Most of today’s parents agree that it is better to provide their children at college their own credit card. The reason for this is to make their children actually learn how to manage their finances and more importantly establish their own credit rating records – a very important necessity of today’s society.

The ease of acquiring a credit card means that everybody needs to have a good credit standing – a very important requirement for buying a car or a house since before approval is granted, the lending bank or institution has to check the individual’s credit rating. And parents are of the opinion that the best time to start is when they are in college.

Present day necessity of plastic money instead of cash due to security reasons even make it a status symbol to own a credit card – even among college students. Due to the rigorous requirements necessary to acquire a credit card, not having one becomes a sort of sign that says a person is not worthy to own a credit card and therefore is considered a pariah in society. This is one of the primary reasons why parents and students alike would prefer to own a credit card. And college students would go to lengths just to get their own cards.

What then makes a student credit card different from the others?

The truth is there is not that much difference between so-called student credit cards and other types of credit cards. The difference lies in the benefits provided to the cardholder – student credit card benefits are geared towards providing the student’s their basic needs aside from making them eligible for lower interest rates based on their scholastic performance. Students can reach a deal for lower interest rates if they settle their dues on time and if they have good grades in school.

Although student credit cards are in reality secured credit cards, it is the parents who can set the credit limit of their children’s credit card. Optionally, parents can even have their children’s credit card directly linked to their card in order to provide better monitoring and tracking capability’s ob their son’s or daughter’s credit card transactions.

One thing that sets student credit cards from all the other credit cards in the market is that their target market is limited to college students who have very limited credit background and history.

Another unique feature of a student credit card is that they have no annual membership fees and their set credit limits are only up to a maximum of $500. These are the unique features of student credit cards. Just like any other types of credit cards they also have annual percentage rates although student cards are assessed 17.66% for purchases and 19.67% for cash advances.

Interest rates therefore are almost equal to or barely less than those of regular credit cards which means students have to have judicious judgment in using their credit cards instead of charging unnecessary purchases left and right!