A student credit card is important if you want to easily take care of learning-related expenses like books, supplies and basically to make sure that you have access to money when you need it. But how do you choose the best credit card for students? Much like you choose any other credit card really. Let’s look at the most important features.
Low interest rates
A student credit card should have lower than the current interest rates on other regular credit cards. Because you use it to buy textbooks, supplies and fuel, issuers should not be expecting to make much from them, rather offering a financial support structure for students.
Minimal credit limit
Large credit limits will only lead to debt students are not usually the best judges of how well to spend their money, and if they are not careful, can find themselves in more debt than they can afford. A small credit limit ensures monitored spending.
A good grace period
This is the period before the card starts to accrue interest at the end of the month. A good grace period is 30 days, enough time to allow students to get in touch with parents, give them their credit card statement and then for parents to pay it off. If it is very little, this grace period should be 20 days.
Reasonable other fees
There are usually hidden fees in credit cards, like annual fees or charge fees. These should be minimal, because if they are high, they contribute to mounting of debt. Also, before you take up any student credit card, go through the small print to see what hidden fees are there.
Good customer service
Like with any other card, get a student credit card that has good customer service. They should be able to listen and answer queries and go out of their way to make card usage very easy. They should also be able to resolve issues online and on phone.
Little or no promos
Promos make people want to spend so that they can take advantage of promos. Students may end up spending more than they can afford just to take advantage of these promos. The fewer they are, the better.
As you can see, all these considerations have to do with reducing spending. As you choose a student credit card, you should think of how you can make sure that you buy the necessities while keeping spending at a minimum.
About The Author
This guest post was brought to you by Simon. Simon has a lot of experience with personal finance management and is also a content writer for creditcards.com.au.