3 Things You Need to Know to Find the Best Student Credit Card

Building a solid credit history is an integral part of becoming an adult, but obtaining a student credit card got much harder for people under age 21 with passage of the Credit Card Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009. The CARD Act has many provisions directed at curbing excessive fees and rate hikes. It also contains a provision designed to curb credit card use--and abuse--by young consumers.

Qualify for the best student credit card

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Three key student credit-card provisions of CARD Act:

1. People under age 21 must obtain the signature of a parent, guardian, or "qualified individual" willing to assume responsibility for the debt in case of default.
2. Card issuers must gather information that demonstrates the student or youth has ability to pay on his or her credit card debt--no job, no money, no credit card.
3. Applicants must complete a certified financial literacy or financial education course, including awareness of the trouble credit cards have caused past generations of young people.

In addition, credit card companies are limited in their ability to solicit offers of credit to people under the age of 21. This applies to both pre-approved credit card offers that appear in mailboxes and to credit card solicitors on college campuses.

"With this new law, consumers will have the strong and reliable protections they deserve,'' said President Barack Obama in a statement. "We will continue to press for (credit card) reform that is built on transparency, accountability, and mutual responsibility."

Best Credit Cards for College Students

Despite CARD Act requirements, some banks advertise student credit cards with no cosigner or minimum income requirements, according to a Washington Post report. At the University of Houston, 32 percent of incoming freshmen say they saw credit card companies marketing on campus, according to a poll conducted by a University of Houston Law Center professor.

What is your best student credit card option? The one you can afford to charge on and pay off. Many student credit cards have high APRs. Keep credit spending within reason to keep payments low, and avoid costly purchases. A good rule of thumb: If you can't pay in cash for an item, you probably should not buy it.

Choosing the best credit cards

CardRatings.com has been helping consumers find the best credit cards since 1998. Our editors personally rate and review credit card offers to help you find the best deals available. And if you ever have trouble finding the best credit card, just ask our collection of industry experts.

Our editors review credit cards from all major issuers as well as from many regional banks and credit unions. Here are just a few of the banks currently listed in our extensive database:

American Express: For years, American Express has been known for their wide selection of charge cards, premium card benefits and impeccable customer service.

Capital One: Capital One offers a variety of credit cards. Although well known for their “No Hassle” rewards cards, they also offer low introductory rate, student and business credit cards. Most Capital One credit cards do not have a foreign transaction fee.

Chase: Chase Bank issues very competitive rewards credit cards, including the Chase Freedom, Sapphire and Ink Business cards. They also issue a host of co-branded credit cards and several low interest, 0% APR and balance transfer cards.

Citi:Citi credit cards are distributed fairly equally among the various credit card types. However, one of their most popular credit cards—the ® Platinum Select® MasterCard® maintains one of the best balance transfer offers on the market.

Discover:Discover Card pioneered cash back credit cards in 1986, and though other issuers have followed suit, Discover has remained competitive and still offers some of the best credit card deals around.

HSBC: HSBC offers a number of credit cards for bad or limited credit. They offer secured and unsecured cards depending on your credit score. HSBC also issues Orchard Bank credit cards.

MasterCard: MasterCard is a widely accepted credit card payment network associated with many bank credit cards and debit cards.

Visa: Visa is a large payment network. Visa is associated with credit cards and debit cards from most issuers.

Is it safe to apply for a credit card online?
We're often asked if it's safe to complete a credit card application online. These days, it's probably one of the safest methods available. At CardRatings.com, when you find the best credit card for you, we direct you straight to the card issuer's SSL-protected website. Banks and other issuers use the latest encryption technology to protect all online credit card applications. How can you be sure your info is safe? You'll see "https" in the address bar of your browser, instead of the usual "http". In this case, the "s" stands for secure.