannot enter into a contract. As such, you cannot have a credit card without your parents co-sign.

True. But I Was Reading Like 4 Mths Back That 13Yr Olds Can Have Credit Card Well A Account Card They Have $1000 You Can Spend It On School Suppies & Little Stuff You Want.......The Bank Is Called RBTT It's A Carriabien Based Bank.

Have you looked into Visa Buxx? It works like prepaid Visa credit card, only that your parents need to load the card online.

You can use it like any other Visa credit card and take cash out from an ATM.

My farther signed me up for that when I was 16 (I think). Worked great, until Bank of America (link) got out of the program.

Besides, if I want/need a checking account, then I'd find a bank that offers a Visa/MasterCard check card.

My dads got an extra account that I use...

I have a VISA Debit card. Its basically tied to my bank account. I've never encounted anyone online who won't take it.

Its a good thing minor can't get them. I am bad enough with my debit card, but at least I can't go into the negative.

Credit cards + young people = debts

Not entirely true. You can go into the negative as I'm proof of that. I went on a trip and was using the debit card for gas. When I got back I went to the ATM to get some cash. It said I had like 180.00 in my account. I pulled out 160.00 to do some shopping. A few days later I got a notice from my bank I went over my limit.

It turns out 2 places where I got gas did not post the transaction of the gas purchase until a week after I had gotten the gas. So the balance I saw at the ATM machine did not have these posted yet. So it is possible to overdraw.

True, but at least when you get into debt with debit cards its like £200, rather than £2,000 with a credit card, and they don't kill you on interest as much either.

yeah, and if you lose your debit card, you are screwed.

credit cards are definitely the way to go. just pay off your purchases monthly, and you won't lose any money. fortunately, very few people do this so the wonderful feature of a credit card will always be available.

I don't know what you're talking about. I lost my debit card and the bank cancelled it and had a new one to me within a week, they even let me withdraw money using my check book in the mean time.

if you lose your debit card and don't realize it for a few days... it may be too late.

and how do you work that out? to use it online you need to know the registered (billing) address, to use it in shops or ATM machines you need the pin code

credit cards are a bane, I do not have one and never plan on getting one

have you lost yours?



If you have sufficient money, why not just use a debit card to take it directly out of your account?

My Debit Card has the same level of Fraud/Theft Protection as my credit card does so its just as safe.

The problem however it can take them a few days to re-credit your bank account if it was illegally used so that account might not be with funds for a few days. You need to have a plan or a source of funds you can use in the meantime while your account is fixed.

my friend lost his and it took a few days. i guess he didn't have fraud protection.
with a credit card, you are using credit, so it's not tangible. with a debit card, real money is being used... so...

What happened when you ran into the negatives, Planet-Ed? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a debit card? I don't see how you could run into the negatives with a debit... what did your bank say?

You do realise that its not like cartoons, banks don't just keep your money in a big vault somewhere. Its just as 'real' with credit. He means an overdraft. Its a simple concept.

I'm pretty sure all modern debit cards have fraud protection, mine does.

Thanks for the link, i'll look into it. I think I may go with this. I'm going to open an account at US Bank soon because that is the bank inside of my workplace, so I can use their services and ATMs fee free.


No nessecerally, you're just assuming that. Right now I have a debit card, and I hate it. The only way I can use it fee-free is at my bank's ATM that is about 20 miles away and in a REALLY bad part of town. I feel like i'm going to get mugged just taking out money. Otherwise we have an ATM where I work, its $2 for the ATM fee, and my bank charges me $1.50 for NOT using their ATM. Thats $3.50 in fees just to take out money.

And I can't purchase at POS registers either, or else I get charged that $1.50 fee.

I've never been overdrawn on my account, I don't think its dropped below $50, i'm responsible with money, although I understand where you're coming from, I agree.... Most Younger ones are not responsible.

For anybody in Canada, West Edmonton Mall's giftcards are basically just prepaid VISA cards, you can use them anywhere that accepts VISA, including online - not just at WEM. The only downside is that you actually have to go to West Edmonton Mall to purchase one

http://giftcard.westedmontonmall.com

I'm not sure about the UK, but in the U.S. you NEED to have credit history to get things like an apartment, so a credit card is kind of a necessity. I said the same thing, and then I was reminded of that little fact.

Heh, surely no credit history is the best!

Not if you wanna get a mortgage or some loans

I remember my first Credit card I was 18 and the bank gave me a visa I got in over my head alittle and ever since then Ive learned to respect them

Piece of advice, dont spend any money that you dont have...and if you do spend keep it at a leval you can afford, and allways pay your bill on time

A credit card can be a handy tool if you know how to manage it properly

Yup, something many people need to learn. The average person in Canada and the US are over $250,000 in debt... and have credit cards adding to their debt, some upwards of $20,000+. One day the balloon will pop, and someone will have to pay for all this debt.

I allways double up on my payments...even if the Bank asks for $10.00 or $15.00 I'll pay $50.00 thats only interest and dosnt even touch the princpial amount oweing another good thing is to stay away from credit card hoping, thats going from one card to another Cuz the interest is cheaper that could get you into more trouble if your not careful...... so many folks get in with offeres of cheap interest and other gimmicks.

Better safe then sorry I allways say

I did a little research into credit cards a while ago. The average American has upwards of 10 credit cards. The average debt is somewhere around $25,000 (I think Steve mistakenly added one too many zeroes ). I plan on getting a credit card when I turn 18, but only to start getting good credit attributed to my name. I've learned to treat a credit card just like a check card; only buy things for which you have money for.

Are you counting Mortgages?

What really sucks is that people under 18 have no way to pay for things online.

I'm pretty sure it didn't count mortgages which would bring the amount up quite a bit.

That Visa Buxx thing sounds like a great idea. (Sorry I just had to make that bold, testing )

Welcome Bananadude!

Adults are just as likely as teens to go into debt. Teens (like me) want things like a computer, really awesome, unlimited pizza, gas, and clothes. And a car, but I don't think you can buy a car through a credit card, unless you have a great history and fantastic credit. Anyway, an adult has a lot more things to buy, to take care of their kids, like food and clothes(until they're old enough to get their own), family media, etc. My parents agree with me. Although it is true, even the slightest chance of letting a teen into debt isn't good. I owe my parents $600 as of now, but I pay them pack quickly and efficiently. Anyway my point is the most a teen should ever have is a debit card, and even that stretches it because it gives you unrestricted access to your life's savings pretty much.

Sure is, me and my parent are going to open an account at the US Bank next to where I work, and i'm going to get my manager to direct 40% of my paycheck to the US Bank checking account, and 60% to my savings account. This way I can control the transfering of money from the checking account to the card, i'll also have a debit card to use just incase I need cash.

Thanks for the link.

Hey man dont know where you live but try to get a checking account at a bank like chase or Washinton Mutual (New York) and they give you credit Cards with it. Also give you bank cards with visa or Master Card logo to use as credit card, its a great way to build credit history.