Student Credit Cards

For years now the credit card companies have been bombarding college students with offers of credit. All that will change on February 22, 2010 when new legislation goes into effect. Pre-screened offers and “tangible gifts” like free t-shirts and water bottles will no longer be allowed. In an even bigger shift, anybody under the age of 21 will have to have a cosigner on credit card applications. The one exception to the rule is anybody that can show an independent means of repayment.

These laws serve to protect young people that don’t fully understand the ramifications of credit. The rampant offers of credit cards for college students needed to be slowed. But now it’s important that parents step in during those three years to help teach their kids how to responsibly use credit. And since so many of us have recently learned these lessons ourselves, it wouldn’t hurt to stop by the FTC website to brush up on our own use.

Think of credit cards for college students like you think about a learning permit for young drivers. Hardly anyone would expect a 16 year old to get behind the wheel of a car by herself and spontaneously know how to drive. We all recognize the danger in this situation. So we sit in the passenger’s seat and offer pointers. We take our kids down to a parking lot so they can practice parallel parking. We might even sign them up for lessons from a driving instructor. While a student credit card might never get someone killed, if misused it has the capacity to make life much more difficult. Take the time to teach your children how to use a credit card while you’re still in the passenger’s seat with them. When you receive your monthly billing statement, call your child and discuss what the various numbers mean.

Becoming a responsible credit card user doesn’t happen without practice. Credit cards for college students are the perfect tool to help young adults learn these valuable life lessons.