subject: UK Pros and Cons of Making Your Child and Additional Cardholder [print this page] UK Pros and Cons of Making Your Child and Additional Cardholder
A benefit that all credit cards almost always offer is the ability for you to add a certain number of cardholders to your credit card account. The mechanics for adding cardholders to your account differs for each card provider, although almost all allow you to add your child as one. Given this choice, the question then is if you should or should not make your child an additional cardholder.
Making your child an additional cardholder on your credit card account has its pros and cons. To be able to decide what to do, you simply need to realise what they are, and weigh them according to your priorities. However, before you even spend time on deliberating whether you should go ahead with the decision or not, you should check first if you actually could. First of all, almost all credit card companies require that additional cardholders be 18 years old or older. Obviously, if your child is not yet of age, then you do not even have to think about making a decision. Another requirement that is usually set for additional cardholders is that their primary address be at your own home. So if your child is already away in college or simply leaves at a different address, your application might not be approved. Check all the needed requirements first before doing anything else.
After you are sure that your child is eligible to be an additional cardholder on your account, you can then start with your decision making process. You can start by asking yourself the question WHY? Why do you want to make your child an additional cardholder? Is there a need for it or do you simply want it for convenience so that your child can go ahead and make purchases using a credit card without bothering you? If there is an obvious need, then the decision will be much easier to make. However, if it is just a want, you really will need to think more about it, especially since it can turn into a financial burden for you.
Another question you should ask is if your child is responsible enough to use the card wisely. If you know that your child has bad spending habits, making him or her an additional cardholder is definitely a bad idea, since it will further enable them to continue with these habits as well as possible put you in credit card debt. Make sure you only take advantage of the credit card offers for an additional cardholder, only if your child is ready for it. Remember, it is you, not your child, who will be fully responsible for all credit cards under your name.
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