Student credit cards can provide you with the access to a small credit line while you are still in college, and they may be a good option if you want to build your credit history before you graduate.
Most of the major credit card companies are now offering some type of student credit card these days, with the primary distinctions having to do with approval criteria, interest rates, and credit lines.
Credit Cards for College Students
Most credit cards for college students have a more lenient approval criteria that can take into consideration your enrollment at a postsecondary institution in a positive manner.
- This means that you will not have to be making the same level of income that you normally would in order to get approved for a typical credit card, as the providers of student credit cards will understand that while you are in school you shouldn’t have the same level of income that someone not attending college would be able to.
The trade-off to being able to get approved for these types of cards is that you’re going to typically have to pay more in interest and fees than you would if you were simply getting a standard credit card. In this respect student credit cards aren’t much different than many of the credit cards that are designed for people with bad credit, or other kinds of sub-prime borrowers. They are still in my opinion a good option if you can be smart and make your payments each month in-full.
If you know that you will be carrying a balance it probably isn’t a very wise idea to get a student credit card, as the amount of interest that you’ll be charged each month is going to cancel out the usefulness of such a credit line very quickly. Regardless, if you do make your payments each month, having a student credit card can really boost your credit score, and establish a positive credit history over time, thus making you a much better candidate for other types of loans and credit once you graduate.
Getting a Student Credit Card
Most student credit cards come with very small credit lines that are below one thousand dollars, so don’t be surprised when you go ahead and complete an application and are given a credit line that is below the amount you were hoping for. When you are ready to apply for a student credit card you should go online to compare lenders and offers, as most of the reputable providers of these types of cards have online applications that can be completed in about five minutes.
Providers of student cards will often provide you with the interest rates and fees they charge students, so it is critical that you shop around in order to get the best deal. There are websites online that will show you a comparative analysis of all of the best student credit cards, and this is perhaps the best way you can go about finding the best deal. Apply for the card that you think is best first, and don’t apply for more than one card at a time, or at least until you hear a response for the application you just completed.
Most credit card companies will provide you with an instant decision if you have been approved for a card. If you fill out an online application and are given a response that tells you that you’ll be notified of a decision at a later date, then there is a good chance that you have been denied for the card. You may still get an approval, but most likely your application triggered the need for a manual review, and when this happens the result often isn’t very good. Don’t be discouraged though, you’ll eventually get an approval if you don’t get down on yourself, so stick with it and you’ll eventually get your student credit card.
