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Best First Card for a College Kid

Published: Sep 22, 2014
illustration
Fernando Volken Togni

Northwest FCU FirstCard

APR: 10% (fixed)

Annual Fee: $0

Why It’s a Winner: Provides training wheels to help your kid establish credit. Designed for first-time cardholders, this no-fee card has an ultralow fixed APR (most cards are variable) and a credit limit of only $1,000 (which prevents your kid from getting into too much trouble). Also, applicants are required to take a 10-question quiz about credit.

Caveats: You must be a credit union member to apply, but this only requires a $10 donation to the Financial Awareness Network. You’ll want to encourage your kid to spend no more than $200 a month, since a low “credit-utilization ratio” (credit used vs. available credit) can boost his nascent FICO score.