What Are The Benefits of A Student Credit Card
The benefits of student credit cards is that they are very lenient with young people who have a limited credit history. In addition, the rewards and benefits are tailored for college student lifestyles, offering benefits like 0% introductory interest rates, rewards and cash offers.
Student credit cards are a good fit for high school students as well as college students.
Cash is beginning to go by the wayside as plastic, in the form of a student credit card, charge card, and debit cards take over. Doing your research online, you can review the current student credit card options and get up to date advice on the best student credit cards, debit cards, and charge cards for college students. The goal is to find student credit cards with the lowest interest rates (APR), the best rewards, and help the student effectively manage their finances and build a good credit history.
According to the “textbook” definition, a credit report is “a report of an individual’s credit history prepared by a credit bureau and used by a financial institution in determining a loan applicant’s credit worthiness.” A credit report is what decides if you will get that car loan, a home loan, or a loan for any other kind of big ticket item.
Your credit report basically will include your history of payments on a credit card, a Sears’s card, or even a cell phone plan. Every time you missed that due date, it was noted on your credit report and every time you applied for any type of loan from a company, they will look up your credit history. Your credit report tells companies what they should or should not loan, for how long, and at what percentage rate.
College students will usually not even have much of a credit history yet, unless they have a student credit card, but it is a good idea to get your credit report at least every two years to make sure it is depicting an accurate credit history. The three major companies that do provide credit reports are Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union and they will provide you with a free credit report once a year if requested. If there are inaccuracies on the credit report, you can get them fixed in writing and sometimes you can even get a company to remove a point against you if it has been a significant time and for good reason.
How will you decide on the right student credit card? When applying for a student credit card it is important to evaluate the details the card will offer. It would be a good idea to look for a student credit card that has a lower annual percentage rate and a 0% interest introductory period. However, more often then not, the main difference between student credit cards will be the rewards.
Which rewards will work the most to your advantage? Frequent Flyer Miles, if you travel frequently to visit family or friends, a student credit card that gives you frequent flyer miles is probably the right card for you. These student credit cards give you points for every credit card dollar you spend that can be used towards airfare.
Free Gas, if you have a car on campus and spend a good part of your day driving your roommates and friends (who never chip in for gas) around you need a free gas credit card. These student credit cards earn you free gas for every dollar you do spend. At supermarkets, gas stations, and some mall stores, you can get a 5% rebate for gas. The next time you go on a road trip you will not have to groan at the thought of gas prices knowing you have all that free gas money!
Cash Back, if you do not have a car and you do not fly anywhere, then you should go with the cold hard cash rewards. The amount of money you can get back varies by card, but you usually will get between 1-5% cash back on certain purchases. The points you earn can then be spent at places you already spend money at, such as Blockbuster, Pizza Hut, the Gap, Footlocker, and so much more.
Student credit cards.com @ July 23, 2008