The minimum payment due is about 2 to 4 percent of the total balance. Think about this: even with a 10 percent interest rate, a comparatively favorable APR, your minimum monthly payment wouldn’t cover all the interest charged on that balance.

What do credit cards really cost? University of Minnesota

When you are scraping by with waiting tables, using money from your parents or having to work as a free intern, your spending power is limited but your need for credit is necessary. If you are in the market for a credit card, carefully evaluating the wide range of credit products may give you some added benefits for your hard earned dollars. Or your parents’ hard earned dollars.

Discover offers several cash back credit cards for students. Depending on the card, a cardholder can redeem up to 20% of the amount charged on the account. Also, many Discover cards are personalized: the cardholder can choose what image is on the card or the color of the card, and the cardholder’s initials can be imprinted on the front. The downside is this cashback must be spent at participating retailers and websites. 

Citi features a wider range of benefits. Although the offers are mostly low interest credit cards for students, the cardholder automatically participates in Citi’s ThankYou network—even earning rewards points for a good GPA.

For college students, rewards cards have a limited value. College students looking for a credit card with a rewards program should be careful to review the terms prior to selecting. Choosing a card with points that do not expire and bonus rewards that can be earned with the typical purchases a student makes, is likely to be the best value.

Save your credit card for a real money emergency. Using a card to pay for Spring Break vacation is neither an emergency nor a good idea.

Credit Card Smarts, Boston College

For starters, using your parents’ card won’t help you build your own credit history so you should tell them thanks, but no thanks. There are many reasonable college student credit cards for you to start building your credit score. Secondly, if you do have an ‘emergency’ credit card system established with your parental safety net, define the ground rules before you find yourself paying your parents back at their own designated annual percentage rate. Not to mention, they will likely provide you a monthly reminder of your stupidity at no additional expense.

Things like medical expenses, tuition and fees and food when the cafeteria closes for fumigation- these are reasonable emergencies. Most of these costs are unexpected and couldn’t be helped- which should be your gold standard. An emergency expense is an unexpected cost that was not preventable and that you would have no problem explaining to your parents.

Another reason your parents should skip the emergency credit card is because of the very real damage you could unintentionally, but unforgivably do to their credit rating. Your parents’ credit report will be negatively impacted by a missed payment here or there, an accidental over limit fee or even a balance that is more than 40% of the available credit limit; all of these items are costly to a credit score.

Creating your own credit history with a solid understanding of the financial impact of your spending decisions will be a much better lesson than carrying around a spreadsheet of acceptable emergency expenses. A little fall back help is nice to have but a boyfriend without a probation officer is even better. And having a financial responsibility is the best lesson learned.

Most college students use their student credit cards to manage everyday expenses such as buying food, purchasing college textbooks and booking travel tickets to visit home. However, it’s also easy enough to settle the bar tab or pay for the occasional night out using your credit card, and many restaurants and bars will use a preauthorization process to set up your tab. Understanding how credit card preauthorization works can prevent discrepancies and unnecessary charges being posted to your account.

Ins and Outs of Credit Card Preauthorization

Credit card preauthorization allows an establishment to hold onto all of your account information so it can charge your card for a certain amount and reduce the balance as your tab grows. It’s easy to start a credit card tab at the beginning of the night, so you don’t have to pull out your card or cash throughout your stay. Preauthorization also reduces the risk that you will leave the venue without settling the tab, so it is in the best interests of the establishment to keep open tabs running throughout the night.

Still, the process isn’t perfect. Server or bartender errors may result in overcharges on your bar tab that can be challenging to reverse if you don’t catch them at the right time.

Settling the Tab at the Bar: Disputing Errors or Overcharges

When it’s time to settle your bill at the end of the night, the establishment will need your signature to confirm that you did indeed receive the services you were charged for. This is your opportunity to check for errors and make any requests to the supervisor or bartender. It’s too easy to just sign on the dotted line when you’re in a hurry to leave the venue with your friends, but taking a few minutes to check your receipt can save you stress and money later.

If you do find an error or overcharge, make sure you make a formal complaint to the manager or supervisor before you leave. It’s much easier to settle any discrepancies in person, especially if you can prove that you didn’t order certain items or services. In many situations, the manager will be able to process a refund right on the spot.

If you did not sign your receipt and the card was still overcharged, you can take a copy of the statement to your bank and explain that you were overcharged. The bank may contact the venue to request the original bank slip so that you can verify everything on it. The bank or credit card company will ask you to file a formal dispute if the establishment cannot provide solid evidence of the transaction.

Using student credit cards responsibly will help you keep track of your spending, and there are many advantages to using student credit cards for everyday expenses. When it comes to bar tabs, just make sure you’re not being overcharged at the end of the night and settle the bill with the bartender or manager before you leave the premises.

Sabah Karimi

There are several student credit card requirements that you must fulfill before you can be issued a card. If you do not meet these requirements, you will likely be offered a regular card from the same issuer, but it might not have the same favorable terms.

Enrollment

In order to qualify for the best student credit cards, you must currently be enrolled in an accredited university. Some issuers may require that your enrollment be full time, so you’ll need to talk to a representative to make sure you meet the requirements.

In order to prove enrollment for student credit cards, you will need to bring with you (or mail) a copy of your most recent bill for classes. Some issuers might also take a current student identification card, but since these are sometimes not dated, it might not suffice.

