Credit Card Guide for Teens

Getting a credit card is a sign of being an adult. For a teen to get his or her first credit card is a coming of age thing. It gives him or her valuable responsibility that would train him or her for the world ahead of him. However, as a teenager, one needs to be careful because these responsibilities come with serious monetary repercussions. One needs to be ready to take up that responsibility of being an adult American. Express credit card applications can be found here and there. Here is a short credit card guide for teens to follow.

Canvass
Free credit cards get delivered everyday via mail. You probably get offers monthly. People probably have offered them to you at the mall along with a free gift item. Be wary because these free credit card applications, at least a good number of them, has a catch attached to them. You might be making a big mistake by joining them and you will be obligated, tied to the bank for a long period. The best thing to do first is to canvass around for other credit cards. Read and research each offer to see which one best suits your needs.

Check the Annual Rates
One of the most important things you need to cross check when canvassing for a good credit card is the interest rates. What you need to know is whether the card has a variable rate or a fixed rate. Fixed rates do not change over time obviously. Variable rates do as you might have guessed. They usually start out small so that you won’t feel the fee and so that you will be enticed to join. But then after some time, the rate could increase exponentially.

Check the other Fees as Well as Grace Periods
Of course there are other fees you need to be concerned with when you are searching for your perfect credit card. Perhaps the American express credit card application that you want does not have a long grace period. This is the amount of time given to you to pay your for the credit you used before you are fined for being late. There are also various charges for being over the limit or for cash advances.

Check the Fine Print
So many people have been duped because they did not read the fine print. It is perhaps so simple a thing that people tend to forget about it. These fine prints contain extremely significant information. The credit card might have a very low fixed rate but in the fine print, it states that this will change once you have a singe late payment.