How to Choose the Best Student Credit Cards
View PDF | Print View
by: barrywaters
Total views: 55
Word Count: 589
Student credit cards work just like credit cards for established consumers, and because theyre developed with students in mind, young people with no credit history are more likely to qualify for them. However, this ease of application comes with a tradeoff in the form of extra fees and higher interest rates meant to offset the risk of giving credit to someone with no credit history. Sometimes, credit cards designed for students also come with unnecessary extra fees that credit card companies hope students will accept because they are too inexperienced to know these fees are not normal. Heres how to tell the good student credit cards from the bad ones.
* What is the interest rate? The offer is good if the annual percentage rate, or APR, is equal to or only a couple of points above the going rate for a regular credit card. Dont bother applying for student credit cards with higher rates. Also stay away from credit cards with a default rate that is noticeably higher than a regular credit cards default rate. This is the rate youll pay if you make a mistake in paying your bill, and it can be entirely too easy to make such mistakes, so get a default rate thats as low as possible.
* Does the card charge a yearly fee? It shouldnt. Yearly fees are a leftover from the era when only the rich had credit cards. Nowadays, annual fees are obsolete, and good credit cards dont charge them. If you find an offer thats otherwise excellent but it has an annual fee, call the company and see whether theyll waive the fee. Most companies will. They put the fee into the agreement expecting that most applicants will ask to have it waived during the application process, and hoping to catch inexperienced applicants who are willing to pay.
* You should not have to pay a weekly or monthly fee. Period. These fees, which are a common way to gouge people with very bad credit ratings, shouldnt appear anywhere on a student credit card application. If you see them, dont call the company to ask that they be waived. Toss the application.
*Is there a charge for paying your bill by phone? Most credit card issuers have a number you can call to pay your bill either routinely, or as a panic measure when theres no time to mail in a check before the deadline. Paying a small fee for emergency payments is acceptable, if not optimal. Making a routine payment by phone shouldnt cost anything.
* What do the credit card companys customers say about the company? Do they routinely raise interest rates without telling customers? Is their customer service responsive? If the companys current customers have significant trouble with the company, dont assume youll be different. Go to a different company.
Student credit cards can be an excellent foundation for your credit rating, but be choosy about which ones you sign up for. The right cards will put you on the path to a healthy financial future. The wrong cards will leave you with sky high interest rates and hundreds of dollars in fees. Do your research before you pick student credit cards, and youll know which offers are the best. More information Bad credit credit cards ... Credit cards for bad credit ... Low interest credit cards ... Credit cards ... Credit cards ...
About the Author
For more information on credit cards, read www.getsmart.com/credit-cards.
Rating: Not yet rated