I'm glad particlemn has spoken up with the voice of common sense. It makes no sense to put in money chasing miles as a top priority when there are so many better ways for a young person to get travel.

IMHO the FIRST priority should be to chase jobs, hustles, scholarships, heck, even dog walking and baby sitting gigs, to get CASH. I've never met anyone who regretted not having student loans when they get out of college. I've met many people, including people who attended top schools only to find out LOTS of people attend top schools, who deeply regret the student loan. At your age, I had zero interest in chasing credit cards and a great deal of interest in chasing ways to get extra money. Student loan is the only debt I know of that can't be cancelled by bankruptcy, even if you don't finish school and even if you don't get a job that pays much or anything more than it would have paid anyway -- in other words, it is the ONLY business risk you will ever take that if you learn you made a mistake, you still have to pay for it.

If you want the freedom to travel the world, follow partclemn's intelligent advice. You will have limited time after your studies in high school and college. Spend that limited time getting CASH not miles. If there is still time left over, then you can worry about juggling credit cards as well.

Yes, we all know that what has worked for SOME young people is to get the parents to co-sign the cards, enjoy the spend, and then abandon the debt, which means the parents are forced to pay. While this does have a positive financial expectation for you, I myself consider it a dishonorable technique. My personal belief is that I will not co-sign a card nor will I accept a co-signed card. But that's me. If you want free, at your age, the easiest way is to get your parents to pay for the trip. The second easiest way is to get scholarships that give trips as bonuses. The third way is the part time job and paying for one's own cheaper trips. I tried all of these at your age, and you should too. #2 is particularly recommended by my hubby, who actually had a 10 day trip paid for by the Air Force for a scholarship he won, which included a visit to see the space shuttle. But even I won a free (airfare included) trip for myself (and my parents) and no one would accuse peachfront of being the world's most dedicated high schooler.

Credit cards will always be there, but there are scholarships and bonuses from other sources for good students that will FAR surpass any credit card offer. You should grab those opportunities while you're still young, because most of them will NOT be there for returning students.

Good Luck.

Credit unions are better for that. And once the kiddo is carded, credit unions are profitable. When +18 and Chase carded, Zontar, your kiddos really need to check in with the Men in Black.

I skimmed through here, and I'm sure it was said, but if you get a card (emphasis on the singular), make sure it doesn't carry an annual fee. Length of open credit accounts is part of the algorithm of your credit score, so if you have a card with no annual fee, you can leave it open forever.

Think of it as laying the foundation for you to play this game later.

I like the Chase Freedom as a first card, but only when you're ready.

Why not consider running the 50 states first? That's a good starter goal. Set up a bucket list of goals and then let this flock of birds vet them out as far as doability.

Heed the advice on student loans. The price of college in overinflated by the availability of cheap credit. The value of college is overestimated as businesses are bringing in foriegn nationals because they are cheaper than paying debt encumbered domestic college graduates. Each online degree programs also erodes the value of a debt encumbered bricks and mortar degree. That is reality. The value of bricks and mortar is only in contacts and connections. A fancy degree in a frame looks downright ugly on a wall papered in debt and that material you learned in college has the shelf life of an opened can of tuna. The ability to study, accumulate and use knowledge, and apply knowledge to solving problems is the only long term take away from your college classes.

All this said, I just want to say one word to you – just one word. Plastics. Start the plastic credit card history. Learn to buy discounted plastic gift cards with your cash to cut expenses 5-15%. Run your cash spend through a plastic debit card that gives you a kickback.:cool:

I love this. By all means, follow this advice. I was fortunate to do some pretty cool things when I was younger, but looking back, I certainly would have done more. Backpacking anywhere. Staying in hostels. Drinking too much abroad. It's funny how many responses are of us telling the kid what we wished we could've told ourselves back then. I will be 35 next week (sigh) and traveling with toddler twins is awesome, but it isn't the same as being able to sleep on a train, or at a rest stop in the middle of nowhere. Good times.

It's so cliche that I cringe to say it, but you really do regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did do.

All that said, I'm also with the people who say to get a card, charge a little, pay it off, and then lock it up. I got a credit card my freshman year of college, and it's still open. I use it once or twice a year to make sure it stays that way, since it's my oldest card. Remember you are in charge of it; don't let it become in charge of you (translation: don't go into debt).

Also, you didn't ask, but since we're bringing it up: if I were you - or if I could tell my 18 yo self this - don't get caught up in fancy (expensive) private schools. I wasn't in debt to the point that most people were, but I'm still paying my loans (had to defer repayment for grad school). In retrospect, a big state school would've offered more opportunities for half the price.

One more thing - get a job and start saving. You might catch a great mistake fare or just a crazy cheap fare that pops up every now and then. You'll need the cash to book it, along w/ a hostel or couch surfing or whatever you'll do. Good luck!

For flights, your first stop can be matrix.itasoftware.com -- play with the "Nearby" city option, and the "Calendar of Lowest Fares" function, to identify fares that are unually low, if your cities and dates are flexible. Once you find the low fares, you can learn fare rules and decide how to maximize mileage, then choose the frequent flyer account that will earn a bonus (like, some routes may give double miles) or push you toward elite status. Elite Status comes with an automatic mileage bonus-- earning 50% more miles is comparable to earning an extra cash return on your investment.

Don't be married to ITA searches only, though-- keep your eyes open for changes in the industry. Airlines like Allegiant and Spirit will offer ultra low fares on many of their routes, so if you learn where they fly, you'll know which specific routes to watch. The airlines and routes that work will be determined by where you live-- and where you choose to go to school.

