<p>[This is going to be addressed to people who have already researched various student credit card companies]</p>
<p>In terms of benefits and fees (and disregarding customer service), which credit card company is best for college students??</p>
<p>Speaking as a mom, there is NO credit card company that is good for college students. Deposit your earnings in a checking account, and use a debit card attached to that account. Do not even consider a credit card until you have a regular--good--income and you know you can trust yourself to pay off the balance in full every single month.</p>
<p>I disagree. Credit card will let your child learn discipline and build credit. This saves big bucks when they are in real world and want to buy car, furniture or house. Debit cards may be good, but they carry hefty fees if over drawn. There are some consequences if the debit card is stolen. The liability on a credit card is only $50. </p>
<p>There are many good student credit cards from BOA, Chase and Citi. All credit cards are good, if you pay in full and on time, and used in lieu of cash (not as a bottomless piggy bank). You can start with a very low limit. My son has a credit card for about 2 years now and he loves it.</p>
<p>I also agree that credit cards are a very good thing, as long as you're intelligent enough to only spend what you can pay, and then to make sure you pay it off.</p>
<p>I just got a Visa card through my bank as part of my student banking package.</p>
<p>I agree with simba wholeheartedly!</p>
<p>I would recommend either the Citi MTVu VISA credit card or Amex Blue Cash or Amex Blue Student if you aren't eligible for Blue Cash.</p>
<p>The Citi MTVu card has a fairly decent reward system which pays you in points which isn't as good as cash back, but it can be close especially if you take advantage of the student loan rebate. Apparently you can get this as a check and then cash it. Don't bother with the account balance credit as is a ripoff. This card is effectively 5% back for purchases at restaurants (including fast food restaurants), bookstores, record stores, movie theaters, and video rental stores if you use points for the student loan rebate or redeem for gift cards. It's 1% for all other purchases. You can also get points for things like good grades. There are also some decent deals on travel through the citi thankyou points reward network. The only downside that I see to this card are the rates. No annual fee. I think that this card has some sort of extended warranty policy, but I'm not sure.</p>
<p>Details/Discussion Here:
<a href="http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?catid=52&threadid=523218%5B/url%5D">http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?catid=52&threadid=523218</a></p>
<p>Amex Blue Cash is an excellent card which pays 5% CASH back for purchases at Grocery Stores, Gas Stations, Drug Stores and 1% cash back for other purchases as long as you spend more than $6,500/yr. If you don't, I think that everything is half, but I don't remember the exact terms. Amex has great benefits including extended warranty, return protection, etc. It is also very to make claims for these benefits. Amex is outstanding in terms of customer service. Rates vary with credit scores. Only downside to Amex cards is that you can't use them at some places.</p>
<p>I'm not too familiar with Blue for Students and I couldn't find details for their reward scheme on their website, but I've heard from several who have it that it is a fairly decent card if you are not eligible for Blue Cash.</p>
<p>All credit cards will bite you in the ass if you do not use them responsibly. Don't spend more than you have--and don't use the cash you would use to pay off your balance. Never pull money out of an ATM with a credit card unless you absolutely have to, etc. You should never be assessed any fees if you are using you CC responsibly.</p>
<p>I use an Amazon credit card through Chase. It helps me to build my credit, and I use it responsibly. It works well for me.</p>
<p>Looks like I'm outvoted.</p>
<p>Yes, Simba, I agree that the legal limits on liability in case of lost or stolen credit cards, but not debit cards, is a significant difference. (Better protection for the consumer in cases of product misrepresentation, etc., also.) In fact, that is the reason my H and I do not use debit cards. However, we have a steady and significant income to ensure we can pay off the balance on credit cards monthly. I suppose my wariness is the result of observing the great trouble a couple of my relatives have gotten themselves into by careless use of this expensive form of credit. One either learns responsibility or pays the price for a long time to come. </p>
<p>I will rethink my objections, but I hope my college freshman is willing to wait a year or so.</p>
<p>I agree with the other posters that an important lesson for students going off to college is to learn how to handle money (especially their money). </p>
<p>In this respect it is good for them to understand credit and to know use credit wisely. My D has had a credit card since freshman year, never charges more than she can pay off in full the next month (she works, deposits her checks and pays her bills). </p>
<p>Never uses her card for midnight pizza runs, etc. She has built an excellent credit record which will be good for when she graduates (it can be harder for your kid to obtain credit once they leave college). </p>
<p>It is a good thing for them to have in the event of an emergency where they can always book a ticket, register for the LSAT (which does not take debit cards for payment) with out getting you involved or needing your approval. </p>
