My 3 Year Old's First Credit Card!

I signed my 3 year old son up for his first credit card about a month ago.


You and my wife are both wondering, why in the world does a 3 year old need a credit card? What's the point?  How did a credit card company give a 3 year old a credit card? These are all fair questions.  Allow me to explain:


I don't really think a 3rd old needs a credit card, but I'm happy to get him one if it will save me some money.  Really, I'm worried about his inheritance more than anything :)  

On, the first Saturday and Sunday of the month, Bank of America runs a program called Museums on Us which allows free access to certain museums for Bank of America cardholder's.  My family can go to Liberty Science Center for very cheap because both my wife and I are cardholder's.  The problem was that we still had to pay for our 3 year old, which costs $14.50.  While that isn't a lot for 3 people to go to the Liberty Science Center, it isn't nothing. 


Well, what if you don't have to pay for your 3 year old?  It would be completely free.


So, I signed my son up as an Authorized User on my account.  The credit card has his name on it, but it's my account.  For some reason, Bank of America does not require a SSN or birth date when you sign up an authorized user so the process was painless (American Express will not give you one without a SSN).

I went to Liberty Science Center today to test out my son's new card.  I gave the cashier 3 credit cards along with my driver's license, my wife's driver's license and my son's passport. The clerk checked that all the names matched the IDs.  He looked at my son and said, "OK, enjoy your day."  We paid $0 and had a great time at the museum for 3 hours.  


Who will be there next month with us?  I hope you will have a credit card for your child too. We can laugh together at all the other people at the museum who paid full price.




Here's how to sign your child up as an Authorized User:

1)  Log in as your normally would at bankofamerica.com   
2) Click on your Credit Card Account
3) Click on Information and Services

4) Under "Manage Your Account" will be an option that says "Add an Authorized User"

5) As you can see in the picture, it will ask for a name, SSN and Birthdate, but the SSN and birthdate are not starred so the card will still come even if you leave it blank.