At What Age Can You Get a Credit Card? Key Eligibility Rules Explained

Starting your financial journey early is a smart move, and credit cards can be a valuable tool for learning about money management and building credit history. But many people wonder when they can actually get a credit card. The answer depends on whether you’re looking to be added to an existing account or open one of your own—and your age plays a crucial role in determining your options.

Early Start: Becoming an Authorized User at Almost Any Age

If you want to give a young person hands-on credit card experience without waiting until they’re an adult, adding them as an authorized user is an excellent path forward. The good news? Most major credit card companies have minimal restrictions on how young an authorized user can be.

Here’s what different major card issuers allow:

• American Express: 13 years old
• Bank of America: No minimum age requirement
• Capital One: No minimum age requirement
• Chase: No minimum age requirement
• Citi: No minimum age requirement
• Discover: 15 years old
• U.S. Bank: 16 years old
• Wells Fargo: No minimum age requirement

When you add someone as an authorized user, they receive their own card bearing their name, but the account remains linked to yours. This means you maintain full responsibility for all charges, including those made by the authorized user. The benefit is that the cardholder gets real-world practice with credit while you maintain control. For younger users still learning, you might consider holding onto the physical card between supervised transactions. Even if you never hand over the actual card, adding your child as an authorized user on a healthy account can be powerful—it helps them build a positive credit history from an early age.

Opening Your Own Account: The 18-Year-Old Milestone

Turning 18 brings a significant financial milestone: the legal right to apply for your own credit card account and establish your own credit line. However, this independence comes with specific requirements you should know about.

Everyone seeking a credit card must demonstrate a minimum income level to prove they can handle repayment obligations. For applicants between 18 and 21 years old, there’s an additional layer of rules. Your eligible income can only come from employment or educational sources—specifically jobs you hold or scholarships and grants you receive. Other income sources like parental gifts or allowances don’t count, which is a rule that emerged from the CARD Act of 2009. This law was designed to prevent young adults from getting credit when they had no realistic way to repay it.

If you’re in this age range and lack sufficient job-based income, you’re not completely without options. Some lenders accept a cosigner—someone with established good credit who agrees to be responsible if you can’t pay. However, most major card issuers don’t work with cosigners on credit cards; credit unions often have more flexible policies for this approach.

Full Access: Credit Flexibility After Age 21

The landscape shifts considerably once you reach 21. Many of the income restrictions that previously limited your applications are relaxed or eliminated. At this point, you can include virtually any income source you legitimately earn or receive—gifts, government benefits, retirement income, and more are all now eligible to count toward your application.

That said, age 21 is still relatively early in your credit-building journey. Without an established credit history, you may need to start with credit cards designed specifically for first-time users, which often come with higher interest rates and lower credit limits compared to premium cards.

Building Strong Credit: The Strategic Approach

Whether you become an authorized user, apply at 18, or wait until 21, the key is understanding credit fundamentals before you start using plastic. Learning how interest rates work, how payments affect your credit score, and how to avoid accumulating debt will serve you far better than any specific card feature.

Consider starting young as an authorized user to build history gradually, then applying for your own card once you meet the income requirements. This step-by-step approach gives you time to understand how credit works while developing a positive track record that strengthens future applications.

The earlier you begin this process—and the more intentionally you use credit—the sooner you’ll build the strong financial foundation that unlocks better rates, higher limits, and greater opportunities down the road.