<p>If D has a dire emergency that she had to rack up a big bill on her credit card (car breaking down, etc) or when she did her study aboard program (where she could not work) I made her credit card payments.</p>
<p>I think credit cards should be used as sparingly as possible. Credit card companies only want your money, and they don't have your best interests at heart.</p>
<p>But vtoodler, CC companies only get your money in one of two scenarios:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You choose to have a card with some sort of annual fee, because you believe the rewards outweigh the fee involved.</p></li>
<li><p>You choose not to pay your balance every month, and thus rack up late charges/interest.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If you're responsible and actually pay for what you buy, the CC companies lose money on you.</p>
<p>By the way, I feel that it is important to note that if you still live with your parents (even if you are going to college in a couple of weeks) that you should list your House Hold Income (HHI)--that you be your parents+yours--instead of just your income if you application asks for it. Also list your summer job if you have one. It will help you get approved more easily and probably for a higher credit limit.</p>
<p>Out of the two I mentioned above, Amex asks for HHI/Employment Info, but Citi doesn't bother since it's a "student" card.</p>
<p>EDIT:
Turns out my information about the Blue Cash rewards card is incorrect. I apologize! I cannot go back and change the post as I missed the edit window.</p>
<p>From Terms and Agreement:</p>
<p>"For the first $6,500 of annual purchases, the rebate is 1% for Everyday Purchases and 0.50% for all other Eligible purchases; for Eligible purchases of $6500.01 or more, the rebate is 5% for Everyday Purchases and 1.5% for all other eligible purchases."</p>
<p>Significantly different from what I posted above unless you can charge a large payment that you would have had to have paid anyway. For most students this is rather difficult.</p>
<p>Based on this, I would recommend the Citi MTVu Card.</p>
<p>Citi MTVu is the card daughter has and son has the Citi AA since he ends up flying AA so much from his out-of-state school, this coupled with his AA frequent flier ends up with many miles. Discover, USAA, Chase, Amex Blue and B of A all have student cards that for now do not require a co-signer.</p>
<p>As the status of authorized users is set to change Sept. 1 (AU accounts will no longer contribute to the overall FICO score) obtaining a credit card NOW might prevent some headaches later.</p>
<p>For example, college students with authorized user status on their parents' cards will no longer be building credit history. They will be without a FICO score when the time comes to rent an apartment, a car loan, or even employment.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>
[quote]
For example, college students with authorized user status on their parents' cards will no longer be building credit history
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That is interesting information - thank you. </p>
<p>We made our kids AUs on our credit cards with the dual intention of giving them a card to use in emergancies and to help build credit ratings. My son has taken out a couple of bank loans and paid them off to help his rating also. The bank told him some time ago that being an AU on our card was not really helping him as it was 'false credit' as he was not responsible for paying the card. That came as a surprise to us at the time as we got the idea of helping build their credit rating that way from some financial program.</p>
<p>Yes Fair Issac is changing their methodology for FICO calculations.</p>
<p>I think that having a debit card that has overdraft protection is the best option.</p>
<p>debit cards alone don't build credit. Even if you only get a credit card and use it for overdraft protection on that debit card, get one.</p>
<p>After his freshman year, DS got a BofA credit card. It is linked to his checking/savings accounts. Has a low limit-$800.00. He has been religious about using it, then transferring the payment from checking right away.<br>
We didn't worry about rebates because he isn't going to charge that much but it will avoid situations like last year when I sent money for books and he kept the change!</p>
<p>I am an incoming freshman and I decided to sign up for the mtvU card recently. When I signed up, I expected to get an e-mail that says they had received my application or something but I received nothing. How long will it usually take for them to approve me?</p>
<p>There have been several posts recommending the Citi MTVu card. That's the card D1 has. Along with getting the card, I have been giving her advice on how to use the card:</p>
<ol>
<li>Watch your spending</li>
<li>Pay off the balance every month; do not carry a balance.</li>
</ol>
<p>She has a small credit limit so she's not likely to get herself into trouble.</p>
<p>The Citi MTVu was designed for college students. It gives reward points for shopping in places that most students will be spending most of their money. They also give reward points for timely payment and good grades. There's also no annual fee.</p>
<p>Now that she has a credit card, we're going to convert her debit card to a plain old ATM card for the very reason mentioned in other posts. Your liability on a stolen debit card is higher than on a credit card. They can clear out your checking account.</p>
<p>abcdefgh88, I believe it took 1-2 weeks. I believe we did get a comfirming e-mail. You might want to contact Citi if you haven't heard from them. You may not have submitted the application properly online.</p>