Student credit cards can be a really good thing or a really bad thing. Most college students are bombarded with student credit card offers as soon as they hit campus. These credit cards usually offer tons of incentives to draw people in, because the student credit card market is extremely competitive. Student credit cards often have low interest rates and high limits. The credit card companies advertise these cards as a way of teaching students about the importance of credit and managing money, but often what student credit cards end up doing is getting these students in a lot of debt and ruining their credit, which has repercussions that last long after graduation.

Student Credit Cards – The Pros
Student credit cards are not all bad. Because you find mostly free student credit cards, there is no initial risk. If the card is managed properly, usually under the watchful eye of a more financially savvy adult, student credit cards can go a long way to helping a young adult establish credit and learn about managing their money. Student credit cards usually have low interest rates, so the account is taken care of in the right away, this is a low cost, low risk way of mastering the tricky world of finance.

Student Credit Cards – The Cons
The truth of the matter is that college students often don’t end up managing their card accounts correctly. In this instance, college student credit cards can be a disaster for the card holder and land them in debt and in credit trouble that lasts well into their 30s. Most 18 and 19 year olds don’t have the financial know how or responsibility to manage a credit card with a credit limit of thousands of dollars. Debt racked up on a student credit card can impact the student’s ability to get a car, apartment and job for years to come.

Who Issues Student Credit Cards
Most card companies have student credit card options. There are Visa student credit cards, Discover student credit cards, Mastercard student credit cards, Citi student credit cards and more. There are even high school student credit cards on the market, though with college student credit card debt being what is it, a high school student credit card seems like a recipe for disaster. To find the best student credit cards, go online and do a little research into the various company policies, interest rates, and customer reward programs.