Look who's whipping out the credit card: high schoolers
By Jolayne Houtz

Times consumer-affairs Reporter

Chelsea Paine isn't sure about the interest rate or the credit limit on her Visa. "Maybe $15,000? I could buy a car with this thing!"

The Shorecrest High School senior tries to use her credit card carefully — but "sometimes it's so tempting," she said. "It's this idea you get in your head, like it's easy cash."

Kathy Le, a senior at Sammamish High School in Bellevue, got a Visa the week she turned 18. She uses it "when I know I don't have enough money in my checking account."

Credit-card issuers that have aggressively targeted college campuses — "scattering card solicitations around like candy," one industry expert says — have taken aim at a younger crowd: High-school students are the new frontier for the credit-card industry, consumer advocates say.

About one-third of high-school seniors use credit cards, according to a survey by the nonprofit Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.

Another survey by Junior Achievement Worldwide found that 20 percent of 18-year-old high-school students have credit cards in their own name. Most surprising: 5 percent of 13- and 14-year-olds have a credit card.

"People are amazingly loyal to their credit cards," said Lewis Mandell, professor of finance at the State University of New York-Buffalo who conducted the Jump$tart study. "It's a race to be first in the teen's wallet."

But are teens ready for the responsibilities of borrowing?

rest of the article: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002947960_teencredit23.html

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...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"

Yikes!

Hehe. It's almost criminal, you're right. I remember my first year at university. The first thing everyone did was get a trio of credit cards - Visa, MC and Amex. The credit companies had booths everywhere. Ridiculously easy to get credit. Then, being the young idiots we were, you'd try and impress girls by running bar tabs with them, taking vacations, getting a huge monthly balance and then running to Dad to pay it (or draw from your student loans). Genius marketing.

Books....what books?

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Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

I believe a credt card is a legal contract. If your under 18 and issued a credit card in your own name, you cannot be held responsible or suffer the consequences by defaulting on it. Isn't it the lenders responsibility to verify the card holders credentials including / excluding fraudulant information?

Oh yeah they want to give you these things badly. I get 2-4 offers a DAY in the mail! Some are pre approved with real big limits!

The trick is to get your average college kid to rack up about $30k in CC debt, then they will make payments forever.

So when you get out of school:
4 years school @ $30k a year=$120,000
CC debt $30,000.
Since you graduated lets buy a new car $30,000.

Their are a lot of people building a financial Titanic.

I on the other hand plan on being far far into the black when I get my degree.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I know someone who declared bankruptcy recently. It had a lot to do with an ex-husband, but she's not the most frugal person, either. I thought it would be hard for her to get a credit card at this point, but it turns out companies were more than happy to give her one because they know she can't file for bankruptcy for another 7 years, or something like that.

It would seem that financial responsibility is not part of the criteria for getting a credit card these days, if it ever was.

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Ralph

1985 300D Turbo, CA model
248,650 miles and counting...

These companies are making a killing on the credit card fees and the interest charged every month. The bankruptcies and chargeoffs are part of the business........they don't think twice about it.........

They want you to rack up a lot of debt, so they can charge you 20% plus interest.

They don't like the people who keep no or a small balance and pay every month, no money in that!

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

What's a "balance"?

I think the same way, I keep no more then a $200 balance on my card MAX. Thats only during tight months.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200