How To Apply For A Student Credit Card With A Cosigner
Credit cards are not only for people who are already working. College students have expenses too such as food, books, gas, furniture, clothes, shoes and more. Having a credit card to pay for such expenses makes life a little easier. To have a better chance of getting your student credit card approved, find a cosigner.
Find A Cosigner For Your Student Credit Card
So, obviously the first step is to find someone who will cosign for you. The best person to ask would be either your mom or dad, your guardian or a relative. These are people that are close to you and normally would not hesitate to help you out. However, close friends or work buddies are potential candidates too. A cosigner does not have to be related to you legally. Things to look for in a cosigner are:
- Owns one or more credit cards
- Very good credit score
- Outstanding payment history
When you ask someone to be your cosigner, make sure they know what it entails. They must know that they are the ones that have to pay your debt if you happen to default. Hopefully you are someone that is trust worthy, mature and responsible. If not, it will be very difficult to convince someone to cosign for you.
Once you have a cosigner, the next step is to choose which student credit card to apply for. Visit your local banks or top banks like Wells Fargo or HSBC. You’ll be bombarded with various credit card offers. As you choose, ask yourself these 2 questions:
- Is it suitable for me?
- Am I a likely candidate?
Factors To Consider When Applying Student Credit Cards
Other factors to look into are annual fees, interest rates and reward plans. There are cards that do not charge an annual fee. You should consider those. Some credit card companies will drop the annual fee under certain conditions, for example if you charged a certain amount per annum to the card. Carefully scrutinize all the fees that comes with the card. Do comparisons so you have a better idea which is more suitable for you. Don’t forget to check out the late fees and over-the-limit fees. Ask for clarification if you are not sure what some of the fees are about. You don’t want to end up with a card that impose unfair fees such as account maintenance fees.
Now let’s talk a little about the application process. There’s not much difference between a student credit card and other kinds of credit card. The extra step would be your cosigner informing the card’s customer service that he or she is willing to cosign for you. The customer service’s phone number is usually found on the back of the credit card.
Sometimes, you receive credit card offers in the mail. You think you are eligible and then later on, they ask that you have a cosigner. Some credit cards issuers do not allow applications with a cosigner. They do not want to bother servicing joint accounts. So don’t assume that having a cosigner puts all credit cards within your reach. You may ask “is having a cosigner really necessary?” Well, for one thing, you’ll act more responsibly if you don’t want to put your family members or friends into a bind because you didn’t pay your card.
Another tip is keep your credit limit low when you start out. Train yourself to avoid overcharging. A high credit limit is dangerous because you can spend more than you can afford and land yourself in a huge debt.