Campus Credit Crunch

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The Student Credit Card Crunch: Buyer Beware

If you are attending school at a college or university today, you understand what it is like to constantly be hit up with sales pitches trying to convince you to take out a student credit card. When it comes to these seemingly never ending sales pitches for student credit cards, there are some factors that you do need to bear well in mind. You need to be prudent and cautious when it comes to responding to sales pitches for student credit cards.

Credit card companies often set up promotional booths on campuses, offering T-shirts and other items for opening a new account. Although the card benefits can seem fantastic, students must review repayment terms carefully. Most credit companies do not warn students about potential debt problems.
Promotions for credit cards are found on classroom bulletin boards, in restaurants, bars and mailboxes. But students do not have to fear credit cards. Sooner or later, everyone has to learn how to use them, and college is a good time to start. However, a student must be on guard when it comes to responding to pitches for credit cards on campus in this day and age.

A common pitch associated with student credit cards is that by signing up for a student credit card you will get some sort of free gift item. In some instances, the offer can seem rather attractive. However, you can not let the offer of getting something for free cloud the underlying student credit card agreement.
You must keep in mind the importance of doing your homework when it comes to applying for a student credit card no matter what the incentive to apply may happen to be. You must keep in mind that the truly important considerations are the terms associated with the student credit card itself. You must investigate and explore the interest rate and the other costs and fees that will be associated with the student credit card.

You also need to pay attention to any penalty provisions that might be contained in the student credit card agreement. For example, you need to understand what happens to the interest rate if you fail to make a payment in a timely manner. In this day and age, there are many student credit cards (and credit cards of all other types) that have escalation clauses in their agreements. If a cardholder fails to make a payment on time, the interest rate can shoot through the roof.

In the end, when it comes to selecting a student credit card, when it comes to responding to a pitch for a credit card, there is quite a degree of truth to the old adage of “buyer beware.” You absolutely must be well informed and cautious when you elect to sign up for a student credit card in response to a promotional campaign being undertaken on campus at any given point in time.

Student credit cards.com @ October 28, 2007