Factors Students Should Know When Comparing Student Credit Cards
Ah freedom, it’s great isn’t it! I remember when I graduated high school and moved on to college. It was great! I didn’t have to worry about what time I came home, I could party with the guys and pretty much do what I wanted. However, just like many other college students, when I went to go live at the dorm, I didn’t quite think about the expenses associated with being on my own. I quickly found myself in a situation where I felt like I had to apply for a credit card. Needless to say, articles about how to use and compare credit cards weren’t as prominent back then and I paid a great price. So, if you are a student, the first thing I want to let you know is that proper use of credit cards can have great affects on your future financial stability. However, improper use of credit cards can cause future financial hardships that you may not even want to think about right now. So, with that said, here are a few tips for comparing student credit cards and below, I will link to an article that teaches you how to properly use credit cards as well.
- Interest rates: As a college student, you may not know this but, there are multiple interest rates on credit card accounts. The lower the interest rate, the less money you will have to pay back as a result of borrowing money using your credit card. The interest rate that most people are concerned with is the standard interest rate on credit cards. This is the rate of interest that will be applied to balances accumulated through standard purchases. Although, this is the first interest rate you should compare and be concerned with, there are some others that you should at least be aware of such as your cash advance interest rate, balance transfer interest rate and default interest rate!
- Annual fees: Another thing that you may not know as a college student is that many credit cards also come with annual fees. An annual fee is just that, it is a fee that is charged to your account annually for the privileged of being able to use your credit card. Generally, annual fees on student credit cards range from $50 to $100 however, I have seen many of them that were much higher than that. If you find a credit card with an annual fee higher than $100 keep looking, you can find a better offer!
- Rewards: Because of an incredible amount of competition in the credit card industry, most credit cards these days come with rewards programs. These programs allow you to earn points with each purchase that can be accumulated and later redeemed for things like cash back, gift cards, airfare and more! Generally, rewards programs on student credit cards won’t be as great as those on credit cards for consumers with excellent credit however, they still do exist and it is generally a good thing to try and take advantage of them.
Now that you know what to look for when comparing student credit cards, below you will find the article I promised you about proper use of credit cards and the student credit card offer that I find most appealing: