What are Student Credit Cards?

Posted by: Meredith K. | Dec 17,2007


The name “Student Credit Card” sounds pretty innocuous.  Great, it sounds like a credit card for students, what’s so bad about that?  How does a bad-credit credit card sound?  Not quite as easy on the ears.  Basically, college credit cards and cards for bad credit amount to the same thing: a credit card with high rates, high fees for default, and a low limit.  

If you are in the market for a credit card in college, I would not necessarily just jump to student credit cards.  Comparison shop between the APR for student credit cards and cards for people with limited or poor credit, as these rates could be better overall.    

At the same time, any student who is establishing a credit history for the very first time may need to get a parental co-signor in order to receive the card.  If the student has zero income, the credit card issuer needs some assurance that payment can come from somewhere.  If a student is able to pay out of his own paycheck, he should do so, as this will start establishing a solid personal credit history.  It can also reduce spending on frivolous purchases, if bill payment is coming out of your own pocket.  

Student credit cards all generally have high rates than other types of cards, but this does not mean that there aren’t better deals for student credit cards as well.  Check here , at Lower My Bills, for an array of student credit card deals.  Compare them with the deals for poor-credit credit cards to see if you qualify.  If you’ve had a credit card through high school, or were an authorized user on a parent’s account, this can help when it comes time to apply for a personal card.  

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