I think it's ridiculous to say there's no reason to have a credit card. Just because people misuse them all the time doesn't make them horrible.
My parents opened a credit card in my name when I was young and used it to pay bills, and then paid it off in full every month without fail. They gave me the physical card when I turned 18 and took over paying for everything myself. So as a young adult, I had a nice long established credit history. I still pay off the card in full (almost) every month and I have outstanding credit scores.
Obviously this wouldn't work for everyone -- I've always been really responsible. My parents did this same procedure for both of my younger siblings and it worked well for the middle sister and me. The youngest has required more parental oversight in her finances.
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