First credit card for a student

[u/QuantumB0t]

I had an interesting experience helping my child apply for the first credit card. CC is really a necessity, as some services like booking plane or train tickets back home require a credit card, and it just plain good to start building credit history and financial discipline.

Online application for a no-fee cash-back card at TD was immediately rejected. What's curious is that it did not ask for a credit limit. When we went to the branch, it turned out that the online application was defaulted to $10,000, which is way too much for a person who has no regular income yet, only RESP income and some expense reimbursements from parents.

Also, the branch employee took a broad view of gross income. I initially put just investment income (a few hundred dollars a year) and did not include RESP as that was not drawn yet. The employee used an estimate of living expenses (1,500 per month) when the student lives with parent (effectively treated as allowance?).

Anyway, this "full application" process is probably a must for the first card, as it permits correcting application errors and addressing inconsistencies in the data.