 Building a credit history when you're young
|  Dear
Dr. Don,
I turned 18 two months ago. My dad and I have talked about
me getting a credit card to build up my credit score. I was wondering what a person,
who just turned 18 with no credit, should do to begin building good credit.
I
read a lot of articles and they all say that loans from banks are a good way to
build credit, but to get a loan I need credit, and to get a credit card, I need
better credit than what I have.
What type of credit would take on the risk of an 18-year-old,
and what would be the best type to go with?
-- Jason Jump-start
 Dear
Jason,
An easy solution is to get your father to list you as an authorized
user on his credit card(s). With that approach you get to piggyback on his payment
history while building your own.
This presumes that your father has a good credit history,
that he'd be willing to list you as an authorized user and that
the credit card company reports the payment history for nonspousal
authorized users. The firm has to report the payment history
when the authorized user is a spouse, but it is at the lender's
discretion for other authorized users.
Another alternative is for you to get a secured credit
card. In general, with a secured credit card you put money
on deposit and that deposit serves as collateral against your credit
card purchases. You'll need to check with the credit card provider
here, too, to make sure that your payment history will be reported
on your credit report.
The typical secured credit card has a line of credit
available that's equal to the amount on deposit. You can shop
for secured credit cards using Bankrate's credit
card search feature.
If you're a student, you can also look into credit
card offers marketed to students. They're geared toward someone
that doesn't have much, if any, credit history. The Bankrate
credit card search can also help you compare student card offers.
It's easy to misuse credit, especially for someone
with his or her first credit card. Keep your spending in check. Don't
look at the card as additional money. It's not, it's just a different
method of payment in spending your money.
To ask a question of Dr. Don, go to the "Ask
the Experts" page and select one of these topics: "financing
a home," "saving & investing" or "money."
| 
