Student Credit Cards 101
Almost all students have and use student credit cards. Some of the students use them wisely and build for them an early credit history but others accumulate lots of debts that would have to be paid off once the student life is over. Students that have a credit card should learn how to take charge and manage their own finances as soon as possible, because the time between teen years and adulthood is very short. So, the sooner a student starts managing his own financial matters the sooner he will develop useful financial skills. Student credit cards are no longer a privilege for wealthy students but now are considered a social entitlement.
A student can very easily obtain a student credit card. Offers for student credit cards are everywhere students are: in campuses, at social functions, in their mail boxes, in bookstores, etc. That is because credit companies consider students to be good customers. First of all they are loyal; once a student obtains a credit card, he is likely to keep this particular card for years to come and instead of getting other new cards they upgrade it every time they fill the need to do it. Nowadays, the conditions to obtain a student credit card are very weak, so more and more students have access to them even though they don't have a steady source of income. And this is a second reason why credit card companies offer more and more credit cards to students: they usually can't repay their debts in time. And this is what credit cards companies rely on; they make lots of money from late payment penalties, interest fees on unpaid credit card balances, annual fees and more. So, students that don't repay their credit card balances in full each month are the best customers.
Every college freshman wants to have at least one credit card because it will help him very much during his college years; the student will be able to rent a car, buy books or concert tickets, provide himself help with medical or other emergencies and more. Apart from financial help during college years, student credit cards offer other types of help by building a credit history. Credit history is the record of all that happens in your financial situation throughout the years. Credit scoring is a system based on all that happens to your accounts: late payments, bill paying history, number and type of accounts, outstanding debts and more. If the credit history and scoring are good the student will more easily obtain a house or a car loan, certain types of financial jobs, insurance premiums and more other benefits. So, the student must pay his bills in full or in time, in order to benefit later of their first years of credit history.
The most difficult thing for a student is to choose from the large number of student credit card offers. And the best way for a student to choose a credit card for himself is to talk to other students and get advice from the ones that already have and use a credit card and compare credit card offers online. Before choosing a credit card, the student must be aware of the card's terms of use. Most student that already have a credit card recommend for the others a card with no annual fee and the option to limit the amount to be spent. And apart from these safety measures, wise students that think of their financial future often take a personal finance course in order to learn all kinds of financial management skills that will help them throughout their entire life.
Students must be very careful when using their student credit cards; they always have to be cautious about the amount charged on the credit card and, at the end of the month, to review the amount of interest they have to pay monthly. It is also recommendable that the credit card balance to be paid as soon as received. If for some reason the balances cannot be paid in full, the student must pay at least the minimum payment required. If problems with paying the credit card balances appear, the student must ask help from a financial counselor that will always have a solution for him as student loan repayments are much more flexible than consumer loan repayments. And another thing students must be careful about is identity theft; the credit card or social security numbers should not be given to anybody over the phone. These are important information that cannot get into the hands of wrong people because will very much damage the credit history. So, we can consider that it is best for students to have a credit card starting with their freshman college years because, if used wisely, the credit card history built in this period will very much help them throughout their entire life.
This article has been provided courtesy of Creditor Web. Creditor Web offers great credit card articles available for reprint and other tools to help you search and compare credit card offers.
MORE RESOURCES:
 Telegraph.co.uk | Citigroup Posts $2.5 Billion Loss on Write-Downs New York Times, United States - By LOUISE STORY Hobbled by the credit crisis at home, Citigroup has limped through nine months in the red, reporting a $2.5 billion quarterly loss on Friday ... Credit Costs Weigh on Citigroup Citigroup credit default swaps narrow 15 bps-Phoenix Credit Costs Weigh on Citigroup |
 The Money Times | Ackermann says credit crisis end in sight Financial Times, UK - Josef Ackermann, Deutsche Bank’s chief executive, on Thursday said the credit crunch was at “the beginning of the end” as banks and regulators have taken ... 2nd UPDATE: JPMorgan 2Q Net Down 53% On Credit Woes, Markdowns JP Morgan: The Legacy of the Credit Crunch Why No Outrage? |
Studying up on credit scores Chicago Tribune, United States - In matters of money, a credit score assesses your financial responsibility. And just as with taking your first practice test, your score may be low when you ... Given a Shovel, Digging Deeper Into Debt |
Dollar Rebounds From Record Versus Euro as Credit Turmoil Eases Bloomberg - The US currency also rose versus the yen on signs US investment banks will withstand credit-market losses and the Federal Reserve and the Treasury proposed ... |
 BBC News | Credit crisis: Merrill Lynch to sell Bloomberg stake and keep HQ after Tehran Times, Iran - The loss was due to write-downs of $9.4bn on the value of mortgage holdings, credit-related derivatives and instruments guaranteed by crisis-hit monoline ... Merrill Drops After $4.65 Billion Second-Quarter Loss (Update2) Quarterly loss at Citi smaller than expected, but Merrill disappoints BlackRock shares soar on earnings, Merrill stake move |
$10m W/Bank Credit: Boom time for small-scale mining The Punch, Nigeria - This was the scenario, which the World Bank set out to help Nigeria change in 2005 when it granted the country $120m credit under the Sustainable Management ... |
Mortgage sales pressure fuelling credit crisis: ACTU ABC Online, Australia - The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has accused banks of fuelling the credit crisis by forcing staff to push mortgages onto people who cannot ... Banks 'pushing' families into debt Banks lean on staff to push loans |
No deals for debits at the pump Detroit Free Press, United States - I would have paid the same price if I used a credit card. Bring the Benjamins and you'd get that super-low price -- OK, low by today's standards -- of ... Gas stations turning to using 'gift |
Teton County development plagued by credit crunch Fox 12 Boise, ID - Developer Bill Reid said a nationwide credit crunch prevented him from winning more financing for the 1350-acre Huntsman Springs project. ... |
Deals and takeovers are being done despite the credit crisis Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - So, tapping the credit market for a cool £10bn to finance the acquisition of companies such as Alliance Boots or J Sainsbury is simply out of the question ... |
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