Best Student Credit Cards: Whats To Watch Out For

Now that we have covered the basics of what you need to know about the best student credit cards you may be thinking, how could anything possible go wrong now?

You may be surprised to know that even knowing the basics of the best student credit cards some students still end up with a situation just like homer’s in the picture above. Just because you feel sure that you can be responsible does not mean that when it comes down to it you will be no matter what. Sometimes accidents happen and someone doesn’t know how to recover from failing to pay off a months balance completely. Sometimes students can get carried away with the excitement of being able to buy anything just about anytime without physically holding the money you need to buy it. There are many ways to overspend without planning to so its good to know what to look out for. Knowing the basics is a great start though there are still quite a few things to look out for and to be aware of when it comes to having the best student credit cards.

Best Student Credit Cards: Whats To Watch Out For

Getting carried away – Having a student credit card means you can often buy what you want when you want. You only have so much money and for many people it is really easy to get carried away with spending and lose track of how much you’ve already spent. You must be aware that spending is enjoyable and can become impulsive when making purchases with your student credit card without having to immediately take responsibility. Lets say you buy something that costs $59.99 before tax, in your head you may remember that as $60 when it will really add up to more than that. If you make purchases and the bill comes to $13 after tax you may remember it as being $10, after a few purchases you may underestimate how much you have actually spent. This is a really easy and common way for people to spend beyond their ability to pay back their bill and end up being charged lots of interest.
Not paying off your full bill – You are given the option of paying less than your full bill though I would strong recommend against it. Make sure to pay off your full bill every month before the end of the grace period. By paying your bills off before the due date you will avoid building up interest on the balance you have left over. If you can’t manage to pay off your full bill then I strongly recommend reducing spending if necessary and doing what you can to make sure to pay off your bill as soon as possible and do your best to avoid not paying off your full bill again.
Missing a payment – If you miss a payment it will go on your credit history for seven years and can not be removed before then. Not only does this show up on your credit history but your credit card provider may raise your APR as you have become a greater liability. Don’t miss any payments, if you can’t pay off in full there is a minimum payment you must pay!
0% APR – While zero percent APR sounds great it is usually offered as a promotion or incentive to get you to sign up. This is not a free pass to spend money you can’t pay back though it does help if you mistakenly can’t pay off your full bill for a month. One condition that may cause you to lose this benefit is if you miss a payment. Most credit card providers stand by this rule though hopefully reading this you won’t be missing any payments. Personally 0% APR does not appeal to me when I could instead search for a student credit card which offers me rewards or benefits more suited to me. If you pay off your monthly bills on time then you don’t end up paying any interest so 0% APR for a few months isn’t usually that big of a deal. It can even leave you with a debt you can’t pay off when it runs out!
High interest charges – You have to understand that student credit cards often have a higher APR than standard credit cards since students generally are a more risky customer. I am not pointing out that you should look for a lower APR, though lower is better, however I am trying to emphasize that if you don’t pay off your bill you will be paying interest on your purchases. This means you are paying more than if you just paid by cash or debit. By not paying off your bills you can quickly reduce the value of having a student credit card and may have been better off without it. Use this to motivate you to be responsible so you can get the best student credit card benefits and experience.
Don’t Withdraw Cash! – Most student credit cards allow you to withdraw cash though you should never do this! You are charge a great deal of interest on it as well as potentially some other fees so you are just better off if you don’t withdraw cash with your student credit card.
Conditions – Make sure to read over the fine print and requirements before signing up for a student credit card. This way you can make sure you understand exactly what is being offered to you as well making sure you abide by the rules.
Beware the benefits – While looking for the best student credit card for you, you will want to try not get sucked in by rewards that just have really appealing deals on stuff you kind of like when there could be another rewards card much better suited to you and what you’d actually like. Personally I like to go for the cash back cards since I am good at finding deals for really specific things I want. So then I can spend the money on whatever I want.
Fees – You will want to read over the conditions to see if there are any fees you may need to know about or avoid.
Fraud – Be aware that sometimes fraud does occur. You may want to make sure to look over your transaction history from time to time to see if the purchases are all ones you remember. Using your credit card information may sometimes be intercepted and stolen by various means such as a virus on your computer. You will want to be able to report it as soon as possible for the best chance of having the issue dealt with smoothly. While some people think your credit card would physically have to be stolen to have fraud on it this is simply not the case.

I hope that these points to not deter you from your interest in the best student credit cards. As long as you spend responsibly you will find only positive results with your student credit card experience.

I wish you the best of exploring your opportunities around you for the best student credit cards.