Best Student Credit Cards

When students enter college, they have a long list of things to deal with, including their finances. Student credit cards and application forms are typically sent to freshmen, so it is important that parents discuss the importance and responsibilities that go along with having a credit card before the students ever leave home. Don't get me wrong, I think it's an extremely useful for students to have their own credit card when they go away to school, but it is equally important that they get the right card and use it wisely.

The best student credit cards are the ones that have low spending limits, ie low credit limits, because it does limit the student, at least to begin with. A high limit credit card could be too tempting for a student, and there is always the fear of a credit card getting into the wrong hands. It should be made clear to the students that their credit card is for emergency use only, unless they want to get a job and pay for any of the charges that are made on it themselves. That sounds like a good idea, but it probably isn't very realistic.

When finding the best student credit cards, it is imperative to seek out the lowest interest rates that you can find. This is really obvious, but nonetheless needs to be stated. Many credit card companies will offer a 0% teaser rates for the first six months. Be aware that these rates are often followed by exorbitantly high interest rates after this initial period, and then you could have problems if you have been carrying a balance on your card. It is most certainly not uncommon for students to carry balances for more than six months, so I suggest that you avoid this option.

Just about all student credit cards offer some type of incentives such as rewards points or cash back incentives. This is done for obvious reasons, the most common of which is to entice the cardholder into using their card more to gain these rewards. Overall it is a pretty good deal to receive rewards for credit card charges as long as you bear in mind that this is not free money. Whether you realize it or not, you have already paid for those points.

Managing your account online is a great feature for students. For starters, just about every student has access to the Internet and can easily access their credit card statements, and of course it is a great time saver. The credit card bill can be paid online at any time, without a trip to the bank, so it saves trying to fit that into a busy student day. The second great reason for this is that parents can also monitor the activity on the card, even if they are thousands of miles away. Parents can keep an eye on the account to make sure that unnecessary items are not purchased by the student, and they can ensure that the account is kept in good standing.

For a student credit card, as for any other credit card in fact, it is important that they have a lost or stolen card feature that guarantees protection against unauthorized activity. If we are realistic, we know that students are not always as responsible as we might like them to be! By having this protection, it can ease everyone's mind when their student leaves home with their own credit card!