If you've been to college before, you know that there are a million ways to get students to fill out a credit card application. Sad, though, is that many of these students don't really know what they're getting themselves into. We're going to talk about some of the ways credit card companies try to get students to sign up so that you can avoid them.
Getting free stuff
No matter where you've been, you've seen these stands. People love getting free stuff, like t-shirts or burritos. What a great way to get a free T-shirt: fill out an application for a credit card. Many students just fill out the forms because they think it's easy work for a $5 burrito. What they don't know is that by doing this, they are hurting their credit score and maybe even their credit history.
When you sign up for free stuff and get a credit card, you don't know exactly what the terms and APR rates are. Students may not realise that there may be an annual fee for the credit card. Whether or not you use your credit card, an annual fee will be added to your statement.
Hard selling
In addition to the free stuff, a credit card company may sometimes set up a kiosk at a student's school. Many of these salespeople are very good at what they do and will try to get you to sign up for a credit card. Some of the ways they do this is by making it sound like a great way to make money or improve your credit. Again, this is bad because you don't know the card's official rules and how it works.
Sponsorships
When students go to an event at school, they might find that a big company is paying for it. Most of the time, a credit card company will pay for these events. During these talks, they usually talk about the credit card the whole time. This way of selling a credit card is less stressful because there is no one-on-one interaction.
Most of the time, all you'll get at the end of an event is a flyer or brochure. The best thing to do is to just throw away the brochure or use it as scrap paper in class.
Do your research before applying for your first credit card or adding to your collection of credit cards. When it comes to your credit, free stuff like a t-shirt or burrito isn't worth it. When you apply for a credit card, make sure you pay attention to the APR, if there is an annual fee, and what kinds of rewards it offers.
When you get your first credit card, it's up to you to use it in a responsible way. Use it like cash and don't spend too much. If you can stick to these golden rules, you'll never have to worry about debt again.
