Applying for your first credit card can be a rough path if you don’t know what you’re doing.  Thankfully, we have the Internet where you can get a boatload of information.  I’m going to show you a few things you should ask yourself before you hit the submit button on your credit card application online.

What do you want?  Are you getting a credit card because you want the rewards that come with it?  Do you want a credit card because you want to purchase things online?  Ask yourself why you want a credit card.  If you’re applying for a card because you have no money, DON’T apply, I can’t stress this enough.  You’re only going to hurt yourself down the road.

What rewards do you want?  Credit cards offer many rewards out there.  From getting cash back, to getting rewards for your gas fill ups, there are so many cards you can pick and choose from.  With the cards on the market, here are the rewards that a student credit card can give you –

• Gas rebates:  get cash back every time you fill up your car.
• Point-based:  get points every time you make a purchase, use these points for gift cards, etc.
• Airline rewards:  get miles for every dollar you spend.  Use these miles for free airline tickets.
• Cash back:  for every dollar you spend, you’ll get a certain percentage back in your account.

Do your research.  Once you know what kind of rewards you want, start looking at all of the major credit card companies like Visa and MasterCard.  Explore and see what the card does.  You’re going to want to make sure that you read the fine print as well when it comes to the rewards.  Sometimes, the card will limit you to a cap when it comes to rewards, where you can only earn so much.

Don’t worry about the APR.  When it comes to using your credit card, don’t worry about the APR.  When you apply for that card, your intent should be to pay that card off in FULL each month, so that you can avoid these fees.  If you pay the card off in full, you won’t have to pay any interest.  Also, in order to maximize the rewards, you’ll want to pay off your card in full.  If you don’t, the interest will be more than the rewards you get in return, it won’t make any sense.

Apply for your card.  Once you search at all of the cards on the market, pick and choose just one.  Apply for the card and wait for a response.  Never apply for more than one card at once because this can likely hurt your credit score.  Don’t get discouraged if you get denied, it happens to all of us!  Once you receive your status, apply for your next card.  If you get approved, use the card, if not, apply for another.