The Best College Student Credit Cards

by Mack Bartlett

Some of your best memories (or possibly worst) are probably from when your mom, dad, aunt, uncle or whoever it was gave you your first bike. Remember that? Even though you couldn’t really get hurt because you had those spectacular training wheels (not to mention the streamers hanging from the handle bars and the stability of the banana seat) which kept you from tipping over, you were still terrified.

Eventually the day came when you were ready take off the training wheels and go for it. You ate it a few times, probably picked up a couple skinned knees and elbows, but you made it. You think I can turn this trip down memory lane into a great financial analogy? You bet I can. I’m going to compare your training wheels to the best student credit cards.

Credit cards can be your best friend or you worst enemy – kind of like that first bike. Yeah it was speedy, great looking, and you looked cooler than ever on it. At the same time, if you hit that curb wrong or didn’t quite make it around the mailbox at the end of your driveway, you were dead.

Credit Cards can be one of the best financial tools to help you manage your life. They can act as a bookkeeper for you so you know where your money is going. They can help finance a business. They offer rewards programs that can get you cash, prizes, or (my favorite) free plane tickets. All this can be yours, but you have to handle them right.

College is a great time to start your life as a credit card owner. You still have relatively few expenses, but you can use your card to pay for food and gas, and going out with friends. All the while you’re building your credit score and credit history. You just have to be careful. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

Over the last couple of years credit card companies have been more and more aggressive about marketing to college kids. They’re extending credit cards to more people and giving the college students higher credit limits. That’s fine if they’re using them in the right way, but student credit cards with high limits can get a kid into trouble fast. Real fast.

So what are the best college student credit cards? They have a lot in common with other good credit cards. They offer reasonable rates, they have some kind of rewards plan, and they don’t have a bunch of fees. You may not be able to find all those good qualities in one card, but you should try to get as many of them as possible. Remember, you’re new to the game and sometimes you have to pay to play in the form of some fees and high interest rates.

Here’s my most important piece of advice: start with a low limit and don’t let them increase your limits until you know you can handle it. You’re probably going to mess up and max out your credit cards at least once in your life. Better to do it with a low limit than with a high limit.