Student Credit Card and Credit Education Blog

Hey there summer boys and girls! The heat is in full swing up here in Boston so if you are looking for something to do inside, consider checking your credit for free.

Did you know that every private student loan requires a good credit score and stable history? Even things like renting an apartment, buying a car or getting a cellphone can require credit to be approved. Therefore, it’s really important to keep on top of your score and make sure you are free of fraud and delinquency on your accounts.

So pull up a chair, bask in that amazing air conditioning (you know it feels good!) and head over to FreeCreditScore.com. Make sure that all your cards are listed properly and nothing appears that you don’t own. If you have any questions about credit once you get there, head over to Student Platinum’s Credit Education Center to learn more!

Check your credit for free! »

After you’ve checked your credit, head over to ScholarshipPoints and redeem this code for 25 scholarship points: FREECREDITYAY

It is extremely important to make sure your credit card payments are made on time.  A late payment can lead to additional charges and a dip in your credit score. It’s true! Part of your credit rating is based on your ability to make payments on time, and even one late payment can hinder your ability to take out a mortgage or finance a car in the long-term.

Here are some easy ways to ensure you never miss a credit card payment.

Use automatic bill pay. Imagine being able to pay your bills without having to lift a finger. It’s possible. If your bank allows you to set up an automatic bill pay, use it. You set the date each month and your bank automatically deducts the amount you wish to pay.

Set an alert for when you will pay your bills. You don’t need a full planner to keep track of bills. It’s very easy to set up an alert on your phone or email to remind you when you need to pay online or mail out a check. For example, Google Calendar lets you set up an alert that will send you an email or text message on the day you want to make a payment.

Dispute unfair charges. If you are unjustly penalized for a late payment, you can dispute it. The first thing you will need is documentation. Print out bank statements or credit records and take note of the dates. The best evidence you can provide is a printed copy of an online pay receipt. If you pay your bill online, you will often get an email from the bank’s website telling you when you have submitted a payment. Print this page out and keep a folder handy to log all of your payments.

It’s not exactly a secret that trying to build credit as a student is like power washing a house with toothbrush. There are a lot of hurdles, but having an established credit history is absolutely crucial for pretty much every big life event in the book.

For instance, did you know that in many cases you need to pass a credit check to rent an apartment? Or that for pricier cell phone carriers like Verizon, you need credit just to start a contract? (more…)

Hey everyone! Are you looking for ways to improve your credit score? StudentPlatinum has just added a page with four simple steps you can take to Improve Your Credit Score for Free.

The first of your options is to talk with a credit expert from a debt counseling company to develop a personal credit management plan.  The people at Credit.com can help you make sure you don’t go into debt by maintaining an adequate credit score.
If you’ve had a few glitches with your credit, you can review it and fix it at no charge. Freecreditreport.com can provide you with your credit report and credit score. If you have a high credit score, keep up the good work. You may be eligible for appealing rewards. If your credit score is on the lower side, a Credit.com expert can provide suggestions on how to improve this.

Since building a high credit score has become so important these days, why not start as soon as possible by opening up a credit account in college? You can use your card to make regular payments on things like food, books, and gas while at school by applying for a student credit card like the one offered by Discover. If you already have money for these items in your bank account, and were planning on paying for them with cash, think about using a card and paying the company directly instead so you can reap any rewards they throw your way for regular and on-time payments.

If for some reason you find yourself in multiple debts, one final step that this article mentions is to consolidate these debts into one payment, and reduce your debts significantly. This will make it much easier for you to keep track of your debt and eliminate it altogether in no time at all.

Make sure you check out the article. I hope you will find it helpful!

Summer is not all sand and surf for college students. Many have to find an apartment for the fall. Others are looking to buy a new car. Some might be looking to take out a private student loan for college. For each of those expenses, you will need a good credit score.

That is why you have to check in on your credit score from time to time, and research ways to improve it if it is below par.

That may sound daunting, but you can easily research improving your credit score in one easy place. Visit Student Platinum’s credit score improvement page today. Find out your credit score, and which credit card is right for you. It won’t take long, and you will be back on the beach in no time!

If I learned anything during my four years in school, semi-obsessive personal finance is definitely among the finalists. If you think about it, you have relatively low income (or none) and constantly are juggling any number of expenses that have to be paid from textbooks to feeding yourself.

Now that I have graduated, the components have changed but the game remains the same. To this end, I thought it might be helpful to explain why Mint.com worked for me and how you can use the service to keep tabs on your personal finances. (more…)

I don’t consider myself an especially “green” person. Sure, I turn off the lights when I leave a room and I don’t throw trash on the sidewalk.

I am also a huge fan of going paperless when it comes to my banking. This is not to because I care about Mother Earth one way or the other, but because the benefits of going paperless are pretty far-reaching:

Avoid late fees – Going paperless and doing all of your banking online is a very responsible and easy way to avoid making a late payment and dealing with the ensuing charges. There are few things more harrowing than being just a couple of days shy of a payment due date and having to rely on snail mail to get your bill sent in on time.

