Visa Student Credit Cards: Plastics With Lessons

The answer is none, and this is precisely why visa student credit cards are so popular and addictive. When you're 18, beautiful, and restless, what could be headier than vast spending power at your fingertips?

With visa student credit cards, college students can easily swipe their merry way into a mile-wide list of purchases.

The Benefit
Visa student credit cards are highly popular because they're handy. You can use them to pay off student loans, for example, or gas up your convertible. You can use them to buy groceries, articles of clothing, furniture, and even plane tickets! Statistics show that the average college student owes at least $60,000 in student loans payable. Because no part-time job pays this much in a year, or even in five years, visa student credit cards are typically seen as manna from heaven.

The Catch
Even manna from heaven, however, comes with a catch. Consider this scenario. You are a student. You like something. You take out your credit card and swipe away. You go home crowing with glee over your purchase. If you think the story ends here and this way, you are sadly mistaken. Many college students forget that credit and payment go hand in hand. They buy and conveniently forget that what they take now, they would have to pay for later.

The fact that visa student credit cards grant their owners huge purchasing power only makes it worse. You would find it so much harder to restrain yourself from charging this and that.

Swiping Responsibly
If you are among those with visa student credit cards, make sure you avoid falling into debt by doing the following:

1. Pay on time.
If you have plans of moving, notify your credit card provider so they can update your contact information for you. Credit card bills frequently get lost due to errors in addresses. As much as possible, do not fall behind your payments. Some providers charge as much as $30 for late payments. Additionally, they bump up interest rates, too, if you miss one payment too many.

2. Do not ask for extra credit.
Extra credit will only lure you to borrow more. What you should do is look for visa student credit cards that come with a restrictive credit line. A restriction on your credit line, ranging from $500 to $4,000, will discourage unnecessary purchases.

3. If you don't want a restrictive credit line, why not secure a secured credit card instead?
The best thing about a secured credit card is that your credit limit hinges upon your savings at a certain bank. So, you never end up spending money you do not have.

4. Do not go crazy over cash advances.
Cash advance interest rates are typically higher. If you think they have the same rate as your swiped purchases, think again.

The ultimate purpose of your visa student credit card should be to rescue you in times of need, not push you into huge debt. Visa student credit cards should work for you, not against you.