Picking and Choosing Among Student Credit Cards

Are all college students financially naïve? Would you trust your teenager with a credit card? Well, irrespective of what your personal opinions are, students are increasingly being targeted by credit card companies. This is clearly the "catch 'em young" philosophy in action. There are many detractors to this policy of enticing teenagers to turn into credit cardholders. One of the most voiced opinions is that the credit card providers are simply looking to make a quick buck by exploiting the financial inexperience of young people. Teenagers are generally believed to be careless with their money. In fact, most of us learn to take care of our finances only after going broke a couple of times.

However, perhaps it is time that one replaces the old stereotype of the financially naïve teenagers of the world. With the kind of exposure that the young people of today get, it is most probably that they will avoid entanglement in webs of debt. Moreover, the high school and college years are the easiest years to learn about the value of money. The experiences that we gain at this time teach us to make our money go far. So this is perhaps the best time to introduce your college-goer to the big bad world of credit cards.

Well, credit card companies feel the same way as we do. As a result, college campuses have become the marketplace for many providers. Students are swamped by credit card providers of all kinds from various credit card companies. Many of them offer freebies like t-shirts and caps to win over interested students. At times the offers might sound too good to be true. At such times, students must ensure that they are not taken in by great sales pitches. Ideally one should be able to procure a credit card that seems affordable. For instance, there is no point in going in for a card that offers and initial interest-free period but whose interest rates later become much higher. Ideally, one must look out for cards offering lower rates of interest, say about 16 percent. A card that has a grace period for payment might be the perfect choice for youngsters who might have a tendency to default on the payments.

Ultimately, what matters is not whether you got your card at bargain basement prices. What matters is how well the student makes use of it. A student who is smart with his money would do well with credit card rewards. And one can always switch credit cards in between -- the ease with which credit cards can be bought and switched being a testament to their power.

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