How to Pick a Student Credit Card

If you attend a college or university, you have likely seen representatives from credit card companies loitering in the communal spaces of your campus. Their goal is to get college students to apply for their company's credit card. If you do decide to get a student credit card, you should pick the most suitable one for your needs. Read on to learn how to pick a student credit card.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Find the card with the longest promotional APR period. Most cards will offer zero percent interest for six months. Keep your charges reasonable during this time and pay off the balance before the end of the promotion.

2. Look at the rates following the introductory APR. Most student credit cards have very high rates after the promotional period has ended. Compare offers and look for the lowest APR available before you apply.

3. Ignore the free gift. The promotional item should not be part of your decision to apply for a credit card. Most of the time, the gifts are junk that you can buy in the dollar store.

4. Build up your credit by getting a student card issued from a national bank. Cards from established banks will improve your credit more so than a card from a smaller bank.

5. Pick a student credit card with a rewards program. A rewards program gives you either cash back or credit towards select merchandise.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't think you will be able to get a credit card on your own, you can ask a parent or guardian to be your co-signer.
• Avoid student credit cards with an annual fee. There are too many offers out there that don't subject you to this charge.

[students]

on 1/5/2009 This is an excellent article on students and credit cards. Another good resource for student credit cards which I have discovered insightful information from is www.StudentCreditCards.com - The site provides the 411 on how to responsibly use and manage credit as well as features the top student credit cards for comparison.

[gotalkmoney]

on 3/10/2008 A very good source for student credit cards that I've found to be helpful is at http://www.findcollegecards.com It supplies you with articles on responsibility and credit cards along with a forum that can help answer questions.