If you’ve been to college before, you’ve seen the millions of ways students have been drawn in for a credit card application. The sad thing is though that a lot of these students don’t necessarily realize what they are getting themselves into. We are going to break down some ways on how credit card companies lure in students so that you can avoid this situations.
Getting the freebies
Everyone has seen these stands regardless of where you’ve been. From free t-shirts to a free burrito, people love free stuff. What a better way to get a free t-shirt by applying for a credit card application. A lot of students just fill out the paperwork thinking its innocent work for that $5 burrito. What they don’t realize is that they are affecting their credit score and possibly their credit history.
The problem with getting a credit card when you sign up for freebies is that you don’t know exactly what the terms and APR rates are. Sometimes what students may realize is that the credit card may have an annual fee. An annual fee is applied to your credit card statement regardless of if you use.
Hard selling
Besides the freebies, students may sometimes notice a kiosk set up at their school from a credit card company. A lot of these salespeople are highly trained in their area and lure you into signing up for a credit card application. Some of the tactics they use are making it sound like a wonderful financial opportunity or how it can build up your credit. Once again, this is bad because you don’t know the official terms and exactly how the card acts.
Sponsorships
Students may find that when they attend an event at school, it will be sponsored by a major company. A lot of the times, these events are sponsored by a credit card company. During these spiels, they will generally promote the credit card throughout the event. This way of selling a credit card is technically less pressurized because of the lack of the one on one basis.
A lot of the times you will just receive a flyer or brochure at the end of the event. The best way is to simply throw the credit card brochure out or just use it as scrap paper during class.
When looking for your first credit card or a credit card to be added to your collection, it’s important that you do your research. The freebies like a free t-shirt or burrito just isn’t worth it when it comes down to your credit. When you do apply for a credit card, make sure you pay attention to the APR rate, if it has an annual fee, and what kind of rewards it has to offer.
When you do receive you first credit card, it’s up to you to be responsible with it. Treat it as if it were cash and don’t overspend. If you can follow these golden rules, you will be debt-free for your lifetime.
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