Student Credit Cards Primer
Enter any campus today and you will see a wide range of credit card companies offering their services to students. This is likely going to be your first credit card primer to the world of credit cards. One of the most popular is the student credit card that works along the same lines as regular cards: Students use these cards to pay for a variety of goods and services such as books and classes and they may even receive rewards and bonuses for doing so.As a parent, you may worry that your child may not be able to handle the idea of a credit card. In fact, most parents first find out that their kids have applied for a card after credit card representatives on campus lured them with free incentives. A student who isn’t ready to own a credit card and settle debt may soon find him/herself in deep water and, understandably as a parent, you feel anxious to protect your child from this type of scenario. But before you put your foot down and give an automatic ‘no’ to the question of whether your child can apply for a credit card, consider the many advantages to owning one.
For one, a student with a credit card in his name enjoys more independence, which, in turn, could lead to greater responsibility. There is nothing wrong with teaching a student these values and a student card may be the perfect opportunity to do so. Secondly, by owning a credit card, the student will develop good credit habits early on in life. As our world moves more and more towards the little plastic card, you will be doing the student a favor by teaching him good credit skills and creating a good credit record to boot.
By arming the college student with a credit card, you will be able to have a certain peace of mind that he/she can make instant payments in case of an emergency. Many students live away from home, sometimes in another state, and it helps to know that they can deal with sudden medical problems, car repairs and so forth, without having to wait for money to be transferred from your account. Otherwise your son/daughter can be stuck up creek without a paddle in an emergency situation!
So what can you do to help the student learn about responsible credit card use? First of all, lay out the ground rules and insist that they must be adhered to at all times. This could mean specifying what the card should and should not be used for (for example, for food and school supplies, but not clothing and partying). Secondly, help the student create a sound money management system so that he/she knows when to pay the bills, how much to budget for and how to keep track of expenses during the month. Make sure that he/she knows when to settle the debt and encourage him/her to do so in full and on time so that he/she does not incur extra expenses.
Finally, teach the student to look beyond the pretty words and marketing hype, and to read the small print very carefully. A free hat should not be a good reason to apply for a certain card, especially if a competing card offers better interest rates!
Check out these student credit card offers that we have listed on our website.