Further, many credit card companies add a specific time to their due dates. In other words, your payment may be due July 15, but read a little further and you will see it’s actually due on July 15 at 1:00 p.m. So if you have a slow mailman who gets your bill in at 1:30, you get stuck with the late charge.

With online bill pay, not only do you avoid the treachery of the slow mailman, but you have the option to sign up for an automatic pay option. Many card company websites allow you to set up a time every month when your payment will be made automatically. Essentially, you don’t even have to remember when your bill is due. Now that’s being responsible!

Easier to avoid identity theft – It wasn’t so long ago that paying a bill online seemed like an easy way to get your identity stolen. But these days it might actually be safer to pay online. Card companies have devoted a lot of time and money into beefing up their online security. Not only that, paying online allows you to avoid having your bills and statements stolen out of the trash by dumpster divers, compromising your personal and financial information. Paying online gets rid of the paper trail.

(Remember to always be smart about online banking. Change up your password from time to time and don’t leave yourself logged in on a public computer.)

Stay on top of spending – Want to hear something archaic? There was a time when people wrote down every purchase they made in a little bankbook. Some people, at the end of every month, had to sit down and balance their checkbook. Crazy, right?

With paperless online banking, you can see every purchase you make down to the cent, quickly and easily.

In light of the environmental crisis afoot in the Gulf, it becomes clearer and clearer that steps need to be taken to protect ourselves well in advance of a problem’s appearance. As much as this applies to offshore drilling and many other environmentally-destructive industries, there are lessons to be learned in your personal finance as well.

Much like a gushing well deep under the ocean, unmonitored credit debt swells and compounds on itself until it becomes so toxic that your finances may not recover for years. Worse still, there usually is collateral damage to other things as well like your standard of living and ability to take out loans for school or things you need. Therefore, prevention and careful planning becomes paramount to harnessing the power of credit for good and avoiding nasty consequences for its misuse. (more…)

Earlier this year, I wrote a post on saving large amounts of cash while in college. Believe it or not, it is possible to make it through four years or college without living entirely off Ramen noodles. Here are some more tips that could lead to big savings:

Let your bank help you. Almost every bank and credit union nowadays is coming up with ways to help customers save money. The mentality is, the more you save, the more likely you are to remain as a customer. So take advantage! If your debit card offers cash back rewards, use it! If your bank deposits a certain amount from checking to savings every month, sign up for it. These promotions are there for a reason, and can save you a solid chunk of change every month.

Adjust your tax withholding. A lot of people claim 0 or 1 on their taxes. Truth be told, most people can claim more exemptions than that. By doing so, you will earn more in your weekly paycheck. Now keep in mind, this means you will have a substantially lower tax return, and you can only claim legal exemptions. But if you have found your self living paycheck-to-paycheck, earning more in the short-term won’t hurt.

Eat healthy. Oh, the freshman 15. Not good times. Bad times. You’re away from home for the first time, and finally – finally!- you can live out your dream of eating pizza every night of the week. It’s a noble goal, but one that won’t do much for your health or your wallet. Want to save money? Adapt to a diet. Get acquainted with your dining hall salad bar. Many campuses offer vegetarian options that are healthy and can save you from running up a huge fast food tab.

Get a scholarship! Just because you’re in college doesn’t mean you couldn’t use a little extra money. Sign up for www.ScholarshipPoints.com today for your chance to win a monthly $1,000 scholarship! Here’s a bonus code to get started: SAVINGS2

The prime interest rate is a baseline number that is established by a bank. Essentially, it represents the best possible interest rate it would lend to the créme de la créme of their clientele. With this interest rate in hand, banks then a spread (modifier such as +X%) to determine rates for less creditworthy applicants.

One common misconception about prime interest rates is that they are independent of the banks and prime is the same everywhere you go. This is absolutely not true and can get you in a lot of extra debt if you don’t do your homework.

The most commonly used “prime” rate by banks is established by the Wall Street Journal. WSJ calculates the rate based on a survey of the top 50 banks conducted regularly. However, it is important to know this is not the true prime interest rate, as the US Prime rate is actually the fed funds rate + 3%.

The Simple Explanation:

Banks are the most risk-conscious businesses, period. They are neurotic about it and thus are constantly watching what everyone else is doing to make sure they aren’t over or under-extending themselves when lending money to normal people like you and me. The prime interest rate allows them to see an instant picture of the risk currently present in the financial industry and adjust how much they are willing to add or chop off of that rate to keep customers flowing in.

Simply put, when looking at loans, credit cards and anything else with an antagonistic interest rate (goes against you, not for you like a savings account), pay attention to what prime rate the bank uses and what spread is tacked on. Always try to get the lowest rate possible.