I’m 21 and just found out I have a 36 year old credit card…make it make sense!

When it comes to getting your first credit card, there is no specific timeframe for when you need to get one. This is very much a personal decision, though it’s likely that most people try to get a card when they turn 18 to have something available for emergencies while they are away at school or starting their first job. 

Although it’s an unspoken rule, getting a credit card at 18 isn’t unheard of and is when many parents are comfortable allowing children to begin establishing credit. For this reason, one Redditor is trying to figure out exactly how to proceed after learning they have had a credit card for 36 years.

The challenge here is that they are only 21 years old and want to get to the bottom of this mystery per their post in r/personalfinance. Of course, the best option is for this person to be a time traveler, but there is also a real concern about whether this credit card will harm their credit. 

The Big Question 

According to the original poster, this all started after they received an email from Credit Karma that indicated their credit age had improved. Unsurprisingly, this immediately raised a red flag when they realized they had only taken out their first credit card one year earlier.

This story gets even more mysterious when the original poster realizes that their average credit card account age is 19, which is impossible. If this were true, it would mean they would have gotten their first card at two years old. 

After checking their credit card section, the original poster realized that an additional credit card contributed to this boosted score. Still, it wasn’t a card they were familiar with. 

The good news is that this card made their credit card score go up 82 points, but it still begs the question of what this card is and who is responsible for putting it in the Redditor’s name. Is this a scam, something more sinister, or an accident that happened with Credit Karma and was simply a fluke? 

The Easy Answer

The positive side of this mystery is that the original poster didn’t have to wait too long until they found an answer. After texting their parents to inquire about the possibility they were responsible, the original poster’s mom responded as she had added her son and “forgot” to tell him. While this feels like disappointing parenting, the parents handle it responsibly and pay it off regularly. 

While there is a strong argument that the mother forgetting to tell him is pretty awful, this does feel like a miscommunication that, while frustrating, is being handled as well as it can be. It’s also reassuring that there is no scam or sinister reason behind this, which removes many potential fears that someone may have stolen this Redditor’s identity, which would open up an entirely different can of worms. 

It’s a sad but true reality that many stories involve parents using their children to take out credit cards for less-than-good reasons. These parents not only forget to tell their children but intentionally leave it off the child’s radar for as long as possible to take advantage of the fact that their child is too young to know the reality of what is happening. 

Not A Terrible Idea

While this scenario might seem like a fluke, in which the mom is responsible for the credit card to the point that it benefits the son, this is a good idea for several reasons. 

The biggest takeaway is that it’s okay for parents to take out a credit card to help build up a credit score for their children. This isn’t new advice, and many financial advisors might recommend this so your child enters college with an established credit history. Given this, it’s unsurprising that the credit card used by the mother and paid off regularly played a role in approving the first credit card this individual wanted to take out. 

Parents should also consider the benefits of adding a child as an authorized user, which will help them learn good financial habits. Far too many children enter young adulthood without good financial skills and end up in trouble, sometimes a lot of trouble, so developing good financial habits early on should be mandatory. 

On the other hand, this also means that your child has a credit card for emergencies, which can and do happen, and having a credit card can provide parents with peace of mind. It should go without saying that it’s on the parents to monitor spending, as it’s easy for a younger child to go wild in the Roblox store or spend one afternoon at the mall. 

Still, the best-case scenario for this story is precisely what’s happening here, as the parents are responsible, and even if they forgot, their child somehow learned good financial responsibility, so there’s a happy ending all around. 

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