There are plenty of benefits to having a student credit card, such as enabling cardholders to pay their gas and food bills, textbooks, furniture, and more. College students need credit cards in many cases, but applicants stand a higher chance if they have a cosigner.
What should you do now? You first need to find someone close who agrees to cosign for you. This person can be your parent, guardian, relative, or just someone close to you. You do not have to be related to the person who will cosign for you; so, you can ask a colleague or a friend as well. What is important here is that this person has a very good or excellent credit score, holds a credit card, and has outstanding repayment history. Ask this person to become your cosigner but be sure to make it perfectly clear that he or she will be responsible for debt repayment in case of default. Do your best to convince your friend or relative that this will not happen. Discuss your sense of financial responsibility and maturity.
If you have a cosigner already, it is time to shop for college credit cards. Check with the big banks (CIBC, Bank of Nova Scotia) and your local bank. When checking credit card offers, look at two things - whether you meet the requirements and whether the card in question meets your needs. Important considerations are annual fees, interest rate, rewards programs, etc. In the ideal case, the credit card you choose is offered with no annual fee. Even if you do not find such a card, some credit card issuers will waive the annual fee, provided that you are charging items on the card within a period of one year. Find out what fees go with your chosen credit card. Most credit card companies impose late fees and over-the-limit fees. You should avoid cards with unfair fees like an account maintenance fee.
Keeping this in mind, back to applying. The application process for Canadian student credit card is much similar to when you apply for other credit card types. The only difference is that your cosigner should dial the number on his credit card and talk to customer service. They have to explain that they have decided to cosign for you.
Bear in mind that only some credit card companies let clients apply with a cosigner. The reason is that some issuers are unwilling to service joint accounts. Other issuers will ask that you have a cosigner, even when they have mailed you an offer. But do you really need a cosigner? You will be more responsible if you have one. Thus, you are more likely to pay off your balance knowing that a friend or relative of yours would have to pay the bill instead of you.
What else to consider? With student credit cards, it is best to start out with a lower credit limit than you would like to. This way, you will learn not to overcharge. If the credit limit is set high, you may overcharge and accumulate excessive debt.
Hesitating which Mastercard for students solution to choose? Visit student and bonuses to make informed decision.