Finally, periodically check Megabus.com since they will deliver you from Kansas City to St Louis or Chicago, and offer leverage to use the Nearby City fares you find on ITA.

Developing your skills is a work in progress, but I think you've found answers to your question of "where do you start."

Good advice above. Get a job and get the money to go.That's what I did cuz there was no FF miles when I was 19. Not saying that FF miles won't help though ;-)
I recommend going to the third world and difficult areas to travel to while you are young.
You can see Paris and London in a wheelchair in your 80's. You'll probably visit
those places on a stopover anyway.
My tips:

Go to areas that are up for major changes geopolitically.
Tops on my list would be Burma, Tibet, Western China,Viet Nam,N. Korea and lots of Africa including Egypt. Climb Kili. When you read about them later in the news, they will be a part of you.
Be prepared to have people who just don't get it, question you and say you are wasting your life or you should buy a car instead. Ignore them. They are idiots.
The experiences I have had traveling on a budget while I was younger, I would not trade for anything.
Go to www.lonelyplanet.com and get a feeling for the good times ahead.
Good travels to you.

I wouldn't say don't get a credit card in college. Too many screwy things can go wrong when you're using a Master Card or Visa-branded product, and unlike with a debit card, a credit card give you float until you can resolve why something that was supposed to be run as $20 was charged as $200. Doubly so when you're outside your normal geographic and banking range for whatever reason.

Just be organized about it. Modern online banking makes it so easy to keep on top of the charges. If you charge something while partying on the weekend, keep the darn receipt, and get into a routine where you go online and actually move that money from checking account to credit card every Monday.

I managed to never carry a credit card balance in college even though it was back in the stone days when you had to mail a paper check off to the CC company every month.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
110% agree.

This kid needs a swift kick in the backside.

Forget dreaming about Europe and "semesters abroad". Needs to put his nose to the grindstone, get a quality education (ie, so you can have a career, not just a paycheck) - if not targeting a top school, with top grades, majoring in the Sciences, Engineering or Medicine, it's a waste of his time - and pissing away his parents money.

He's got a lifetime ahead of him - and has decades of trips ahead of him, so no rush. But he needs to be prepared with a solid education with a worthwhile degree so he has the means to do so.

Traipsing off to Europe on the his parent's dime (or worse, on gov't handouts) is foolish nonsense. And encouraging such behavior is even worse.

His parents could easily have an education fund that effectively has to be spent on higher education expenses, so why not go someplace far more interesting than the nearest directional U if the money is there?

And the actual cost of attendance and total debt at a lot of the top tier private schools (and well endowed wannabe private schools) is often far less than the debt load the public universities. Want one of the lowest student loan burdens on graduation outside of the service academies and a few oddball places like Berea of Cooper Union? The typical Princeton grad has about a quarter of the student loan debt of the typical state university grad.

And if you're willing to go off the beaten path a little bit, semesters abroad can be pretty reasonable. My sister spent a year at university in Costa Rica for less than half of what it would have cost our family for her to spend junior year at her US university.

I wasn't asking the best way to piss away my parents' money. Your entire post is a little confusing to be honest. The idea that I can't travel somewhere during my time out of college and work hard while I'm in college doesn't make any sense. And if it matters my parents won't be funding any of my travel

I completely understand your point of view FARWEST and it is very practical, but I respectfully disagree.

The time to go is NOW!
My young friend, yes, MAYBE you have a lifetime in front of you, but you can never go back in time and travel while you are young and relatively free from responsibilities such as job and family.
Read again some of the earlier posts of those that wish they had the time to
go places now. We are all loaded up with FF miles and $$, but have restrictions due to obligations.

You might be able to go and see places of interest later in life and then again you might not. The door may close.
I can never go back to a pre-Mandela South Africa (I am not pro-apartheid) which was an eye-opener for a 19 year old. Walking through Checkpoint Charlie into East Berlin or China days after Tiananman (only slightly changed ;))or Israeli-occupied Sinai or Gaza and many many countries that have had dynamic changes in the last 10-20 years, all done while younger cannot be repeated.
Yes. Travel.
It may be the best education you get, if not, it will at least be a lot of fun.This is the time in your life for that- and trust me, time is a jet plane.
Don't worry,lovely wife, money and career will come.
Take the time to see the world and don't let anybody piss on your dreams. ^:D

get a credit card at a local bank to start, your parents must be there to sign

3 months after that apply for a fee free student card on your own, citi or discover have good ones

3 months after that i would go for the 2x citi AA for 100k + 2 other fee free cards (if you dont get the aa's yet at least you can add another 2 fee-free cards that you keep forever to help increase the average age of ur credit lines)

3 months after that either try again for the AAs or if you got those get the CSP and Amex SPG. by now you should be able to get most cards.

right now my partner is about 5 months in (so applications for the 2x citis coming up in january.. i havent tested this before but i think she might get accepted... i know another person who opened their first card, 8 months later applied and got accepted for the aa's)

i am 1/14 for the # of times an application has prompted income verification. if you have to call reconsideration be prepared to state the nature of your "self-employed" status, ie. graphic designer, mostly local work, current clients, earning details, etc. when i started getting cards i was also a senior in HS (this was 4 years ago).

anyone saying "don't get into the credit card game at this age" is just scared you won't pay off you're debt as this is the stereotype with us young ones. there is no reason not to get a card ASAP if you will 0 it out every month.