Students - Beware! of Hidden Credit Card Fees
by: Tom Tessin

If you’ve recently started up college and you’ve obtained your first credit card, there are a few things you should know about your credit card before you start actually using it. If you haven’t applied for one yet, we strongly recommend you look at some hidden fees before you begin your journey.

A credit card can be a very tricky thing when it comes to fees. All fees that credit card companies charge you are printed on the terms and conditions when you apply for a credit card. What most people do is not read them properly then getting charged for a fee that they didn’t know about.

These tips should help assist you in better understanding the so called “hidden” fees that come along with a credit card. The term hidden is put in quotations marks because the fees aren’t actually hidden; they are just not out in the open in your face.

ATMs and your credit card

If you’re strapped for cash and the only thing you have in your wallet is a credit card, you should really think twice before you pop in your credit card for cash. The fees for ATM transactions are a lot higher than you think. Cash advances generally have a higher interest rate and the credit card companies also will charge you a percentage on the money you withdrawal. In today’s world, you really don’t need cash for a lot of things anymore seeing that most stores, fast food chains, etc accept major credit cards.

The convenience checks

If you already have a credit card, you’re probably aware of the blank checks you get in the mail that tell you that you can start writing checks using your credit balance. What you don’t come to realize is that these checks are treated like a cash advance. So every fee we just talked about in the previous point will be applied to these checks as well. Another thing that you must note is that if your check is bounced or returned, you can expect some heavy fees as high as fifty to sixty dollars and beyond.

In the foreign land

If you like to travel overseas or to other foreign countries a lot, you may not realize this but every time you swipe your credit card, you’re probably going to be slapped with a foreign transaction fee of about three percent. In order to avoid this fee, it’s always best to carry traveler’s checks as an alternative because the three percent can add up pretty quickly.

These are just a few of the fees that many consumers don’t know about. The list goes on and on and it’s your duty to read about all of the fees that pertain to your credit card since they are all different. Every credit card will come with a fee sheet that explains every fee associated with your credit card. The next time you use your credit card, remember to be smart and when the bill comes in the mail, you better not be surprised with the hidden fees!