If you’re a college student that has been thinking about a student credit card, that is a good start. Student credit cards help you build credit, can be very convenient, and have a lot of great benefits.  To help you out, there are some really great student credit cards out there.  If you’re not sure which ones you should consider, continue to read below to find out which ones made the top 3 student credit cards. 

The top 3 student credit cards and their benefits:

1.) Citi®mtvU™ Platinum Select® Visa® Card for Students - This credit card is loved by all student credit card holders.  It is one of the credit cards where you receive a ton of benefits.  What is so great about this student credit card?

• First, there is no minimum income required.
• You don’t need any previous credit to get approved.
• You get ThankYou points for just getting good grades in college, for paying your bill on time, and points for every dollar you spend.
• You also receive 5 ThankYou Points for every dollar spent at bookstores, record stores, restaurants (including fast food), video entertainment rental stores, and at theatres.
• Also, this credit card has a pretty good APR that is 12.99%, which is one of the lowest rates you’ll find with a student credit card.
• This is definitely the most rewarding credit card.

2.) Citi®Dividend Platinum Select® Card for College Students - This is another great student credit card that you should take a look at!  This card has received second place out of the three.

• There is no annual fee.
• No minimum requirement of money made to get approved.
• 0% APR on purchases, cash advances and balance transfers for the first 6 months.
• 5% Cash back on purchases made at supermarkets, drugstores, gas stations, convenience stores, and utilities including cable for the first 6 months and 2% after.
• APR of 12.99% which is one of the lower rates you’ll get on a student credit card.

3.) Citi® Platinum Select® Card for College Students - This credit card also made the top 3 and is one to consider!  Continue to read below to see what benefits it offers college students.

• No annual Fee.
• 0% APR on purchases, cash advances and balance transfers for 6 months.
• You can receive big discounts at some of your favorite stores.  Although, that is only for students and when you use your Citi Card.
• An APR of just 11.9%, which is great for a student credit card.

As you can see, there are many great student credit cards available.  If you’re looking for the best of the best, be sure to consider the ones listed above.  They have some of the lower APR rates, best perks and best rewards.

Credit is an important part of just about any young adults life.  This is where you’re going to start off your adulthood.  Credit is important because this is going to allow you to become more responsible, learn how to manage your finances, and most importantly, it will allow you build credit so that you can buy that house or car in the future that you’ve always dreamed about.

Generally, whenever you ask a question about credit cards, you’ll always get mixed responses.  Some people will tell you to “stay away” and others will say that you can take advantage of many rewards.  Credit cards aren’t for everyone.  They are for those that can pay their bills off in full and not spend over their heads.  If you feel you’re a responsible young adult, then I highly suggest you take a student card for a test spin.

Before you even look for a student credit card application, make sure that you know what the pros and cons are that are related to student credit cards.  I made up a quick list that will show you a few pros and cons that you should be fully aware of –

PROS

• Student credit cards are great for those that are looking to buy anything online.  Without a credit card, you’re not going to be able to buy those things online that you truly want.  By now, you’ve probably also realized that things online are generally cheaper than items in stores.
• Lot easier to carry around.  If you have a card in your wallet, you won’t have to worry about carrying around a lot of money.  If you lose your wallet or purse, you won’t have to worry about getting your money back because you’re only responsible for the first $50 that’s spent on the card from purchases you didn’t make.
• Get rewards for your spending.  Unlike cash, when you spend it, you’re done, some reward credit cards will give you points or cash back for every dollar you spend.  Once you get enough points, you can redeem them for items like gift cards, etc.
• Credit cards are lot safer than carrying cash.
• The most important part of having a credit card is that you’re able to establish your credit history.   The long you have your card and the more responsible you are, the higher your credit score will be.  The higher your score, the better your rates will be when you apply for a loan.  Without a credit score, you won’t be able to get a mortgage or any type of loan.

CONS

• Fees.  If you don’t pay your card off in full or you go over your spending limit, etc, you can find that you’re going to be paying a lot in fees.  Make sure that you always pay your card off in full to avoid any type of fees that may occur.
• They can be dangerous.  Some people tend to treat the plastic like a toy.  I highly recommend you don’t do this.  Make sure you know how much you’re spending and make sure you’ll be able to pay it off at the end of the month.  Credit cards are money.
• Can lead to debt.  Yes, credit cards can be dangerous and this one goes with the one mentioned above.  If you spend like a mad man, you may lead yourself into some serious debt.

Credit cards are only dangerous when the user makes an error.  If you can follow my golden rule, you’ll be fine.. never spend more than what you can afford and pay on time, it’s that simple.  If you can’t do this, then you’ll most likely head down the debt road.

What have we left for the next generation with our exorbitant lifestyles and lives we have built around credit?  Will our children and grandchildren learn from our mistakes or will they perpetuate this disaster to their children?  It has always been the hope of our parents that we will be able to have a better life than they had, but in reality we have left them in a position to pay for our irresponsibility as well as their own expenses.  We have left them with the very real possibility that they will have a more difficult life than we had.

One challenge the next generation will have is how to prevent the major collapse that we are facing today.  We are not taught in school how to handle our finances responsibly.  There are classes for sex education and physical education but very few schools offer mandatory classes for personal finances.  They can meet this challenge by insisting that their children take these mandatory classes. 

