First Credit Card for teenager?

[MN164]

Our DS is going to book summer holidays after A levels this year. I have advised him to take out travel insurance but also to use a credit card to book everything to benefit from the Consumer Credit Act protections.

Any recommendations for Credit Card providers that will issue a card to an 18 year old with no credit history (but does have a bank account with a few payslips from a part time job)?

Thanks All

I am looking at trying the find a credit card for Ds1 atm. Haven't had much success Googling which one is best.

There's a basic Tesco one that my kids had which starts with a low credit limit and builds up.

@MN164 It's the Tesco Foundation card.

DD(18) couldn't find one despite having part time job - she tried various eligibility calculators with no luck so we got her an additional card on a couple of our credit cards. Doesn't help build up a credit account for herself but at least gets the protection of buying on a credit card.

See if the bank he has the current account with will give him one? I know a few years ago HSBC was offering credit cards to 18 year olds switching to student accounts.

When my son was just 19 tried and tried to get him a credit card as an emergency backup for his gap year but couldn't. In the end I finally managed to get a second card on my account with marks and spencers.

You can make him an additional cardholder on your account - given that it is only for booking tickets. Or book them for him. Depends if you trust him. Most banks will do a basic card for teens, but I don't know if the credit limit will be sufficient for what he wants. Does he have the money saved already (so it's just for the protection) or does he need to borrow some of the money.

Hmmm. As I thought. Thanks Kirkstall.

s75 protection on a credit card may not apply for purchases made by an additional cardholder.
Bit of a grey area so might be unwise to depend on it

You can do a search on money saving expert - it does a soft credit history search so will give you an idea of which ones are likely to accept him

www.moneysavingexpert.com/eligibility/credit-cards/search/

Thank you all. There are some helpful ideas here.

I will get him to look at the Tesco Foundation Card
I will also get him to use the Money Savings Expert website.

He has a bank account with Starling (excellent) but they don't offer a credit card (debit card only).

@Marmight Good point!
He won't get protection under section 75 if he used a secondary card.
www.headforpoints.com/2021/01/31/section-75-chargeback-rights-as-supplementary-credit-card-holder/