Bank Account

Most issuers will also require that you hold a checking or savings account when you apply for student credit cards. Fortunately, some banks (such as Wells Fargo) offer student-specific packages that include student credit cards and bank accounts that you open at the same time. This sets you on your way to financial stability.

Age

Some student credit card requirements include age, which means that if you are older than, for example, 24, you won’t qualify for student credit cards . This particular trend has slowed down during recent years, giving even graduate students the opportunity to apply for these cards. However, you’ll need to talk to individual issuers to find out if you meet the age requirements.

You will also find that some issuers have school-year requirements rather than relying on age as an indicator. For example, it might say that you can’t obtain student credit cards if you are at the junior level or higher. However, some student credit cards are even available to high school students, according to When Teens Get Credit Cards by Janet Bodnar at Kiplinger.com.

Income

There are some student credit cards that do not require card holders to possess a job, but the majority of them do. In general, your approval and credit limit will be dependent on the amount of money you make in a given month. Credit limits are usually lower for these cards anyway, so it is important to report any income you have to ensure approval.

If you don’t have a job but are still interested in student credit cards, you can sometimes get around the income requirements by having a parent or relative co-sign. This means that the third party will take responsibility for any debt you accrue on the card and fail to pay back.

Responsibility

If used correctly, you could graduate with a FICO score of 720 . This is the bracket banks and lenders are hungry for, making getting a new car or a house within reach. The flip side is falling into a cycle of debt. As far back as 2002, 32% of students had an average debt of $2,748 on four cards. It can’t be stated enough: Be responsible.

Often, there are credit card tablers on campus that can address many of these requirements. These vendors have tables set up close to the most popular locations and offer free rewards, free gifts and sign-up bonuses.

Student credit cards are an excellent way to build a credit foundation and begin securing your financial future. However, make sure you evaluate each card for interest rates, annual fees, grace periods and other pertinent factors that will affect how it can be used.

Steve Thompson

Many people are very wrapped up in what they have and what they can get. Instead of considering how much a car costs, people consider the car payment. Instead of looking at the interest rate on credit cards, people look at the credit limit. Spending money you don’t have to impress people is about as wasteful as money lost in excessive credit card interest.

If you can’t fess up to your own friends that their lifestyle is a little too high end for you and that unless they are interested in discounted movie matinees or midnight madness sales at more moderate stores, then you are doomed for financial distress. If you can face passing on social events you can’t afford or ordering an appetizer from the value menu when everyone is getting a three course meal, then you are moving in the right direction. Declining an invitation is to an event is far better for your financial health than accepting one and wondering if you’ve hit your credit line yet.

Decide if you will be more embarrassed when your card comes back declined or when the next event comes up and you have to inform your friends that it is out of your budget and maybe you could join them after the event. Being responsible with your money will enable you to continue to build on your income and savings instead of paying for a spring break trip you couldn’t afford- and that happened two years ago.

Many credit card providers offer guarantees for stolen cards, such as Platinum Edition Visa. This card provides FirstGuard, an identity theft protection service that is optional with sign up. FirstGuard charges a monthly fee of $.89 cents per every $100 of the total monthly outstanding new balance, which means if you charged $100 the first month and didn’t pay off the balance, you will only have to pay $.89 cents for your identity theft protection. As your balance continues to increase, so will your identity theft protection fees.

Once you have realized your card was stolen, you would contact the credit card provider as soon as possible, generally within 24 hours. Your legal liability is actually $50, which is often waived by a credit card provider. You will also be issued a new card number.

But none of this applies if you gave your friend permission to use your card. If you happened to have created a notarized, contract with your limit terms explicitly called out, you may have some legal recourse. However, usually when your friend is borrowing your card there isn’t quite time to google yourself a contract form and find a notary.

The next time your friend wants to borrow your card, you need to take the trip with them and make sure your short term loan to your friend doesn’t become your long term debt.

If your parents decide to not pay for your big day only AFTER you have deposits laid out beginning with your wedding planner all the way to the guy that will be cleaning up the reception room, then it’s too late to even panic. With 200 invitations already in the mail, you need to make a plan. If you have good credit, American Express often has some of the highest credit limits available. The Blue card from American Express has a longer introductory rate than most companies- lasting up to 15 months.

If the financial bombshell from your parents is causing you to scratch off a honeymoon from your wedding plans, you should think again. You could maximize your anticipated expenses by choosing a rewards card that could get you airline tickets for your trip. The Citi Premier Pass Card- Elite Level, offers complimentary companion travel, allowing you to obtain a second ticket when you have achieved your points requirement. Hilton HHonors Platinum credit card issues up to 50,000 points at the time of opening which may qualify you for free nights at select Hilton Hotels including the Embassy Suites or Double Tree hotels.

A wedding is certainly a time to remember, but don’t let the debt be your reminder. Be realistic about your credit card debt and how long you will need to pay it off. Many cards offer introductory rates with low interest or even no interest such as the HSBC Platinum MasterCard with Cash Back Rewards. With a 0% APR, this card also offers unlimited earnings and no expiration of points, while earning 1% cash back every where you use the card.

If your day to remember will require you to use credit cards, be smart about it. Review introductory rates as well as the fixed APR amounts before selecting a card. You can also get the most for your money by selecting a card with rewards options.