Establishing Good Credit Habits with a Student Credit Card

Young people starting out in today's marketplace need a couple of items to succeed. One is a bank account that offers credit and savings privileges. The other is a student credit card. Earning money and setting aside a portion each month for savings is an excellent way to utilize the money a young person earns. In order to build a credit history, though, cash purchases are not enough. Banks require a credit history before you will be allowed a loan for the purchase of a car or a house.

A good way to develop a credit history is through the responsible use of a student credit card. When you get a credit card instant good standing does not come automatically, though. By establishing a regular pattern of making purchases on a student credit card and then paying them off conscientiously, it is possible to build an impressive credit history. Good credit provides greater future purchasing power through increased lines of credit.

When you are looking for a new credit card, instant approval can take all the waiting out of the approval process. This will enable the credit card company to issue the card much sooner than using normal processes, and gives you the opportunity to use your new card sooner rather than later.

Under normal circumstances, if you are a new borrower and have no credit history, you might be required to have a cosigner in order to get a student credit card. Some banks that offer credit cards will reduce their risk by requiring you find an adult with a good credit history to sign your credit card application with you, with the understanding that if you default on the card, the cosigner would be responsible for paying the balance. It can be difficult to find an adult that would be willing to cosign, so you will want to examine each credit card offer for their requirements prior to applying.

Bank of America offers a student credit card that requires no cosigner, however. Once you have that credit card, instant buying power is yours. The student card from Bank of America also comes without an annual fee, and offers the convenience of online banking as well.

To be eligible for a student credit card, you will need to be enrolled in some kind of educational institution and be older than eighteen years of age. A credit card, when used reasonably by a student, can be a great tool to help you build your credit history so that it reflects well on you.

Source: Associated Content

Safety Of Your Credit Card Information

How safe is your credit card information? How safe is your identity if someone gets your credit card information? If you read the news there are so many ways people can steal your identity. There is even ways they can steal your credit card information and use it. You didn't have to leave your wallet somewhere. You didn't have to have your pocketbook robbed. There are hackers and hi-tech ways of taking your information. It used to be if you went in a grocery store and used a credit card the only person you had to worry about using your information was the teller. Not anymore! According to Yahoo!News someone hacked into two U.S. grocery store chains owned by a Belgium based company, Delhaize Group SA and stole thousands of credit card numbers.

Hannaford Bros., based in Scarborough, Maine, said February 27 they became aware of unusual credit card activity and began an investigation. Data had been illegally accessed during the credit card authorization process. No personal information such as names or addresses was accessed. Stores that were affected were Massachusetts, New England, New York, and Sweetbay customers in Florida. There were 165 Hannaford stores and 106 Sweetbay supermarkets. Nearly 2,000 cases of fraud have been linked to the breach. According to Boston's WBZ radio 4.2 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen. Company officials not immediately available to confirm. Hannaford Chief Executive Ron Hodge offered an apology for the intrusion.

If you think your credit card has been charged for purchases you didn't authorize immediately call the credit card company. Most credit cards are automatically protected debit cards are protected from fraud as well. The banks and the credit card companies do put limits on it though. If you have internet access you might want to do a daily check of your credit card and debit card purchases. Personal information is usually not tied to your credit card number. HUH? The credit card companies and your bank have all your personal information. If you have someone's credit card number or debit card it's hard to get into the person's account to find this information. The companies make you supply that information to them before you can see your account. You have to know your name and social security number before getting access to any information. So be safe and do checks on your credit report monthly and do checks on your charge accounts weekly if you can't check them daily.

Source: Associated Content