How Student Credit Cards Differ from the Rest
Sunday, February 17th, 2008You’ve received two credit card offers in the mail. One is for a traditional credit card. The other is for a student credit card. How do you know which one you want to apply to get? Depending on who is offering the card, the two cards may not be that different from one another. However, there’s a good chance that the student credit card differs from the traditional credit card in a few significant ways.
Here are some common ways that student credit cards are a little bit different:
• They’re easier to be approved for. Student credit cards usually require that you’re in school but don’t have a lot of other limitations on approval such as a minimum income requirement. They’re designed specifically for people who don’t have enough money because they are in school.
• Additional credit management services. Student credit cards are partially designed to teach students how to properly use credit cards. For this reason, many of these cards come along with different services such as credit reporting and online management services. These may be good or they may not be depending on how much you need them and how much they cost.
• Co-signer. Sometimes the student credit card requires a co-signer, usually a parent, to take on responsibility for the card’s payments if the student fails to make them. This may be a problem if you don’t have a co-signer. However, not all student cards require this so it pays to shop around if this is an issue for you.
• Rewards. The rewards that are available on student credit card rewards cards may differ from those that you’d get on another type of card. For one thing, you might qualify more easily for a reward on these types of cards than on other cards. Additionally, you may find that student credit cards offer rewards that are of specific use to students, such as school supplies and or rewards on fast food purchases.
• Low credit limits. As a general rule, student credit cards are considered “starter credit cards” and may therefore have lower credit limits than other cards. This can be a great way to reign in spending but can limit the purchases that you might want to make.
Student credit cards are mostly the same as traditional credit cards. However, their terms and benefits can be different from those cards that you might otherwise qualify to get. Read the fine print carefully before making a decision either way about whether student credit cards are right for you.