The education does not provide simple concepts such as balancing a check book, buying a home or car, or how to use credit cards.  It is mandatory for them to take gym but nothing about arguably the most important skill in their lives.

Credit card companies and lenders do nothing to help the situation.  They are so concerned about making money that they lure young adults with the promise of a good life if they use their cards.  They are taught everyday that the world revolves around credit.  Advertising is everywhere to convince them that they need a credit card, especially theirs.

By giving our children everything they want they grow up with a feeling of entitlement.  They feel that they have to live the same lifestyle that their parents provided.  What they don’t understand is that in most cases their parents had to work very hard for years to obtain the things they own.  Children are not taught a basic work ethic.  They graduate from high school or college expecting to all of a sudden be able to afford the nicest cars, the beautiful homes, and the ability to go out to eat 5 nights a week.

When they realize that they can’t pay for all the things they want, the credit industry tells them all they have to do is carry their cards or mortgages and they can have anything they want.  No need to work hard or save until they can buy the things they want.

The solution to this debacle is twofold.  Firstly we, as parents must teach our children responsible financial practices.  The first step for us is to practice what we preach and change the way we use credit.  The second is to demand that our schools teach financial responsibility.  In addition, the lenders must take a positive role with honesty, even if it means reducing their profit margin.  That is very unlikely; a corporation’s sole concern is to make money.

So, the responsibility rest with us.  We can’t let our children face to same problems that we have to suffer today.

For a college student to benefit from using a credit card, they must first use it properly, which can apply to everyone.  There are many great advantages of a student credit card like reward points, credit building, convenience factors, emergency caeses and much more.  Although for a college student to benefit from this cases they must first keep a few things in mind.  There are many commonly used mistakes of a credit card holder.  What are the mistakes you should avoid?  Read below to find out more!

Spending - College students like to think a credit card is free money, which can be extremely dangerous.  Although it is money that is lent to you, it is money that you don’t have at the moment.  You want to always make sure that you spend within in your limits and never max out your credit cards.

Misplacing - When you have a credit card make sure it is in a place that is safe and place that you’ll remember.  When you misplace your credit card you are allowing people to have access to it and rack up bills on your card.  You always want to have it close by and know where it is.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR) - Students often don’t pay attention to the interest rates on their cards.  Interests rates that are high can be dangerous to students that don’t pay off their bill in full.  When you don’t pay off your bill in full and you have a high interest rate, you’ll end up paying a lot more than you think.  So when looking for a credit card make sure you always look for the lowest interest rate possible.

Information - Students often have a hard time shopping online.  You want to always make sure that if you’re buying something online that you only go to a website that looks legit.  Never give out your information to anyone or any website that looks fishy.

Timing - Students also don’t know the consequences of not paying their bill off on time.  When you don’t pay your bill on time you are being charged interest at a high rate.  It is very important that you pay on time so that way you only pay what you charged and nothing else like added up fees. 

Full balance - When you receive a bill you also want to make sure that you pay off the balance in full.  This eliminates any fees that the credit card companies could charge you with.  If you buy for example a CD at the store for $20.00, you want to make sure you only spend $20.00.  If you pay off $10.00 and you have $10.00 left to pay you’ll have a higher bill for next time.

As you can see there are quite a few mistakes that first time credit card holders make.  Avoid these mistakes and you’ll find that you’ll have many great benefits to a credit card.

If you’re a college student you may be hearing that you should apply for a student credit card.  Credit cards have many benefits to college students, and yes should be considered at a younger age.  Credit cards allow college students to build credit, have many convenience factors, are a great way to learn responsibility, rewards students with many things like gift cards, electronics, travel discounts, and much more.  Allow credit cards may be beneficial to college students, they may also be very dangerous.  Read below to find out what you should keep in mind when using a credit card.

Spending - You want to make sure you never spend more money than you have.  This may sound like common sense but you’d be surprise how often it happens.  When you spend more than you have, you are allowing yourself not to pay your bill on time.  When bills aren’t paid on time, you end up spending even more in the long run due to interest, which starts the process of debt.  See how dangerous they can be if you don’t spend appropriately?

APR - When applying for a credit card you want to make sure you find a credit card with the lowest APR.  When people don’t pay their bill on time which happens often they are being charged interest.  So for example if you have a credit card that has 21% interest and you don’t pay your bill on time you will be paying .21 cents per dollar over the year to make up for it. 

On time - Always pay your bill on time!  When you have a bill that is due on October 30th, pay it on October 30th and no later.  When you aren’t paying your bill on time credit card companies will take even more money from you. 

Pay in full - Always try to pay your balance in full as well.  Why pay in full?  Credit card companies will charge interest on every penny that you don’t pay, and those pennies add up!

Safety - Make sure you know where your credit card is all the time.  When people use credit cards they often misplace them and loose them.  Why is this dangerous?  People can snatch your credit card and buy unlimited things under your name.

Secured Websites - When you make purchases online always be sure that the website is secure and doesn’t look fishy.  You never want to give your credit card number away to anyone that could abuse it.

There is a lot to keep in mind when you use your credit card.  Although it may look tough, it is actually very easy to use.  The best advice is use your credit card like a debit card.  You know your limits and you don’t want to spend more than what you have on your debit card because you will have overdraft fees.  A credit card is the same concept due to interest.  Keep these things in mind and you will have many benefits awaiting you in the future!