[dan-k]

Well, until the Credit Card Act of 2009. Now you have to be 21 to get a credit card unless you can demonstrate significant means to pay it off or have a cosigner. I managed to sneak through the last year before this went into effect, but considering all the issues my friends have just with their student loans, I'm sure it's saved people a lot of misery, even if the nanny-state aspect of it still rankles me a little...

[wccrawford]

It's pushed the limit out 3 years, but I wonder if it's really changed anything? They're 3 years older, but are they 3 years wiser? Wisdom tends to come from experience, and since they don't have any experience with credit cards... Well, I doubt they're wiser about them.

[freehunter]

At least they're closer to having the means to pay it off. At 21 (as a college senior) you might have a part-time job, you might have an internship, or you might be full-time somewhere. As a college freshman or incoming freshman, chances are you won't have that income. As a senior, theoretically you should be done burying yourself in debt, and beginning to have the means to pay it off.