A typical credit score will be determined based on certain factors like payment history, debts involved in by an individual, the length of a credit history, new credits and inquiries, credit mixes, etc. If you are a student, then this credit score will be required to qualify you in several ways in the future after graduation like borrowing a home or an auto loan, renting a house, getting a job, etc. A good credit history also helps you to qualify for a lower or no deposit requirement or while applying for gas, electricity and other utilities. Since students do not have an income source to build a credit history for future, credit cards for students come in handy for them to start building up a credit history. These credit cards students are offered are for college students who are at least 18 years of age and can be used to pay for their daily expenditures with an interest-free financing. A credit card management pattern that shows responsibility and careful usage of a credit card defines a good credit score by the time they graduate. Also, these cards also offer most of the benefits that any normal credit card student offers like reward points, insurance coverages, etc. A survey of over 1400 U.S college goers shows that about 44% of the students who hold a student credit card do not have sufficient knowledge about good credit card management. This is alarming. While a credit card offers the benefits of making cashless purchases, it also holds the burden of damaging your credits if not used responsibly. Here are some tips on picking the right credit card:

• A card should pay additional benefits for students with good scores: If a student secures good grades, the credit cards students have should offer a rewards system with additional incentives or cash back offers on purchases made with the card. The same with those students who pay their bills on time may earn bonus points.
• Avail a card that offers an introductory offer: A good card will offer very low annual rates on purchases (some with even 0% for an initial period), and in case a large purchase cannot be paid off in full, the card must let you carry over the balance to the next month that can be interest free for a pre-determined period.
• Able to check credit scores free of scores: As a beginner, a credit card is the only tool that lets you build a credit history. Hence, tracking your credit scores frequently is very important. A student credit card must provide the benefits of not charging you for these checks and giving easy access to your credit score.
• There should be zero annual fees: As a student, you would either have no or very less for managing your overall expenses. If a credit card charges no money towards annual fee, then you will be able to save up the money for other expenses.
• Provide security against a lost card: If your card is lost or misplaced and is involved in a third party fraud where expensive purchases have been made using your card, the results may be damaging to your credit score. Find a card that lets you enable or disable your card instantly easily from your phone thereby preventing a random person from making fraudulent transactions like purchases, balance transfers or availing cash advances with your card.
• Look out for other benefits: A good card must offer additional benefits on travel like free travel insurance, free/discounted collision insurance on rental cars, etc. Also, the credit card must be able to provide shopping benefits like price protection, extended warranty, guaranteed return for purchases made using the card. There may even be card issuers who would provide access to quality financial education for first-time credit card student users.

However, being a college student may simply be not enough to get you a student credit card. It may be easy to get an unsecured card (with a lower credit limit) if you have an income back-up. You can add yourself as an authorized user of either your parents’ or guardians’ account or ask one of them to be a co-signer to your card based on which an unsecured card can be issued. Here the repayment of borrowed amount will be a joint responsibility of the account holder/co-signee and you. If you don’t have a decent income source or have a shaky credit history, you may be required to apply for a secured card with a cash deposit. Therefore, a few card issuers may even set a minimum credit score requirements, have lower credit limits or charge higher interest rates to offset the uncertainties that are associated with the creditworthiness of a student. Hence, it is important that the students having a credit card should be careful with their card usage and not fall into debt.