Build Your Credit With College Student Credit Cards
By Guillermo Summers
Credit cards for college students are easily available online. The downside is that card issuers realize that most students do not have a particular credit strategy in mind, just a desire for easy access to credit.
Card issuers are keenly aware of how to market their products to college students and young people in general. Because of the lack of an established credit history or credit profile, credit cards for students are often more expensive to maintain than traditional credit cards. Subsequently, credit cards for college students often have high interest rates, annual fees, as well as other fees attached. If you are a college student with good credit, you should not have any problem getting approval for an attractive card offer. Unfortunately, many students do not have good credit history, or any credit history at all for that matter.
Shopping for a College Student Credit Card
The first 3 steps when shopping for a credit card for a college student are quite simple: research, research and research. You can easily begin your search online where you can compare and contrast card offers from all of the leading card issuers. This will give you a huge advantage when shopping for the right card offer because you can get a very clear picture of what the cards offer in terms of features and benefits as well as what the card will cost you over time. Thoroughly researching each card offer will help you save time and money, and ultimately, should help lead you to the very best credit cards for college students available anywhere.
College Student Credit Card Specifics
A typical college student credit card offer might include the following:
-0% APR up to six months on balance transfers and purchases
-Zero liability on unauthorized purchases (a “must have” in any credit card offer)
-No annual fee
-Online account management
-No co-signer requirement
Most of the best student credit card offers will provide you 6 months of 0% APR on purchases, which is an attractive feature for many cash-strapped students. Don’t be misled by this offer, however, because the ongoing APR on these student credit card offers jumps up significantly when the introductory offer expires. So buyer beware!
All credit card issuers will provide you with a zero liability on unauthorized purchases clause on their respective card offers. Just be sure to double-check that the card offers this feature as it is very important to have for security purposes. You should also try to avoid paying an annual fee for any credit card, if at all possible. Many of the best student credit card offers will not charge you an annual fee either. Some student credit cards will not require a co-signer from your parents for approval. But don’t count on it. The more attractive card offers will also feature an online account management tool that allows you to quickly and easily manage your account, view statements and pay bills online.
One very important thing to keep in mind, however, is the regular ongoing APR for student credit cards tends to be very steep so it is highly recommended that students (especially) avoid carrying a card balance for any extended length of time. It is best to never carry a card balance, ever. How do you avoid carrying a credit card balance? You pay it off every month. That is quite simple the single most valuable piece of advice on how to use credit cards of any kind, and if adhered to, will help you avoid racking up debt and potentially devastating finance charges that can be ruinous in the long term.
Advice When Searching for Credit Cards
So be sure to thoroughly research as many student credit cards as possible, and do not stop your search after investigating only a few card offers. Be vigilant and persistent in your research of credit cards for college students or any credit card offer for that matter. And remember, avoid carrying those card balances!
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