The Basics of Student Credit Cards

Posted by Nick Niesen on October 29th, 2010

Credit card companies consider students that are loyal and good customers, as they tend to upgrade the credit cards when the need arises to do so and the students are supposed to keep the credit cards for a longer period. Hence student credit card offers are found in every nook and corner of the college campus, social gatherings, through their emails and even in the book stores. These facts make the availability of credit cards to students within easy reach. Also the fact is that the students do not have a steady source of income making them go for a credit card. This is to the benefit of the credit card companies as they get more income on late payment dues and penalties, interest for the credit card balance which is not paid, annual fees etc All the above facts make the students the best customers for the credit card issuing companies.

For the students, it is of utmost necessity to own at least one credit card, as it is very much needed during the college days. The students need to spend for renting a car, buy books, for medical expenses, for entertaining his friends and for himself. Also the student starts to manage his own financial matters. Student-life owning a credit card prepares him into a seasoned adult as he learns to take control of his life and it makes it easy to create a credit history at the early stages. Credit scoring is done based on the happening to the accounts whether it is a late payment, or bill paying history, or number and type of accounts he is holding, the outstanding amount of debt etc. Once the student achieves a good credit score it makes him eligible for a house or car loan, insurance coverage and may even fetch a reputed financial job and so on.

It is very easy to obtain a student credit card but care needs to be taken in choosing the best credit card, it can be achieved by taking advice from fellow students who have already got a credit card and it is advised to go for a credit card with no annual fee and the option to customize the amount to be spent using it.

Students need to be careful in monitoring the amount charged by the credit card issuer at the end of every month and also the interest charged on it. It is advised to clear of the debt balance as soon as possible to avoid the levy of interest on the debt, if not fully at least the minimum possible. As a student, he should take extra caution not to provide information regarding his credit card to anyone through phone or by email as it might lead to malpractices. Since the credit history is involved, the student credit cards need to be handled in a wise manner.

It brings in the discipline of paying the bills on time, either in full or part by part in order to get a good credit history and score points.